Steering question
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Steering question
I have a '78 F150 4x4 and my steering is a little off...to drive striaght on pavement i have to turn the wheel to the left a ways and then it goes straight. When braking though it pulls hard to the left under heavy braking. In my other cars when the steering is off it never pulled when i would brake. I am in college so this doesnt move much but it is starting to get warm in Iowa so I am wanting to get out and work on it. Is there anything I can do in a parking lot to fix this?
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From: SD
Sounds like you have two problems. Tackle the braking first, the crooked steering wheel may be a result of the brakes. To make it pull left you most likely have a right brake not working or a left brake working too much. Get it on gravel and brake hard, take note of which tire slides and inspect the brakes there. Could be a rusted caliper, or gear oil leaking onto the shoes - won't know until you check it out. Post back what you find.
Marty
Marty
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I had a 74 with a similar brake problem. Hard braking would send it in the ditch. Turns out I had a hole in one of the brake lines. Changed it out and it worked fine. You may not notice it leaking--I didn't.
It's been a while, but I either jacked up one wheel at a time and had someone press on the brake and check to see if it was working on that wheel or I was fortunate enough to hear the air rushing out of the line when the brake was pressed (honestly can't remember). Just a suggestion. The other problem may not be related.
It's been a while, but I either jacked up one wheel at a time and had someone press on the brake and check to see if it was working on that wheel or I was fortunate enough to hear the air rushing out of the line when the brake was pressed (honestly can't remember). Just a suggestion. The other problem may not be related.
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My original thought was that i had a severly worn down pad on the right side and the lack of braking on that side would cause it to pull. I know its not my rear brakes because the lines on the back has a hole and all the fluid is gone from there. I guess I will go out there with a jack and find out what I can.
It could also be a stuck cailper since the rear brakes werent anything to be proud of when i rebuild the rear axle this summer.
I was also driving on gravel a few weekends ago and it was just squirelly as hell but i just assumed it was from the steering correction.
Thanks
It could also be a stuck cailper since the rear brakes werent anything to be proud of when i rebuild the rear axle this summer.
I was also driving on gravel a few weekends ago and it was just squirelly as hell but i just assumed it was from the steering correction.
Thanks
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Mine was pulling hard to the right. I think the bad line was the driver's side flexible one. It had a hole in it, but was not leaking fluid. Check your passenger side front brakes first (especially since you know the rear ones probably aren't working). Look for wear and or holes in the flexible part first. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
I remember changing the driver's side rear because my girlfriend (now wife) told me that looked easy enough for her to fix--so I let her. The metal brake line was too long, so she bent it in the shape of a "S". Somewhere out there there's a 74 F100 4x4 with a sine wave for a brake line.
I remember changing the driver's side rear because my girlfriend (now wife) told me that looked easy enough for her to fix--so I let her. The metal brake line was too long, so she bent it in the shape of a "S". Somewhere out there there's a 74 F100 4x4 with a sine wave for a brake line.
