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I moved this post over from a thread addressing Ford van pulling to one side. My van started pulling to the left. It is the first time. I drove it 7,000 miles a couple of years ago. I take it to Ford regularly for their oil change, tire rotation, etc. The van has not been used much this year. I added three 55 lb solar panels on top recently and a 67 lb mini split air conditioner - heater on the left rear bumper this past Summer Have I added too much weight to the van? The panels are equally distributed but the mini split is definitely on the rear left bumper. The van is also equipped with a brake to brake towed trailers, etc. I don't know if the brake is stuck or what I haven't driven it this loaded down which makes me think the vehicle is too heavy. If I should drive it, it will be to a mechanic or the truck stop where they have truck scale. Maybe I can weight the front end and the back end on the scales. The van has been treated very well maintenance-wise by the first owner and now me. I don't know if they did anything to the brakes. I'm sure Ford checked the brakes.
Without knowing what you are carrying inside the van, there is no way for anyone to answer your question about weight. I have half as many solar panels on my roof along with a Thule cargo box carrying 120 lbs including the racks. We travel with a 62-liter freezer inside the van using 3 heavy "house" batteries. I put on over 10k miles last summer fully loaded. Never weighed it. 4 passengers. All our camping gear and toys. It's a 5.4-liter extended E350 van and we barely felt the weight even crossing large mountain passes. The dry weight on my van is HEAVY. Add fuel, passengers, gear, etc and I am sure we weigh over 9500 lbs. These vans are made to work.
Check your suspension system...shocks, tie rods, ball joints, and leaf springs. Get an alignment.
IMHO too much weight is the point at which the brakes and/or suspension are overwhelmed. If you can stop confidently and the suspension isn’t bottoming through every bump and dip then you’re likely fine despite what capacity tables say. Monitor transmission temp if you think you’re running heavy particularly if you face long climbs. I observe tire load ratings which I assume are static ratings.
Is the van pulling all the time or just during braking?
Pulling all the time is either wheel misalignment or the left front brake is stuck on, if it only pulls when using the brakes the right front caliper is siezed
This same guy tacked this same question onto a long dormant thread and I replied:
Rather than replying or adding to a thread that have been dormant for almost 5 years this would be a topic better suited for its own thread. You've also left out a lot of details such as does it pull left constantly or only when the brakes are applied? What work or maintenance on the brake system has been performed and how long ago? Who did that work, have you contacted them? Brake system bled, flexible brake lines checked for collapsed passages?
You might also want to find the total weight of your van as now loaded---find a big truck scale so the front and rear axles can be measured.
I don't see any of those questions answered so far.
Estimating the weight I've added to the van, the van has a steel frame for a queen-sized bed with room below for a Samlex 24V inverter-charger (60lbs), (16) Lithium Iron Phosphate cells (192lbs not yet in van) mounted in two heavy steel boxes (40lbs not yet in van) and some other electric/ electronic equipment like an Epever 40A solar charge controller, a 12V DC fuse block, 110V AC outlet, various wires and fuses (15lbs), a Costway 12V, 44 QT refrigerator (30lbs), and the indoor evaporator unit for the mini split (20lbs), and queen-sized mattress. Over 400lbs inside the van (distributed evenly) though most of that is not yet inside the van.
So as not to cause more damage I have not driven the van since it started dragging. I did not notice if it drags when braking. It definitely drags when driving, the first time driving it after installation of the mini split. The left rear panel is 14" off the pavement; the right rear panel is about 15 inches off the pavement, using a tape measure. The van definitely did not drag before we mounted the Mini Split on the left rear bumper. I need to call the truck stop to see if I can weigh the van on their scales. I need to check tire pressure and maybe top off the rear tires. The van came equipped with a brake to connect to whatever you're towing. Not really sure how that device works or if it is engaged. Thanks for the suggestions and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks again.
The Mini Split base and two brackets are excessively heavy and might be partially cut and replaced with lighter material; the angle iron and plate steel might be replaced with aluminum. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Last edited by guidecca; Jan 11, 2023 at 11:07 AM.
Reason: typo
Maybe I should focus more on either a defect in brakes or suspension maybe caused by putting weight on one side of the rear bumper. There is more than one inch of difference between the rear left and the rear right of the rear bumper or the rear panels. Another suspect is the trailer brake which I have no knowledge of or experience with. I will post a picture of it and look through the van papers for the make.
A trailer brake controller synchronizes the brakes on an attached trailer with those on the tow vehicle, but when there is no trailer attached it doesn't do anything and it does not have any effect on the vehicles brake system. You likely have a brake issue but it's occurrence is merely conincidental to other events, to find out what the problem is you need to start inspecting the brakes.
Well after reading the thread and the link the OP privided to his other thread,, I can't see him as overloaded, assuming all suspension is good and after making his statement about rebuilding the calipers and then noticing dragging, wee, we can all pretty much guess it's the calipers. I myself have rebuilt calipers on my Fords, it's a 50/50 shot as to if they stay reliable, so I just started buying new calipers especially with my 03 F350, I've gone through 2 right rear calipers because they hang up from corrosion and crap.
I think it's a 50/50 shot if you buy rebuilt calipers form the parts stores as I have had to replace mine 2 times now under warranty.
As to estimating weight, find some scales.. I couldn't quite believe that just the floor and low raised roof added nearly 1000 lbs to my van.
Sometimes the flexible rubber hose to the caliper swells over time and acts as a check valve allowing hydraulic pressure to the caliper but not letting it release. If you are going through calipers faster than you think you should then try replacing the hose.
It took me awhile to decide whether to drive it and where to take it for the brake work. The left rear tire under the Mini Split was at 21 psi; both rear tires were low and the front tires were about right. It pulled to the left on the way to the shop and the front left wheel was very hot; the rotor and brake pad were locked closed.
Mechanic said, "Well the front left brake rotor was bright red/orange from over heating. In return it causing your brake pads to crystallize and become hard and cause a noise. Now we use ceramic brake pads with a lifetime warranty on pads. Hose broke down inside acting as a one way valve which caused the caliper to lock up n get hot. Could be caused due to age or old brake fluid."
and
"But for your brakes. You will need brake pads, rotors, bearings, seals. calipers and hoses. Unfortunately its not a cheap job or easy on the pocket. I'm looking at $1700 for brake work alone. Now if you wanted to you could do one side of the hose and caliper to save on money but due to age and how items wear out i wouldn't recommend for your safety."
The price seems a little high but I'm not doing the work and wouldn't know how to fix it anyway. I'm just glad the brakes are getting repaired. So, that is the current status. Is that price in the ball park?
Last edited by guidecca; Jan 20, 2023 at 11:25 AM.
Reason: typo
WOW.....I should have been a mechanic....LOLOL. In my younger days I had a choice, of Mechanics school, HVAC, or computers...Sadly I picked computers because I was tired of busting my hump everyday in the concrete world. $1700 for compete front job plus bearings. is a little high, but if the price includes the rear and bearings then I'd say it was a fair price.
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