I just noticed today that my truck's wheels turns abruptly to the left when i hit the brakes. I notice that as i hit the breaks, my steering wheel turns left 5 - 15 degrees depending on how hard i push on the break. I'm kinda scared now cuz its gonna rain tomorrow and i'm afraid this sudden wheel movement could cause a spinout.

heres the background on the truck for the past couple of months that may have contribited to this:
1) ABS warning
2) changed pads and disc resurfaced
3) severe shaking when breaking past 40 mph

4) yesterday, my right front wheel went over a large puddle due to rain and caused my steering wheel to jerk to the right. I had to counter left pretty hard. <like hydro plaining on one side>

5) now this problem
help its getting worse!!!!

 

First, check and see if one of your new front pads lost its lining. Its rare, but this has happened before, especially if you bought them ato a discount parts store. Next, check for loose wheel bearings, or a frozen caliper. If all above is ok, it is possible that if your rotor was very hot when you hit the water puddle, the cold water could have warped your hot rotor. Good luck in your search.

Nathan

 

I once experienced a similar problem on my 1990 after a front brake job. It turned out to be a simple problem- one of my brake hoses got twisted in the process. This caused a kink in the hose which restricted the flow of the brake fluid. One side got plenty of pressure, while the other side barely got any at all.

It's a longshot, but it's a shot nonetheless. I only hope it is this simple for you.

as far as going through puddles- Nathan is right, but you must also remember that (depending on your speed) you might have gotten a bit of a hydro-planing effect.

Good luck.

Nate

1964 F-100 Custom Cab 292 V-8 3 spd
1964 F-100 292 V-8 3 spd
1990 F-150 5.8L

 

nate... i did hydro-plane a bit and i hope it didn't do what nathan suggested. the break hose i can handle, the pads and other things i can handle too, but a warped rotor... i don't know

i doubt its a warped rotor though, nates suggetion sounds closer to the problem... i'll check out that hose tomorrow.

 

Well, my philosophy is- look for the problem which is the least expensive to fix first- and then move your way up. Don't rule out Nathan's suggestions- I was offering "in addition to" and not "instead of" advice. Don't worry- even if it is a warped rotor- having it turned will often solve that problem, provided there is enough left to turn. I would definitely check the caliper, too.

Nate

1964 F-100 Custom Cab 292 V-8 3 spd
1964 F-100 292 V-8 3 spd
1990 F-150 5.8L

 

nothing cheap here. I just got my brake system shecked for free my a place called brake depot and here's the diagnosis...

1)front brake assembly ok for now. slight warpage on disk and vary little surgace left. time for new disks in the near future

2)extreme problems found on rear drum brakes
a) left drum - :shoes cracked and at its limit.
:drum assembly rusting
:cylinder<something> worn and
leaking and rusted.
:beacuse shoes are worn down
badly, drum is now to big for
brake area and is pushing shoes
to its limit giving limited
break power.
ossible culptit for wheel
movement
b) right drum -:shoes okay
:drum assembly okay but
recommends replacement like
left drum

additional to that problem the guy said to check the stearing alignment <or something> because i have an unusual problem on my hands.

Can anyone give me some more pointers because this is becomeing a serious problem, not to mention costly.

I figure this, if the left rear drum is severly damaged, more so than the right, then there must be a bigger problem behind it.

HELP! thanks everyone