2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Brake pull

[Taz]

I have an oh-so-annoying problem with my front brakes. When you apply them heavily at speed it pulls the truck to the right.



I can tell from the accumulation of brake dust that the right wheel is indeed breaking more than the left. What is annoying is I cannot seem to fix it!



List of what I have done:

rebuilt both front calipers

new rubber hoses both sides

flushed out all the fluid when I rebuilt the calipers

new pads both sides

wheel bearings replaced both sides

ball joints replaced both sides



I am at a loss. Both front calipers are tied together on the same hydraulic circuit. The left caliper is closer to the master cylinder than the right, so it should be seeing higher pressure than the right - technically. I am stumped. Right and left hub/disks are from different manufacturers but I don't think a difference in chemical makeup of the material could cause that much of a difference in friction.



Ideas?? Cause I am stumped.

 

[JHudson]

Just a quick thought, my 99 had the same issue, pulling to the right when braking. I also thought it was the right side causing the problems but it turned out to be the left side. It was hanging up, thereby the left side had a bad case of brake fade. It was much hotter than the right side. The cause on my truck was the caliber slides had some burrs causing the caliber to hang. A file and some caliber grease and problem was solved.

 

[Taz]

Ya forgot to mention I have checked those slides several times. Last time I took them off there were sticking. I am very close to buying new calipers.

 

[Taz]

I may try just getting new hardware. Although an entire remanufactured caliper at O'Reilly is only $18!

 

[San Felipe Bob]

Sticky pins?

Sounds like you have a case of sticky caliper pins?

Our caliper pins on the 2nd gen trucks are poorly designed.

Take a look at the 3rd gen calipers and you will see what I mean.

They have a very nice rubber boot to keep the dirt and water out.

We have no boot what so ever.

I had the dreaded brake pull.

The only way I could keep the Caliper pins sliding freely was to clean and lube them every 1000 to 3000 miles depending on how much water and dirt I was driving in.

This got old fast!

I needed a boot to keep them clean like the 3rd gens.



PM me to find out my solution. As guidelines do not permit solicitation.



SFB

 

[Crowhurst]

New rotors cured my severe brake pull. There was no obvious visual sign of problems with the rotors, but changing the rotors fixed it.

Nick.

 

[RustyJC]

Did you happen to find a spacer between the back of the wheel and the hub on one side? This was Dodge's "fix" for brake pulling. The truck will pull to whichever side has the spacer. So, if the truck was pulling left, they would put a spacer behind the right front wheel. If you rebuild the braking system and eliminate the original pull, the spacer would then make the truck pull to the right.



If not, my bet is a sticking caliper. Lord knows I fought that with my 1996 3500! :{



Rusty

 

[Graphic man]

I had the same problem..... go with new calipers and get the toe set to zero



if you have had new ball joints installed and didn't get it aligned then that also could be the problem





Scott

 

[San Felipe Bob]

SFB Caliper Boots?

Sticky pins?

As the brakes wear the Caliper bolts sink deeper into the Calipers taking the dirt and grime with them into the rubber Caliper bushings.

When water gets on the Caliper bolts it causes them to cool drawing water into the rubber Caliper bushings.

This usually turns the grease into sticky gooo.

Causing the Calipers to stick.

SFB Caliper boots help prevent this from happening.



Once the Calipers start to stick all kinds of ugly things happen to our brakes.

Sticking/Dragging causes the brakes to wear faster.

Sticking/Dragging causes the brakes to heat up. (it's like holding your foot on the brakes while driving. )

This heat causes the the grease in the caliper bushings to get even more sticky if not completely stuck!

The heat causes the rubber caliper bushings to get hard almost brittle (Due to heat cycling).

The heat causes the brakes to fade. (not always evenly left to right )

Sooo the fade can cause "pulling" during braking.

The heat also causes the rotors to warp.

The warped rotors cause the steering to jerk left and right while braking wearing out our tie-rods, track bar, steering box, ball joints, and steering shaft.

The heat also tends to "cook" the pads which can cause them to perfom less effectively.





SFB Caliper boots are not a cure all.

They are a very small part of a complete perfomance brake package.

Basic installation

After your brakes are completely cool.

All you need for proper installation is to thoroughly clean the cast boss' of the caliper to remove any dirt and grease.

Then simply push the boots on over the boss'.

I have tested them offroad and on. Towing and empty, from the Dusty Offroad race courses of Baja Oo. To the mountains of Canada in temperatures ranging from below zero to well above 120 degrees.

They perform best when combined with a new complete brake job.

However !

They can be installed at any time.

I highly recommend installing them before traveling offroad or in wet rainy conditions commonly found in the Pacific Northwest.



No tools are needed for installation.

Wheels do not need to be removed.



Please PM me for more info



Thanks!

SFB

 

[GMincher]

You did check the rears didn't you? If the drums are out of adjustment and/or soaked with gear lube it'll make it pull also. This is most noticable under hard braking or when towing. Do you hear the voice of experience?... (yeah, gear lube, bad seal) Greg

 

[WaynesWorld]

Taz,



The right pull is usually the bolts sticling.



I try to anti-seize the bolts & rubbers every oil change. :{



the truck will let you know when you forget--- bummer.



I like the cure that SFB proposes.



I e-mailed him myself to find the place that sellsa them.



maybe SFB will post where to get them here????



Good luck,



WAYNES WORLD

 

[San Felipe Bob]

SFB Boots for sale in classifieds

I have the SFB Caliper boots for sale in the classifeds.



You can E-mail me at SFBracing@aol.com. .



I'm pretty sure the TDR guidelines prohibit me from listing the price.

Check the classifieds or send me an E-mail.

Thanks

SFB