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unbelieavable.!.dodge returned after sale

E

ericlb

Well-known Member
i just had my old 1994 dodge diesel dropped off, back at my place,they want it fixed, heres the deal the rear brakes grab, and grab hard, locking the wheels, of course its my fault, not his usless kids, now for you all i drove this truck 250,000 miles and it had no such issues, quite the oposite in fact when i had a heavy trailer hooked, read 16 thousand lbs or more it would not use the rear brakes,at least it seemed that way to me. now ive done some basic looking,the adjustment seems correct, and there is no gear lube on the shoes, the manual says the porporsioning valve on these is self centering, and the anti lock is rear wheel only on this truck, the lite works, and is not on after startup, i sold this truck 6 months ago to a man with a kid who i have observed driving it, this kid [ 25 or 6] wont even work, but thinks he knows it all so what in the world could he have done to this truck? and where can i look next? any ideas? got to fix this truck as the man and i have several business deals togeather as well as a life long friendship, and im not going to let a old pickup truck screw that up even if his kid wont own up to working on it, [ read tearing the truck to pieces] there has to be something obvious to do to fix the thing
 
(quoted from post at 14:55:03 02/19/14) i just had my old 1994 dodge diesel dropped off, back at my place,they want it fixed, heres the deal the rear brakes grab, and grab hard, locking the wheels, of course its my fault, not his usless kids, now for you all i drove this truck 250,000 miles and it had no such issues, quite the oposite in fact when i had a heavy trailer hooked, read 16 thousand lbs or more it would not use the rear brakes,at least it seemed that way to me. now ive done some basic looking,the adjustment seems correct, and there is no gear lube on the shoes, the manual says the porporsioning valve on these is self centering, and the anti lock is rear wheel only on this truck, the lite works, and is not on after startup, i sold this truck 6 months ago to a man with a kid who i have observed driving it, this kid [ 25 or 6] wont even work, but thinks he knows it all so what in the world could he have done to this truck? and where can i look next? any ideas? got to fix this truck as the man and i have several business deals togeather as well as a life long friendship, and im not going to let a old pickup truck screw that up even if his kid wont own up to working on it, [ read tearing the truck to pieces] there has to be something obvious to do to fix the thing
Click to expand...

Possibly the master cylinder.
 
I see that sometimes, machine the drums will cure it for awhile, replace the shoes and turn drums for a more permanent solution. For some reason, on the bigger brakes, the cheap shoes from Napa seem to work better than their top of the line ones do. Not sure why...
 
Parking brake cable probably needs replacing...rusted and will creep the brakes into locked position and stay there.
 
You sold the truck six months ago? And he still figures you're responsible for it? I'd be having a serious heart to heart talk with your friend if it was me. If something had let go within say 30 days then I'd hope you would at least help out if you had made a lot on the sale but after six months then no. This fella shouldn't be holding your relationship hostage over this. I learned my lesson years ago, never sell to friends or family! It don't matter if you sold it for $1. They figure you owe them for life.
 
there is a rubber brake line going from the body to the differential. its possible the line collapsed and its holding brake pressure. have a helper apply the brakes hard and release the pedal. quickly crack open one of the rear brake bleeders and see if it is holding pressure. if so, replace the rubber line.
 
really? It has 250K on it and you are responsible 6 months later. Give me a break. I'd ask him if his son had tried to fix it. If he doesn't have a job, he just got one if he wants to keep driving.
 
If you lose a friend over this you probably haven't lost much. I GAVE a pretty good car to a "friend" several years ago and the starter went out about a year later. He wanted me to have it fixed. Didn't happen. TDF
 
thanks glenster ill chect on that line, colekicker lol i asked that kid what he had done so i had an idea of where to look, i got the usual, " i didnt do nuthing man" yep since i had it it has a new stereo with appropiate sawzall job on the dash to make it fit, the chrome bed trim torn off, a nice big dent and other stuff but he hasnt worked on it lol
i learned my lessonthis time, sold the truckl cheap as it wound up being a extra and wasnt being used much but from now on no sales to anybody i know!
 
you'll never fix it successfully it's badly engineered . some people put chevy wheel cylinders in them because they are larger but I wouldn't do that and sell the truck . others put disk brakes on them . It's a poor design and any of the above would hold you responsible. best thing is to give him his money back if your worried about dealing with this guy .
 
Had that happen on a Corvette. Left rear brake would stick. Turned out to be the rubber brake line not letting brake fluid back after applying the brake. Sure a cheap easy place to start.
 
If you sold it as is, I wouldn't touch it, you didn't guarantee him any warentee did you.
 
Which one of them brought the truck over and parked it in your yard?
The son or the old man?
I would treat things differently based on who brought it over.
 
The guy is nuts no one would give anything but a
10/10 guarantee(10 seconds or 10 ft) on a 250,000
mile vehicle.Tell him to get a grip on reality.And never sell anything to relatives or good friends.
 
Not your fault. I had a 95 Dodge that would lock up the front brakes. Besides he has had it for six months and abused it most likely. Going by what you say about how he drives. If you fix it now,you will be on the hook for repairs. Because everything will be blamed on you. I would tell him to take it to a shop.
 
Call the cops and have the abandoned vehicle towed. If it happened over night I would fix, if it happened a week later I would think long and hard before consider splitting the bill. 6 months later? How big of moron is he?
 
If I was you I would be really worried about those other business deals and how badly I was going to get screwwed over on them. I would be working on an exit strategy on them if at all possible. A friendship is supposed to work both ways. That truck is 20 years old. Something similar happened to me with a co-worker 30 years ago and I told him to go hump a stump. He got over it, but a co-worker is a lot less entangled than a business partner.
 
The lesson learned here is don't sell anything to a business partner or friend.This is usually the net result.So if your are going to fix it why the rant?

JMHO

Vito
 
My neighbor the car salesman had a saying. "If this vehicle falls in half when you drive it out of my lot, both halves belong to you."

Having said that, I'd check the front brakes first. Sounds like they're not working at all.
 
I have had the internally collapsed hose experience, too..........it just acts like a one way/check valve where high system pressure gets through, but can't return, thus locked up brakes.
 
Jack up the front and see if the fronts are working. If not they could have frozen calipers, or internally collapsed lines, or the kid cut the line and crimped it. In all cases, the owner should pay for the repairs. Did you write in the bill of sale that you would fix it in perpetuity till death us do part. Jim
 
I agree with the others but you seem to think this one fix will be the end and your "business relationship" will be preserved. Fix this and you just opened a can of worms that are gonna keep crawlin up your canal forever. Just why would they stop with just this malfunction? You KNOW they won't. Shame on him this time but shame on you on the next. ...and there will be a "next".
 
bo is on the money. I am betting the parking brake is sticking and the shoes are not resting on the top pin, this is letting the shoes walk and wrap up in the drum. There has to be some slack in the bar that runs between the shoes. I would fix it too.
 
Need more info. Is it a hard lock up on lite braking, if so it's most likely the front caliper sliders are seized up. Does it grab hard just when you are almost stopped, then the rear brakes are under adjusted. Does it stay locked up for a half a second or so after you let off the brake, then it's most likely the rear flex hose. Does it lock up for a second or two then release while still braking, then it's most likely the front flex hoses.
 
I had two new dodge trucks back in those years and had brake trouble on both.On one the anti lock brakes would come on even on loose gravel and send you through a stop sign.The dodges back then used chevy truck calipers.I took it back to dodge three times and traded it off on a 2001 duramax which has been a great truck.
 
Unless there's some detail missing from your account, nobody who was half a man would even conceive of doing what your "friend" did, much less follow through.
 
have a 99 2500 HD diesel with 235k on it never had any brake problems at all , but of couse ive owned it since it had 10 miles on it and take good care of , pull a 10,000 lbs trailer alot some times over loaded & still have original rear brakes on it to this day , lots of fronts though, i did upgrade he tire size from 245 to 265 , that did mess with the anti lock but the opposite of you problem it just dont work anymore , the propotioning valve on the rear end if i remember is like 20% rear when empty , if the ABS / speed sencer is bad the speedometer wont work at low speed or at all ( had that go bad once) in my opinion after this long its there problem not yours , some kid beating the H#LL out of it by the sounds , but it probably is something cheap & easy to fix if ya find it
 
Unless you sold them a truck with problems that you didn't reveal you don't owe them anything. Used vehicles are sold as is and if your "friend" is doing this to you (especially after 6 months) you need to look for a new friend.
 
If the father sold/gave the truck to the son, then fixing it is now between the father and the son. If it were me, I'd call the father and politely ask him what HE is going to do to get HIS truck out of my yard.
 
As others have said check the front brakes, more often than not the problem is not on the axle that is locking up.
The locking up is being caused by the brakes on that axle overworking trying to stop the whole truck.
Next thing would be check if the park brake cables are fully releasing.
 
I would tell him to shove the truck. Number one the father is not your friend if that is what he expects from you, number two I would be getting out of those other business deals as fast as possible if I was dealing with a piker like that.
 
Make sure he hasn't added something other than brake fluid. I see power steering fluid or atf added every now and then. Usually one of the beginning symptoms is locking or dragging brakes.
 

If its shoes they are probably to aggressive for what ever reason...

Clean'em up and apply BG stop squeal... BTDT and fixed a many of'em..
 
I agree wholeheartedly with the general consensus, you are NOT responsible for the truck breaking down and are NOT required to fix it for free!! It is a 20 year old truck with over 200K miles on it and you sold it to this "friend" 6 MONTHS ago?! I question the ethics of this "friend" if he expects you to fix it for free. He is just plain taking advantage of you, if he gets away with it this time I guaranty he will take advantage of you again at some point.

I bought a '95 Dodge diesel from a friend almost a year ago and just recently the injection pump just up and failed without warning. Did I go back to my friend and demand he replace the pump at his own expense? NO!! It worked just fine when I bought the truck and for many miles thereafter, it was just bad luck or normal wear and tear that caused it to fail, no way I could hold my friend responsible....
 
I had a friend who sold me a 70 chevy chevelle 4door car with no brakes and bad tires. I concentrated on the motor and tranny- putting them up for sale. He called me about a month later and told me his tranny had gone out on his Impalla- Would I sell back the tranny out of the chevelle? I said I would-took the tranny out- hauled it to town-helped put it in- ran great until (friend) came- got it and went to grand forks on the way back he went ditch running and severed the cooling line- scorching the tranny and then had the brass to blame it on me for not installing it correctly and I never did get paid- sheriff tried to help but there wasn't any thing he could do without a receipt -I vowed I would get everything in writing from then on
 
Some of the posters aren't reading the lifelong friend and several business dealings.Sometimes it worth it to deal with a problem as to not cause a worse one.We all know that you are not responsible but by fixing it may pay off many times in the future.I would look for a damaged line and commend your ability to save a friendship.I have heard the saying a friend in need is a pain in the XXX
 
Any true Friend of yours should honor the sale of your pickup to his son as an as is sale. I can not understand your friends way of thinking. If my son were to buy a used pickup and it went to he$$ I would tell him- that is the chance you take When you buy a used vehicle. I don't know your friend. But if he's worth a grain of salt deals or no deals on the table he will overlook the issues with the dodge.
 
Buy it back from him,and sell it somewhere else to someone you dont know ."As is" No warantees!
 
You sold a used truck with that many miles 6 months ago, and now your going to repair it? How long is your warranty good for? What are you going to do when the engine or tranny goes? That's not a good friend! A used vehicle is a used vehicle, as is NO WARRANTY! Don't let him take advantage of your kindness.
 
Are you sure the adjustment is correct? Rough the shoes up with gritty sandpaper, clean them then readjust the rears. Make sure you bottom the drum on the hub hard with both hands and then try to rock it. The differential can make normal adjustment procedures hard to determine with drag. If that doesn't do it put a new set of shoes on it and turn the drums.
 
I see what you're saying but if his buisness partner can walk all over him on the truck deal he'll do the same with other dealings.Its a knife that cuts both ways.Usually No good deed goes unpunished.
 
Lots of good advice on the fix, so I'll just comment on
the friend situation.
To keep the friend and get out of the truck mess,
I'd sit your friend down and tell him that I looked it over and I just don't feel comfortable with his son driving it....it's unsafe, etc.
Friend being concerned ya know.
Tell him you will help him sell it, or even buy it back yourself,
fix and resell.
Saves the friendship, and he will appreciate your concern.
(whether you really mean it or not!)
live and learn
When I sell anything. it means I don't want it...
and I never want to see it again...
so, no friends or relatives.....or I will see it again..
 
I,ve seen where the front caliper had an issue and someone crimped the flex hose w a pair of vice grips ....if he hasn't changed over the title or plates yet tell him yup,ll call the cops and report vehicle stolen .....
 
I had that issue with my 1996 2500 gas engine 4x4.

Rears would want to lock after sitting for the first few times. 1999 dodge Dakota does it now too. So far keeping the Dakota inside has helped.
Anyhow I ended up having wheel cylinders sticking so new cyls. and new shoes fixed it.
Also I unhooked that anti lock brake module under the dash. That rear wheel only system is a death trap !!!
Guy I worked with had a 2000 ? 1500 model and it was locking the rear brakes. New shoes and drum turn fixed his.

So I'd say if the fronts work good you are looking at rear wheel cylinders,shoes,drums turned. All common wear items on something that old and high miles !!!

Unless you told them it had a warranty I'd make sure they pay for it or take it elsewhere and REALLY PAY.
 
If a "life long friend" does this to you, and is still a friend, makes me wonder what you've done to him. If nothing, I would be re-evaluating my definition of friend. Good luck. Sorry I can't help with the repair.
 
I'm not that desperate for friends and don’t need to do business with people like that. To be honest I’d rather deal with strangers than people like that.
 
I offer no advice on how tofix it or what you should do. However, I do offer some evaluation of the situation:

You sold a 20-year-old truck to a "friend."
After 6 months of observed abuse, it developed a brake problem.
Your "friend" apparently wants you to fix it at your own expense - as in warranty.
Your "friend" holds other business deals over your head to encourage you to warranty the truck.

IMHO this person is NOT your friend.
IMHO the truck is no longer your problem. 6 months is long enough to prove that it was in good condition when sold, and was not ready for a mechanical failure.
IMHO you need to make a decision as to whether to continue to deal with this person.
IMHO, it is not my place to advise you on what you should do. Nobody on this forum has the firsthand knowledge of the entire situation as do you. Given the information you have provided, I can offer my opnion on what I would do in this situation:
I would advise the "friend" that the truck was not sold to him with a warranty. Even if it had been, it would commonly have been 30 to 90 days, and would have been a 50-50 warranty. Holding other business dealings hostage over this situation is simply unacceptable in my opinion.

Just another thought...
Are you potentially losing a lifelong friend? Or are you just finding out that a person thought to be a lifelong friend really was not?
 
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