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braking to the right

D

Derek

Donation Time
I have an issue that when I stab at the brakes the car pulls to the right, the steering wheel moves about 10 degrees and the car lurches right. If I apply the brakes in a smoother, but still forcefull manner this does not happen. Also when I correct the steering input and hit the brakes again it does not happen. All of the suspension is new, the steering cross tube is new, the car tracks straight, even after the mentioned pull to the right, the alignment is in spec, the tires are new, I've bled the brakes..well you get the picture. Do I tear open the brake system? do I keep bleeding the darn thing ? What have I missed ?

Thanks Derek
 
D

Derek

Donation Time
No I have not rebuilt the brakes, that is the project for this winter, its nice here in Oregon now and I had hoped not to have the car out of service...but.

I'll pull the pads and have a look. I assume that both pistons should move the same amount at the same time ?

Derek
 
sunalp

sunalp

Diamond Level Sponsor
It is possible that you still have air in the system or you've got a brake hose that doesn't allow the fluid to retract, but mostly I agree with Jeff,
you've got a stuck piston that's hanging when you abruptly apply the brakes.

Rebuild those calipers and put on new brake hoses and I'll bet your troubles will be over!

Cheers!
Steve
 
alpine_64

alpine_64

Donation Time
sunalp said:
It is possible that you still have air in the system or you've got a brake hose that doesn't allow the fluid to retract, but mostly I agree with Jeff,
you've got a stuck piston that's hanging when you abruptly apply the brakes.

Rebuild those calipers and put on new brake hoses and I'll bet your troubles will be over!

Cheers!
Steve
Click to expand...

The first thing i thought of is the brake hose to that side.. i ahve had that happen on 2 cars.. will pull to 1 side on firmer braking.. and sometimes it sticks on a little after the car has stopeed. tapping the brake releases it.. i am thinking internaly perished hose.
 
D

Derek

Donation Time
I just checked the left caliper, both pistons move but its hard to tell if they are moving very freely. Looks like I'll just have to suck-it-up and do the brakes earlier than planned, as I don't want a unplanned jump into a ditch.

Thanks Derek
 
RootesRich

RootesRich

Donation Time
Most of the time the cause is a sticking piston or the brake hose. However, mine pulled to the right similar in circumstances to your description and with new calipers and hoses installed. I finally found that the cause was the right wheel bearing retaining nut was out of spec. After adjusting per the WSM, my pulling disappeared.
Pulling can also occur when the bushes in the steering cross member become very worn, say after 40+ years of use, but you state your cross member is new.
 
T

Tom H

Platinum Level Sponsor
I'd be betting on the hose being bad. Before you tear into the calipers replace the hoses. Unless you have replaced them and you think they might be old, they are highly likely to be bad and will likely need replacing anyhow. It's an easy step.

Tom
 
D

Derek

Donation Time
I'll give the hoses a try, as you say not too comlicated to just give it a shot. I have a rebuild brake booster that I want to put back, thats why I put off the brakes a bit, but I want to get rid of this issue before adding anything new to the mix. If the lines don't cure the problem how hard is it to rebuild the calipers? I've seen text that says don't split them and I've seen those on the forum that say go ahead it's easier to rebuild them. Pro ? Con ?

Thanks for the ideas

Derek
 
sunalp

sunalp

Diamond Level Sponsor
Rebuilding calipers is fairly straightforward. I can't see how you could rebuild hem without splitting them, just try & get the pistons out before you split.
Make sure when you do that you get the rubber O ring & put it in a safe place and remember to put it back in.

Buy new pistons, because if yours are hanging up, most likely there's corrosion in there. Buy a rebuild kit from either CS or SS and make sure you use some caliper grease in the dust shield.

All in all, not a terrible job and a good job to do for peace of mind.
Cheers!
Steve
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
In my view, home rebuilds consist of little more than cleaning up the bore, removing as much rust as possible from the seal seats and cleaning up the pistons as much as possible. It is possible to do all that reasonably well with the calipers in one piece. It takes some doing, along with well crumpled sandpaper, cramped fingers and a variety of improvised scraping tools. Maybe throw in a scraped knuckle or two. I would go so far as to say if the bores cannot be satisfactoryly cleaned in this fashion, they are candidates for a professional rebuild, perhaps even the scrap bin as the bore tolerance is pretty small.

Bill
 
T

Tom H

Platinum Level Sponsor
So Derek, How's it going? Did you solve your pulling problem? If so, what fixed it?

Tom
 
D

Derek

Donation Time
Tom, I've had guests from Mexico this week and have had no time to work on the car. I did bleed the left caliper and got a bit of an imrovement so I think that hoses and a rebuild will get things done, I hope to tackle this next week .

I'll keep you posted as this seems to be a problem that pops up quite a bit

Derek
 
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