2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 97 pulling hard to left braking

[THaslett]

We've got a 97 in the shop that is pulling to the left while braking. The left front pads were shot and rotor was cooked when it came in. Right side pads had about 1/2 lining remaining and rotor was ok. We have replaced the following during this nightmare... pads, calipers (napa), lh rotor (right is nearly new), lh wheel bearing (noisey, grease gone from overheating), brake hoses (had small abrasions in them). cleaned and adjusted rear brakes, blew out front lines with compressed air. Truck does not have a wheel spacer that is common on right side, no front end play noticed, truck drives straight when not braking. On a dirt road when slamming on the brakes, the lh frt will skid and the others will not. On a rack if we slowly depress pedal left front will lock up and all other wheels rotate freely at that same time... . restriction in the line running from the lh line to the rt wheel? Got probably 10 hrs in this pos and it is driving us nuts! Please help.

 

[kenny61]

either the caliper itself is stuck or it is stickking where it slides. I would take it off clean and grease the slides and pins. if it still sticks it is probably the caliper. on the rare occasion the rubber brake line falls apart inside and creates a one way valve

 

[MPalachuk]

It might sound dumb , But adjust the rear brakes by hand and drive it and see what it does, My Dads did this and that is how we fixed it.

 

[PRohr]

I agree with the adjusting of the rear brakes... . if one side is way out of adjustment on the rear the opposite front will grab alot more. I manually adjust my rear brakes every oil change because the self adjusters are garbage.

 

[kenny61]

Improper rear adjustment will definetly create a pull but skidding and overheating of the front left makes it sound like the problem is in the left front. could also be that the left front is the only one working properly. Me thinks he needs to pull all four and check everything but i would start with left front and see if i get lucky

 

[Dave M]

I have a 97 4x4 3500 LB CB dually. I agree about verifying rear brakes are adjusted properly and re-check left front. If that doesn't cure it all thats left is the brake master cylinder and proportioning valve. My 97 has rear ABS but no front ABS. Try disable ABS too to eliminate it as a problem. I have never had ABS issues on my 97 that is RWAL ABS only.



Another problem I had was not a pull while braking but a terrible shimmy/death wobble when touching/tapping brakes. I replaced both warped rotors with NAPA drilled/slotted rotors and NAPA heavy duty pads about 2 years ago and cured my shimmy. My final Death wobble fix.



This is unrelated to brake pull but you might find interesting..... I had a right front tire wear that was so bad I ruined 2 new tire in 3 months each. The chain store tire and alignment shop was no help but gladly took my money both times. I finally found an alignment shop that knew what they were doing and they fixed it by changing the offset sleeve (this adjustment not available except on 96-98 I think) in right front steering knuckle to provide more negative right camber and zero toe and more positive caster. Tires wear fine now for 2/ 1/2 years.



Good Luck

 

[THaslett]

Back to the basics, ck'd out my guy's work, didn't bother to lube slide areas on steering knuckles. Again, here's me starting to re-invent the wheel to fix a common problem. The scolding comes tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[EForbes]

pulling brakes

If your truck is pulling to the left, then its the only front brake working, check the right front, and im sure you will see, a stuck caliper, or very dirty hardware preventing pad slide.

Eric

2001 cummins

 

[Robin]

Your post is almost two years old so I assume you have cured the pulling problem. A couple years ago my 97 developed the same thing. It was a plugged flexible brake line preventing the right front brake from applying. I had my wife step hard on the brake,engine runnin, while I turned each front wheel. The right wheel had no braking at all. Interesting because a few years earlier on another vehicle a plugged flexible brake line prevented that brake from releasing.

 

[WestTN]

With the brakewear you are seeing, it has to be something wrong with the right side brakes. Don't overlook the possibility of condensation in that side. Or, is there a bend in a line? The trouble is very likely not the left side.

 

[SRath]

Your post is almost two years old so I assume you have cured the pulling problem. A couple years ago my 97 developed the same thing. It was a plugged flexible brake line preventing the right front brake from applying. I had my wife step hard on the brake,engine runnin, while I turned each front wheel. The right wheel had no braking at all. Interesting because a few years earlier on another vehicle a plugged flexible brake line prevented that brake from releasing.

In Japan, the routing of a brake hose can be, and in fact is, patented. Dirt bike manufacturers recognize how important something so simple and overlooked is to effective braking. Honda has the patent for the straight, and best, routing. Yamaha and Kawasaki have to alter theirs to something somewhat less effective.



Dodge went to extrordinary lengths to make the front brake hose routing on these trucks as convoluted as possible. Collapsed hoses and weak braking is the extremely common result.



Of course, it was likely the same team of idiots that designed the entire front suspension and steering.