Help,
Here's my problem. I have a 97 E250 club wagon van. We have had problems with this van for a long time. From tires to brakes to alignment. Well I finally decided to try to fix it. It was shaking real bad and the 2 front tires were trashed. The van has 140K miles on it. So I replaced all the linkage with new Moog parts. From the tie rods to the drag link. Then I put 2 new front tires and took it in for wheel alignment. This fixed part of my problem but not all. It does not shake any more and drives straight. I still have a little play in the steering. Someone told me to replace the steering coupler. Have not done that yet.

The problem I still have is when the van is on the road for about 5 minutes and I hit the brakes it would pull real hard to the right side. I figured it was the right claiper. So I went to the parts store and got a new one. Installed it and it quit pulling to the right but started pulling to the left side. So I went back and got a new left cailper. Installed it and now it pulls back to the right side. What is going on?? I will try to bleed the whole system to see if I have air on one side. What else could it be?? It drives straight as long as I don't hit the brake. Would the back brakes be causing this problem?? I have spent over $700 in parts and still have a problem.

Thanks,
George

 

You may have a diagonal split braking system, which means the master cylinder has 2 outlets, 1 for left front right rear, and one for right front left rear. If one of the ports on the master cylinder is blocked you may have erratic braking issues. Rebuild the master cylinder and check the proportioning valves in line with the brakes as well. Bleeding is also a good place to start (the truck!!!).

 

Last night I spent a couple of hours working the van. I bleed all 4 wheels starting from the farest to the closest wheel to the m/c.

I took it out for a test drive and it did the same thing. So I thought maybe the ABS has something to do with it so I disconnected the the 2 front ABS sensors. Nothing changed. I really don't understand what is going on. On my test drive I would get up to 50 mph then hit the brake pretty hard and it would pull to the right. I did that about 5 times and it pulled right. Then all of a sudden it quit. I would hit the brakes and it would stay straight for about 4-6 times in a row. After that then it started pulling to the left for 4-6 times in a row. I don't know what is going on. When I mean pulling hard I mean the steering wheel will turn about 180* with out me touching it. What else could be causing this?? Could it be the master cyl. or the prop valve? I didn't think prop valves went bad.

It is not the tires cause I just put 2 new on the front. It is not the wheel alingment cause it goes straight untill you hit the brakes. It is not the road cause I did all my test driving on the same road. It is not the ABS cause I removed the sensors. It is not the steering linkage cause all that has been replaced. What else is there that would cause this problem.

Thanks,
George