Pulls left occasionally when brakes are applied
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 319
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From: near mm217 off I-70 in MO
Pulls left occasionally when brakes are applied
Occasionally when I apply the brakes on my X the steering wheel will initially pull a bit to the left. It has new rotors and pads and an alignment with the tires 15k ago. I just cleaned the slide pins last weekend and torqued the lug nuts.
I do not know if it has done this since tire replacement as I have just acquired the X. It doesn't pull too bad, just enough to be a pain in the butt. The tires show no odd signs of uneven wear.
I talked to a dealer today and in his experience this is a characteristic of the Excursion.
Any ideas of what I could check to try to eliminate the problem?
I do not know if it has done this since tire replacement as I have just acquired the X. It doesn't pull too bad, just enough to be a pain in the butt. The tires show no odd signs of uneven wear.
I talked to a dealer today and in his experience this is a characteristic of the Excursion.
Any ideas of what I could check to try to eliminate the problem?
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 12,782
Likes: 2,142
From: N.GA Mountains
Wow. I hope you don't take anything that dealer says seriously... 
What an idiotic thing to say! 
If the slide pins are lubed and the rotors were properly cleaned - you likely have a sticking caliper. It is usually the opposite caliper from the way it pulls - IOW's a left pull is often the right caliper. This is because the left one is doing all the work - but the right one may still be 'dragging', since it likely doesn't release all the way after brakes have been applied.
The simplest way to check this is with an IR thermometer after normal driving/braking. Both rotors/etc should be about the same temp.
Btw, the REAR brakes can also produce a significant pull on these trucks - so be sure those calipers/slide pins/pads/etc are in good working order!
I usually do calipers in pairs and recently did those on my Excursion. I recommend 'gravity bleeding' 98% of the air out and placing a block of wood under the brake pedal for '2-man bleeding' the rest. Ya don't wanna push master cyl. piston beyond its normal range of travel...
What an idiotic thing to say! If the slide pins are lubed and the rotors were properly cleaned - you likely have a sticking caliper. It is usually the opposite caliper from the way it pulls - IOW's a left pull is often the right caliper. This is because the left one is doing all the work - but the right one may still be 'dragging', since it likely doesn't release all the way after brakes have been applied.
The simplest way to check this is with an IR thermometer after normal driving/braking. Both rotors/etc should be about the same temp.
Btw, the REAR brakes can also produce a significant pull on these trucks - so be sure those calipers/slide pins/pads/etc are in good working order!
I usually do calipers in pairs and recently did those on my Excursion. I recommend 'gravity bleeding' 98% of the air out and placing a block of wood under the brake pedal for '2-man bleeding' the rest. Ya don't wanna push master cyl. piston beyond its normal range of travel...
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 319
Likes: 2
From: near mm217 off I-70 in MO
Good advice, thanks guys! I cleaned the rotors after I lubed the slide pins with degreaser thoroughly. I am going to try bleeding the lines and then test the rotor temps to see if anything is there. Starting simple........
Thanks
Thanks
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 2
From: Greensboro, NC
Just using degreaser will not remove everything - I use brake clean as it is quick and very thorough. This is certainly not characteristic of the Ex's to pull to one side when braking. You may have a sticking caliper but they typically do not do it occasionally once they start to fail - you'd have the symptom almost everytime. You may have a soft brake line problem - if they collapse, they wont handle the pressure correctly.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 319
Likes: 2
From: near mm217 off I-70 in MO
I guess that was a worded a little funny. I used a good synthetic brake grease to lube the slide pins, after the pin and the socket were cleaned of old gunk. The rotors were cleaned well, the stuff I use works similar to brake clean, quick and clean.
Brake hoses collapsing?More to check, this is great, Lots of good info here guys! Thanks a lot!
Brake hoses collapsing?More to check, this is great, Lots of good info here guys! Thanks a lot!
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 6,180
Likes: 83
From: Georgia
Replace your rubber brake lines while you are at it. They are not that expensive and it's easy to do. Sometimes they don't allow all of the pressure to release if they are 'shredding' on the inside. Usually cause one side to get hot, but not all of the time. Good luck in curing your problem.
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 210
Likes: 0
From: Long Island NY
mine did this and it turned out to be a bad hub bearing. if it pulls left jack up the right front wheel and try to move it up and down with a pry bar. A loose bearing will allow rotor movement which compresses the caliper while going down the road. then when you hit the brakes it takes an extra second for that caliper to grab the rotor and causes it to pull to the good side.
good luck
good luck
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 11,798
Likes: 14
From: Mt. Shasta California
mine did this and it turned out to be a bad hub bearing. if it pulls left jack up the right front wheel and try to move it up and down with a pry bar. A loose bearing will allow rotor movement which compresses the caliper while going down the road. then when you hit the brakes it takes an extra second for that caliper to grab the rotor and causes it to pull to the good side.
good luck
good luck
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