caliper pull or alignment?

[Pheonixx77]

here's the problem...
truck pulls to the left when stoppng..
What i have recently done..
ALL FRONT bushings poly, rad arm, end links, sway bars etc...
bled brakes, replaced old crap with valvoline synpower synthetic.
truck still pulls to the left when braking, i am thinking calper locking up...however seeing as what i have replaced up front could this be related to caster/camber-toe in toe-out problems? i got to thinkng that if algnment is off and truck wheels look like this (not ths bad) / \ or lke this \ / that might make the truck pull to the left or right. i cannot visually see any caster camber problems and alignment sleeves look ok to me, but i am no ASE certified mechanic...

 

[Robb]

I vote alignment.

Wouldn't be the caliper if pulling only under braking.

 

[twomedicine]

Brake pulling

Other than an alignment problem, wouldn't oil contaminated pads on one side only have similar symptoms?

And, I had a caliper freeze (braking) once on a car, and luckily I smelled the brake or burning clutch type smell and stopped before I really damaged the whole wheel.

 

[Robb]

Forgive me, I replied while "assuming." I figured you were speaking of a caliper locking closed (braking). For some reason, it didn't hit my head that you may mean locking open (not braking).

In that case, a bad caliper very well could be your problem, especially if the truck rides perfectly straight when not braking. You may want to take off the wheels and see if there is anything obvious in the braking system. You can also lift the front end and have someone put slight pressure on the brake pedal, then try to spin each of the front tires. See if there seems to be a friction difference between the two sides.

 

[Pheonixx77]

well heres what makes me think calipers...one day while driving the truck shook like all hell. i stopped and smelled something burning, the rim was hotter than an exaust pipe would be after a drag race. yet the problem has gone away and NOT returned. i would almost think the right sde is not grabbing or something, or maybe the left is grabbong too much, how could this be? however the pads are wearng evenly on both sides and the rotors show pretty much normal wear.

 

[twomedicine]

Maybe that caliper piston froze in the brake position (then didn't release) and you did keep on going and that's also when you heated up the wheel rim. But the rotor wore the pads down enough that now it does't rub but you also do not get any braking on that side/

Or if you are getting action out of that caliper now, the rotor is glazed and the pads are polished so the friction necessary for proper braking cannot be obtained on that axle//

One other idea...did any of the bearing grease melt out because of your overheating and onto the brake pads. Or lose any brake fluid onto the pads?

 

[Opera House]

I replaced my calipers on my 92

two years ago when the boot started cracking from overheating. Was shocked to find they were only $12 each exchange at Autozone. That isn't worth thinking about!

 

[Pheonixx77]

well i drive the truck everyday, and it seems to brake fine except for the pulling thing...i know the calipers are cheap and i am probibaly gonna do t this week i was wonderng if the alignment this was part of the problem.
the rotors are new(well 6 mos ago) do you think i should replace drivers side again? or have it turned? the pads dont look glazed..how can i tell for sure?

 

[nserafini]

Yes, have someone hit the brakes w/ the X on jacks, and see if there is difference in turning the wheels ...

I have to go caliper on this one ... I if the rim is REALLY HOT, you have some type of friction ( a piston that won't release ) ...

 

[SteveVB]

Well I would say a few things.

One the brake fluid may be contaminated or have air in it if the caliper got that hot. You may have boiled the fluid and not have bled it all out. Flush the system with new fluid.
The brake hoses may have been damaged by the heat I would replace them, along with the calipers. Loaded calipers are the way to do a brake job- nothing really to worry about since everything gets replaced.

Wouldnt hurt to have the surfaces of the discs done

Also are the rear brakes adjusted correctly? Bled? What shape are they in?

 

[Pheonixx77]

ok as far as bleeding...believe me its flushed, i used a CLEAR brake fluid for new and the old was some funky brownsh black...there is NO brown left. i used to big bottles of fluid. i flled 3 20oz coke bottles and half of an empty big brake fluid bottle, there is NO air in lines. however i cannot say about before i bled the brakes, thats when the lockup thing happened

 

[Opera House]

Anytime you remove the brakes

It is a good idea to do a light scuffing of the rotor surface with some sand paper. You can also do this with the brake pads to take the high ridges out. Even if you blead the brakes often the calipers still fill up with sediment and start to stick.

 

[Pheonixx77]

well heres what i did, i replaced Driver's side caliper, pass looked ok. new pads wearever gold. only reason i did pads was cause the drivers inner pad was not much thicker than a paperclp. i figured new pads were cheap since i had a 15$ core on the caliper. after the core discount thing the pads were 10$. sort of, i know i paid full price over all but it feels better to say i saved a few $$, havent test drove yet but i am quite sure it will work fine since driver's caliper was toast. the piston was locked and the pston gasket was...well uhh gone, but there was oddly no sign of brake fluid loss.

 

[Pheonixx77]

UPDATE: test drive all was well, ecxept there must have been some air in lines, i bled D side again all is good now...incase anyone else has this problem this is how i fixed it...