Just did the GA/Beretta brake upgrade in the front with the GA rotor/Seville caliper upgrade in the rear with the Blazer MC. I now have a persistent brake pull to the right. It pulls when the brakes are first applied, and then it tracks straight. I feel it in the steering wheel. My assumption is a bad left caliper or brake hose. Any way to narrow it down further? I have already bled the brakes multiple times, both with a vacuum pump and with a helper inside.
original rubber lines? If so, loosen the metal crimped bracket that goes around the hose. This will rust, swell and cut off fluid to the caliper. If you are getting good fluid flow through bleeding, then check caliper for binding and also check the slides after they are bolted down. I had a caliper that once bolted down, it would lock tight and not slide. I had to shim the mounting surface to solve.
I checked suspension and everything is tight, all of the parts have been replaced within the past few years. Wheel bearings were loose but I tightened them up, still pulls. Replaced the brake hose on the driver's side, no difference.
According to the FSM, the master cylinder has one circuit for both front brakes and a separate one for the rear brakes, so it seems unlikely to impossible that it could be related to the master cylinder.
I'll check to see if the caliper is working freely, otherwise i'll try exchanging it out. It's just odd that the car will pull just at first and then track straight. I've never had a "weak" caliper before.
[This message has been edited by masospaghetti (edited 08-14-2015).]
Check to make sure your slides are working properly on the caliper. Also, you may have a shifting suspension when applying brakes, but you are not seeing it during an inspection. The issue could be in the back also and you are compensating by turning the steering wheel.
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Originally posted by masospaghetti:
I checked suspension and everything is tight, all of the parts have been replaced within the past few years. Wheel bearings were loose but I tightened them up, still pulls. Replaced the brake hose on the driver's side, no difference.
According to the FSM, the master cylinder has one circuit for both front brakes and a separate one for the rear brakes, so it seems unlikely to impossible that it could be related to the master cylinder.
I'll check to see if the caliper is working freely, otherwise i'll try exchanging it out. It's just odd that the car will pull just at first and then track straight. I've never had a "weak" caliper before.
Sounds like you may have pads not releasing fully on the right front wheel. If you haven't solved it already take a 2 or 3 mile drive. Stop and get out and hold the back of your hand close to the right wheel near caliper. Then go to the driver side and do the same. If there is a big difference in temp then the pads on the hotter side are not releasing properly.
Check for stuck pistons, slide pins, etc.
You could use your palm but the back of the hand seems more sensitive at least in my case.
An "ample" nose in close proximity of the caliper / rotor can also achieve similar results.
Spoon
------------------ "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut
I have had calipers right out of the box have oversize slider pin bores. The caliper will rock a bit even though the slider bolts are tight. This will also cause the brakes to pull and then track straight.
I've been focusing on the driver's side and have replaced the brake hose and caliper, and rebled the system. Still the same. I will check out the passenger side. If the passenger side caliper is sticking, wouldn't the car always pull to the right?
I've been focusing on the driver's side and have replaced the brake hose and caliper, and rebled the system. Still the same. I will check out the passenger side. If the passenger side caliper is sticking, wouldn't the car always pull to the right?
Sticking just enough to let go slower than the driver side maybe.
I have had calipers right out of the box have oversize slider pin bores. The caliper will rock a bit even though the slider bolts are tight. This will also cause the brakes to pull and then track straight.
Which caliper would cause the car to pull to the right?
Always do ANY brake stuff in axle pairs. Both sides...brake pads, calipers, hoses. Anything not completely equal will cause a pull. The other answers above all apply too. If both sides are equal and you still have a pull, one side has a defective part.
That's why i'm stumped. A pull to the right indicates a problem in the driver's side brake system. I feel it sharply in the steering wheel which makes me think its in the front, not the rear. I already replaced the driver's side caliper and brake hose. There's nothing else to replace. The master cyl is split front to rear, not side to side, so it couldn't be the master cyl.
I continue to investigate. I see that the passenger side brake pad is not wearing evenly. Maybe this is the lead I need.
If you replaced the drivers side anything, you needed to also replace the same components on the passenger side...with the same brand parts. You cant fix one side and not the other and expect it to end up the same. That would be like doing a valve job on one head and not the other. The engine would more than likely run like crap.
Roger, I only replaced the left side because the car was pulling to the right, which indicates a weak left system. Also, the right caliper was only a couple months old, and the right hose was replaced within the past few years.
Not sure yet if this is THE problem, but I certainly found A problem - FYI for all you Fiero owners: The snap ring that holds the steering pinion into the rack had come loose. I think when the suspension became loaded up, it would cause the pinion to slide in and out of the steering rack, causing the steering wheel movement on initial braking.
It was easily tested with the rack in the car. A screw driver between the lower pinch joint and the frame and it was obvious the pinion was floating in there.
It seems that the snap ring was installed upside down. One side is flat, the other is rounded. If its installed upside down it will not lock into the groove. This is my own fault, as I was the last person to take apart the rack. I'll have it together within the next day or so to confirm my fix.
Not sure yet if this is THE problem, but I certainly found A problem - FYI for all you Fiero owners: The snap ring that holds the steering pinion into the rack had come loose. I think when the suspension became loaded up, it would cause the pinion to slide in and out of the steering rack, causing the steering wheel movement on initial braking.
It was easily tested with the rack in the car. A screw driver between the lower pinch joint and the frame and it was obvious the pinion was floating in there.
It seems that the snap ring was installed upside down. One side is flat, the other is rounded. If its installed upside down it will not lock into the groove. This is my own fault, as I was the last person to take apart the rack. I'll have it together within the next day or so to confirm my fix.
Anyone have a picture of this area where the movement occurred? Working on a car with the same symptom, but haven't ever worked on a rack.
