I just bought an 05 Durango at a Gov. auction. When driving i noticed some resistance from the brakes themselves, not the pedal. The brakes actually seem to work fine, but there is very noticeable resistance, especically at lower speeds, and i dont roll forward when i idle, not to mention squeaking at all speeds. I took it to a dealer they jacked it up, put it in neutral, and one wheel would not spin at all by hand, and the other three were stiff. So i assume thats where i am getting my resistance, but the weird thing is my calipers are not locked up, my brakes arent sticking, i cant figure out where this resistance is coming from. They said it was rusty under there and they wanted to replace the whole brake system, but i really feel its something else.
There are float pins. They allow the front and back pads to center themselves when squeezing the rotor while braking. If they are gummed up, or out of grease they can not float and keep that tension on the wheel. Another issue is where a soft spot occurred in the brake pad material and wore out sooner on one side. Then the pad begins to line up crooked and can get wedged in that way. Rust and dirt can get in around the caliper's pistons and wedge it out. They only release tension, not have a mechanism to pull away, so small resistances can hold the brakes on. Since, again, there is not a mechanized method of releasing tension on the brakes, if the union of the brake line to the caliper (or any joint) gets rusted (on the inside too) it can cause a resistance that the brake pedal can overcome, but the release force cannot. This would be the most expensive way to fix the brakes, and the most automatic by mechanics, since all the above issues would also be corrected in the process. The float pin and caliper piston issue could be saved by just taking it all off and cleaning them out and/or lubricating the parts that need it. Taking the wheel off and removing 4 bolts (two float pins and two bracket bolts disassembles the entire brake system to get to the components. Easy beginner task that might save you big $$.
