[MAGNUM_Guy]

So I picked up a Magnum ( Always wanted one) and the car I found is clean/low miles but needs sorting.

The brake pedal in the car is firm but takes a great deal of effort to actually stop the car. I had assumed this was a faulty brake booster but I'm sad to say that after standing on my head and swapping it out....that did not resolve the issue. The car appears to have new front rotors and pads. Not sure what else to investigate but the front brakes look really new and I'm wondering if the rotors were not cleaned or some other issue that could have glazed the brakes. Does this make sense? Are some pads just really crappy? Interested in recommendations for what else to try. I'm thinking about running a DA sander on the rotors to assure they are not glazed and maybe sand or swap out the brake pads. Any other suggestions? Doe this plan make sense and if so are there preferred pads for the magnum?

Thanks,

Will

 

[MAGNUM_Guy]

ordered a set of Bendix semi metallic pads to try:

I will let you know how much of a difference it makes. Looks like these should have the best stopping capacity by pad type but I will likely have more brake dust to look forward to. I'm guessing what's on there are glazed up as I cant imagine it would be acceptable to a typical driver ( Feels like manual brakes on a big car).

 

[2005rtmag]

I suggest you check all of the calipers to make sure they are sliding properly. Some frozen calipers would give this symptom.

 

[Hemihackman]

I would check flex hoses also. I went semi-metallic on my BR9 brakes. Helped.

 

[pursuitlx]

Definitely remove each caliper and make sure they can still slide like they're supposed to.
Many owners of all cars seem to be more concerned with brake dust on their wheels than they are with great stopping power. I hope the new pads do the trick!I had to replace the front caliper pistons on my '09 Charger last year 'cause they wouldn't retract to allow pad replacement. Your car is older so may have the same issue too.

 

[MAGNUM_Guy]

Has anyone done a bremo upgrade from a higher performance / newer model? If so what years work and can I use my existing rotors?

 

[Caprice1483]

I’ve had my 06 RT AWD Magnum for about 10 years now. I’ve replaced one frozen caliper and just did rear brakes and both sides had a one slide that was extremely tight. I was able to clean it up and they are sliding smooth. However, as I assume you dont know who did that last brake job, inspect all four brakes. Check for seized or hard to move calipers, see if one set of pads is worn more the than other. Hopefully you figured it out and can share what you found

 

[07RT]

Still sounds booster related. OP, did you try changing the vacuum hose and check valve that operates the booster? Perhaps there is a restriction.

 

[MAGNUM_Guy]

So I spent some time on the front brakes last week and I can already tell the time was well spent.

Here is what I found:

Its hard to see in the picture but the rotors were so shinning I had never really seen any that bad in terms of glazing before. The brakes had obviously been done recently ( In terms of millage) but the glazing was hard to remove. Both sides of the car looked the same. I forgot to take an after on this side so here is an after pic for the other side of the car:

I used my DA sander and 80 grit paper. I went through about three sheets of cheap paper to get both rotors to clean up. I sanded them just enough to see them clean up. I could have just had them turned but I have not had great luck at the parts stores near me.

After it was back together I did a few hard stops to seat the new Bendix Semi-Metallic pads and its already much better and I will assume they will improve further with a little more driving. The rears just looked warn ( 50% pad left with grooves in the rotors) so I may go back to do those later this spring as well when its time to take off my snow tires. I can here the ABS do its thing now on a hard stop on dry pavement and I couldn't do that before.

BL- A solid improvement for a few hours work and $28 in pads....

PS- My front calipers are two piston. Does that mean I have the police brake package? Also can I just convert the rear to police spec either way without any proportioning valve related complications?

Thanks,

Will

 

[2005rtmag]

I replaced the brake pads on my 2005 Magnum RT at 115,000 miles. It also needed front calipers. I was planning to turn the rotors but there was no brake pulsing and the rotors were so smooth they were like a mirror. Evidently the OE ceramic pads don't groove the rotors like semi-metallic pads do. So, I just replaced the front calipers and pads all around and the brakes work great. I bought Akebono pads from Rockauto. RTs have "heavy duty" brakes.