So my brakes have started pulling to the passenger's side lately. I figured it was sticking slide pins so I got the updated ones and proceeded to take my front brakes apart. It turned out the slide pins were still well-lubricated and sliding freely. The caliper pistons were not stuck in their bores. So I figure I need to bleed the brakes. That is when I discover the driver's side bleeder nipple had its top snapped off by one of the previous owners. So now I will have to go drill out the old nipple and put a new one in.

In case I have forgotten anything, can anyone tell me if I am on the right track to fixing my brakes?

 

I doubt the brakes having air in them would make them pull, but the caliper with the broken bleeder screw needs to be fixed so you might as well do that and then go from there.

 

calipers are not bad price wise.Replace it rather than spending many hours on a temp. fix.

 

My truck is doing the same thing still!! Back in august I decided to change the front pads and rotors to eliminate the problem and found the pins in both calipers were siezed. I wanted to do the job right so I purchased 2 rebuilt calipers from my local NAPA dealer because they came with new pins and hanger brackets, and monroe pads and wagner rotors. After every thing was reinstalled and the calipers flushed with new brake fluid, the brakes still pulled to the right but not as bad as before. So I talked to the guys here at FTE and some one suggested changing the left brake hose. So back to NAPA to get brake hoses. yes 2 hoses. If one is bad who knows what the other one is like. Changed the hoses reflushed the calipers and guess what?? Still pulling!!! After all of this work I get mad and figure I`ll just drive it the way it is. So now its November and I`ve put 8000 klms on the brakes and the pulling has stopped. One guy at my work thinks that one pad may of had more material on it than the rest and has since worn down with use. I also regret buying Monroe brake pads because they leave alot brake dust on my rims. I have to clean them every 2 weeks. I sure hope you have better luck than me.

 

a simple test.....after driving your truck, if you walk around and feel each wheel, is one warmer than the rest? If it is thats the wheel with a malfunctioning caliper. The wheels should be cool to the touch and no heat should be radiating from the rotors. If more than one is warm more than one is toast. If its slow to grab its slow to release as well.

 

Another thing you can try... it might sound crazy but a mechanic told me that if you ever get a pull like that you can switch the pads from the driverside to the passengerside. I didn't believe it till I tried it and it took care of my problem.

 

Air in only one side could cause a pull. Air compresses, brake fluid does not, so the side with air in the line will actually receive less force to the caliper than the other side. Properly bleeding the brakes is the first thing I would do when trying to fix a pull to one side.

Double check that the pistons in the calipers aren't frozen. I've had some that would push out under pressure, but not go back in, causing brake drag. However, there were no leaks or external signs of it malfunctioning at all, other than a rotor that was excessively hot.

If it's not calipers, lines, pads, slide pins, or rotors, there are a couple other things it still could be. One being the master cylinder. IIRC, it has separate lines coming out of it for each of the front cylinders. If one of those lines or something in the bore got damaged, it could be limiting the pressure it sends to a particular side.

Check to make sure your caliper mounting brackets aren't damaged, are mounted solidly, and are straight. If one of those is bent, it's going to hold the caliper at an angle, causing brake drag.

One last thing to look at would be your front end suspension pieces...ball joints, tie rod ends, drag links, etc... If a suspension piece is worn, it could let the toe-in change ever so slightly while under braking, resulting in a pull to one side.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I did the drive around and confirmed the brakes aren't dragging when not applied (i.e. no heat). I checked the carrier too and they are on there tight. I will check the caliper pistons again when I have the brakes apart again tomorrow. Finally, I have decided to assemble some teflon brake lines to replace the original brake lines since I have parts laying around. Once all that is done, I will report back. Thanks again fellas!

 

My serpentine belt broke in the summer of 2007,(bad idler). The belt cut one of the tranny cooling lines. Ever since, it has pulled slightly to the left. I figure trans. fluid got on at least one pad on that side. It's not bad enough for me to replace the pads though. If you have had any fluids come into contact with the pads, this could be your problem, and yes, even if the fluid is from your hands during a pad change. Just some thoughts... GOOD LUCK!

 

Let us know what you find out, mine has been doing the same thing for the past 6 months, just replaced my wheel bearing since that was bad, figured that would cure it-WRONG! Something else is amiss, I am thinking caliper...If it pulls to the right, is it the LH caliper?

 

Could be a problem on the opposite side of the pull. Pulling to left may mean not enough bake force on the right, and vise versa.
Don't concentrate on the side it pulls to.

 

What temporary fix? If the bleeder screw is removed and replaced, it sounds pretty permanant to me, or do you routinely replace your bleeder screws?

I do agree that I would just replace the caliper, another permanant fix.


Ron

 

Okay, I finally licked it. The calipers got replaced with reman'd ones as some of you suggested. Drilling the seized bleeder screw out of the old caliper seemed like more trouble than it was worth. The brake lines were assembled by yours truly. The truck now brakes nice and straight. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

 

Glad to hear you got it fixed. What did the calipers end up costing you (I am going to try the same thing). Did you get new pads as well? The brake lines look sweet!!

 

The calipers cost me ~$55 + core each from O'Reilly Auto Parts. I did not bother with new pads since my current ones still have a lot of life left in them. Assembling those brake lines was the most pleasant part of the job. Everything else on that truck was covered in crud.