OT: rear brakes on Dodge truck

I"ve got a 98 1/2 Dodge 2500 (first of the 24 valves) with about 160 000 miles on it, but last year or so i"ve been having rear brake issues with it, i noticed then when pulling a loaded trailer (about 12000 lbs) the rear brakes weren"t doing as much work as they should, ended up tracing the problem to the load sensing valve, it had ceased and wasn"t letting brake fluid through to the wheel cylinders (which by this time had also ceased), so changed all that and the problem went away for a while. I don"t tow that often, maybe once a month, but the brakes seem to be not working again, but so far i can"t find the cause, wheel cylinders appear good, i"ve disconnected the load sensing link and wired the actuator to the frame rail in the fully loaded position, but there is still not much for rear brakes. The truck has ABS on the rear axle, but no lights are showing (bulbs work!) Just wonder if anyone had any ideas?? i keep looking at the pipe work coming off the master cylinder and going into 2 valve bodies (right side of master cylinder, next to fuse box) and wondering if they might be the problem, but i don"t really want to throw anymore money at the truck until i figure out whats wrong...

Thanks for any idea and help...

Have you tried adjusting the rear brakes? On that truck you can do it by driving in reverse and slamming on the brakes.

yeah, brakes are adjusted. i think it"s a fluid delivery issue personally

could the hose be shot?

could the hose be shot?

Have you tried bleeding the rear brakes to see if brake fluid is reaching the wheel cylinders?
Could have blockage if you don't get any fluid when bleeding. Have someone to pump up the brakes while you bleed the brakes. Should get a full stream of fluid. Hal
PS: Don't forget to add more fluid.

Just a thought...the brake lines on that truck run on the inside of the frame between the frame and the fuel tank. I had those line corrode real bad and the one collapsed before it blew out I had a trailer on when it happened. Luckily I have very good trailer brakes. Like I said just a thought I had an early 99.

I vote for pistons stuck in the wheel cylinders.

Kent

I have seen a lot of frozen wheel cyl over the years, mostly on Bendix systems. Make sure you can push the pistons in a little and you won t have to disassemble the shoes to check them.

My 01 1500 quad cab 4x4 would put your head through the windshield when the brakes were cold and wet. Best stopping truck of the three of that style we had.

Dad's 00 v6 2wd had the ABS relays pulled to get the rear brakes to work, but it needed new shoes yearly after that.

The 98 2500 didn't have any troubles stopping, but my 01 stopped a loaded trailer a LOT better than it did.

My bet is it's in the ABS system. Rear wheel ABS just seems really inferior to 4-wheel. The 98 v6 dad got to replace the wrecked 00 (both 2wd) had 4 wheel ABS and it stopped better than the 2500, but not quite as good as my 01.

The guys at Diesel truck resource would probably tell know right off what you need. I've got some good info on our 90 from them.
diesel truck resource

The rear brakes on those years of trucks do not self adjust well. The load sensor you talked about is a good place to start. I have a "97 with the original rear pads, 360k on that set!

Everytime I got a brake job done, the truck stops excellent for a few days, but then it is back the same old soft pedal. I gave up trying to fix it.

The rear brakes on those years of trucks do not self adjust well. The load sensor you talked about is a good place to start. I have a "97 with the original rear pads, 360k on that set!

Everytime I got a brake job done, the truck stops excellent for a few days, but then it is back the same old soft pedal. I gave up trying to fix it.