Braking Problem
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Senior User
Joined: May 2005
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Braking Problem
What could cause the truck to pull to the right when applying moderate amounts of pedal? I had Sears do a fluid exchange which they supposedly changed all the fluid out but the pedal was still soft. I brought it back in and they bleed the brakes and pulled a bunch of air out of the left side.....my question is why the hell are they still getting air? I have no visable leaks of fluid anywhere. The pulling to the right is now worse now so I'm not sure if there is a problem with the truck by mechanical means or by human means.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
Your first mistake was bringing the truck to Sears. Find a local, reputable shop if you want someone else to do the work for you. There are horror stories out there about Sears auto "mechanics".
It sounds like you still have air in the lines. My guess is that they didn't bleed it properly.
When you say that you have no visible fluid leaks, did you pull the wheels and drums off and thoroughly inspect everything? Did you look inside the wheel cylinders and around the calipers for fluid?
It sounds like you still have air in the lines. My guess is that they didn't bleed it properly.
When you say that you have no visible fluid leaks, did you pull the wheels and drums off and thoroughly inspect everything? Did you look inside the wheel cylinders and around the calipers for fluid?
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,781
Likes: 1
From: Central NY
I would suggest you spend $35ish and get a vacuum brake bleeder and do it yourself.
You'll need to start at the Right rear, then left rear, then right front, and then left front. I did mine last year, installed ceramic pads (they'e great btw) and have never had such good pedal! It takes less than an hour to do them all.
Cheers,
Tim
You'll need to start at the Right rear, then left rear, then right front, and then left front. I did mine last year, installed ceramic pads (they'e great btw) and have never had such good pedal! It takes less than an hour to do them all.
Cheers,
Tim
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Senior User
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Originally Posted by Popa Tim
I would suggest you spend $35ish and get a vacuum brake bleeder and do it yourself.
You'll need to start at the Right rear, then left rear, then right front, and then left front. I did mine last year, installed ceramic pads (they'e great btw) and have never had such good pedal! It takes less than an hour to do them all.
Cheers,
Tim
You'll need to start at the Right rear, then left rear, then right front, and then left front. I did mine last year, installed ceramic pads (they'e great btw) and have never had such good pedal! It takes less than an hour to do them all.
Cheers,
Tim
Can you recommend a good vacuum brake bleeder? I'm going to go through the brakes completely and check everything tomorrow to be 100% sure there is no leaks. I'm also going to pull some of the fluid out to make sure they really did change the fluid in the lines instead of just the master cylinder.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 299
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From: central valley California
Mity-Vac is the one I use and enclosed in this posting is a link to a web site that describes how to use it.. I picked mine up for about 30 and it came in a nice case
http://www.xs11.com/tips/maintenance/maint6.shtml
http://www.xs11.com/tips/maintenance/maint6.shtml
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 371
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From: Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Hey Popa Tim - I like a good paddling too! - Oh, Wait, you said good pedal - Sorry about that (sheepish grin).
I would certainly recommend that you buy the Might-Vac or a similar style of one person bleeding tool and try doing the job yourself, as Popa suggested, from the right rear, left rear, right front and finally the left front. Take your time and make certain that you pull ALL the wheels and check for leaking lines, slave cylinders and calipers. I had to replace the calipers on my old girl becasue of a hard "pull to the right" problem that was especially unsettling on icy and snow packed streets. Changing the calipers eased the problem substantially although it seems to be coming back a bit. The calipers are very reasonably priced and the core $$$ that you get back is almost as much as the charge for the rebuilt calipers.
Good luck with your brake work and post back to let us know how it went!
Cheers!
Mike
I would certainly recommend that you buy the Might-Vac or a similar style of one person bleeding tool and try doing the job yourself, as Popa suggested, from the right rear, left rear, right front and finally the left front. Take your time and make certain that you pull ALL the wheels and check for leaking lines, slave cylinders and calipers. I had to replace the calipers on my old girl becasue of a hard "pull to the right" problem that was especially unsettling on icy and snow packed streets. Changing the calipers eased the problem substantially although it seems to be coming back a bit. The calipers are very reasonably priced and the core $$$ that you get back is almost as much as the charge for the rebuilt calipers.
Good luck with your brake work and post back to let us know how it went!
Cheers!
Mike
