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under hard braking?

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Old Feb 16, 2011 | 01:57 PM
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From: on the garage floor. lol!
under hard braking?

whats up guys i need help............today on my way to work i had too suddenly brake hard and the steering started to pull left and right and i couldn't keep it straight. i ended up a little over the line in the left lane. i thought oh sh-t here we go an accident just waiting to happen. i was thinking the steering box or the steering components: tie rod ends, drag link, pitman arm or both. can anyone shed light on this problem. ............thanks for the help...........
 
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Old Feb 16, 2011 | 02:19 PM
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Can you tell if you we're steered there or dragged there when you hit the brakes hard. It could be that your brakes are out of adjustment, or bad shocks or excess steering play. Might be hard to narrow down without checking things out. Try to duplicate the experiance on a deserted road and see if you can narrow it down. Could have been road conditions too.
 
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Old Feb 16, 2011 | 02:42 PM
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it felt like as soon as i hit the brakes it just went to the left and right at least 4 or 5 times. my shocks are about 3 yrs old. i know that the steering components are original. would an adjustment on the steering box screw help things or not. i looked up my steering box model and its a saginaw. only 2 bolts on the top cover. i will look at it or take it too a alignment shop and see what happens. i will try to duplicate it and see what happens on a smooth flat surface. thanks for the feed back.
 
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Old Feb 16, 2011 | 02:57 PM
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Adjusting the screw on the steering box would be the last thing I would try. Good luck, and be careful.
 
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Old Feb 16, 2011 | 06:38 PM
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I heard of badly worn out Radius arm bushings causing similar things... might be worth checking their condition while your checking other things.
 
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Old Feb 17, 2011 | 02:41 PM
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hey whats up guys......i just returned from the alignment shop and all was good. i was informed that it was probably the calipers so i took it off and looked at it and found out that i have the phenolic (plastic) pistons. i called a local brake shop and was told that the plastic pistons swell up from soaking up the brake fluid and that was probably the reason for the jerking of the wheel from left to right. i need to get the calipers with the steel pistons. anybody know of a place to look for these items. the stores around here ain't got the steel pistons. any on line sites?...........thanks.....
 
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Old Feb 17, 2011 | 02:50 PM
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NAPA Online
 
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Old Feb 17, 2011 | 06:54 PM
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That sounds a little strange to me. I guess it depends on the cost and need for a brake job since this is what you should do if you are going to replace the calipers. I would think that if it was the calipers you would be pulled in one direction, not back and fourth.
 
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Old Feb 17, 2011 | 11:00 PM
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those plastic pistons wont cause your truck to pull left then right ! if they swelled up that bad then they would fall apart and you would lose your brakes ! and if by the chance that would be the problem then how come other people have not heard of it or a recall was put out ?

and if the stores dont have the steel pistons then there must not be a problem with them !
you need to go back and check all of your steering linkage and wheel bearings and ball joints !
 
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