2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Still pulls to left when braking??? -help

[CWeaver]

I have a mystery pull to the left (driver side) when braking... . #@$%!



So far I: replaced the swaybar links with Maxxlinks.

Replaced tires with stock size BFG AT KO's.

replaced track bar with a bigger Moog Problem Solver track bar. (this made problem worse & alignment off more)



Checked the front brake Calipers: replaced slider pins & greased both sides. Replaced Right caliper as piston was crooked... .



Replaced brake lines because they were rusting & leaking.



Replaced front & rear shocks & steering stabilizer/damper(shock).



Now considering replacing the brake rotors or having them turned in case they are warped... ???? if so I'll also put on new brake pads.



I'm planning on getting the truck Alignment done soon. . Thats why I did all the shocks etc... .



Any Ideas???? This is getting expensive...



Someone said may be Rear brakes/drums (they did make draging noise last fall but was when I was hauling loads of Sand & I thought sand in the drums). .

Or front brake flex hoses? I've also heard possiblly Front bearing but there is no play I can feel.



Anyone had this issue?

 

[San Felipe Bob]

A few more questions.

Does it pull any more or any less when the brakes are cold or hot?



Have you adjusted the rear brakes?

Have you installed larger rear wheel cylinders?

Have you inspected the rear brakes for possible rear axle oil seal leaks?

Have you checked the freewheel of the front tires. (Jack up each tire and give it a spin when the brakes are cold and then when the brakes are hot. They should spin about 2 revolutions. )

Do the calipers slide freely on the caliper pins. (Can you easliy move them back and forth on the pins with the pads removed?).



Keep us posted

SFB

 

[CWeaver]

Answers for Bob:

Hi Bob, OK here goes:



Does it pull any more or any less when the brakes are cold or hot? . . No difference noticed.

Have you adjusted the rear brakes?... not yet, I plan to do a visual inspection & maybe just replace them soon... .

Have you installed larger rear wheel cylinders? No: Is that installing the 1 ton cylinder on the 2500? or different...

Have you inspected the rear brakes for possible rear axle oil seal leaks? - No, can watch for when I do visual inspection...

Have you checked the freewheel of the front tires: - I have not.

Do the calipers slide freely on the caliper pins. - They should, I've replaced & greased the caliper pins recentlly. .



Note - the truck tracks straight if I brake slowly. If I don't hold the wheel straight & brake quickly & sharply. . that's when it pulls hard & spins the steering wheel to the left.

- Thanks. My current plan is to do the rear brakes next at this point... but it's supposed to rain/snow this weekend.

 

[San Felipe Bob]

Ok here goes.

Does it pull any more or any less when the brakes are cold or hot? . . No difference noticed. OK

Have you adjusted the rear brakes?... not yet, I plan to do a visual inspection & maybe just replace them soon... . Make sure you adjust them properly. You want the brakes to just barely drag.

Have you installed larger rear wheel cylinders? No: Is that installing the 1 ton cylinder on the 2500? or different... There are 3 different sizes you can get I run the mid size ones to prevent the rear tires from locking up under hard braking. I think they are 1-1/8 " . I tried the 1-3/16" and they would lock up under hard braking.

Have you inspected the rear brakes for possible rear axle oil seal leaks? - No, can watch for when I do visual inspection... Also check for leaking brake wheel cylinders

Have you checked the freewheel of the front tires: - I have not. Do this first it's the easiest test of all tests.

Do the calipers slide freely on the caliper pins. - They should, I've replaced & greased the caliper pins recentlly. . Re check if the wheels don't spin at least 2 revolutions during the spin test above.

Keep in mind you may have a bad caliper even if it has been rebuilt and or replaced. I had 2 wagner rebuilts and 1 raybetos that were no good right out of the box!

EGR is the only company I know of that actually offers a real blue printed caliper.



Note - the truck tracks straight if I brake slowly. If I don't hold the wheel straight & brake quickly & sharply. . that's when it pulls hard & spins the steering wheel to the left.

Sounds alot like the rubber brake lines and or the rear brakes but still could be a sticky caliper piston. - Thanks. My current plan is to do the rear brakes next at this point... but it's supposed to rain/snow this weekend

 

[Joe Mc]

CWeaver,

Jack both sides up in the front. Start up apply brake pedal, let go, and spin one tire. Then do same on the other side. If either one sticks or is harder than the other it's going to be the side that it's pulling towards. If they both spin same then adjust the rears and see what you have going down the road.

My hunch is you could have a failed flex brake hose and it's created a flap / check valve inside itself causing the caliper not to release. Worth a shot.

 

[RWinzen]

Cweaver,

I had the same issue on my '95 2500 4x4. Drove it for over 392,000. One thing I learned was the auto-adjusting rear brakes did not auto-adjust. Over time I did upgrade the cylinders and calipers to the 1-ton. Although the brake were better, they still would pull to the one way or the other after about 3-5k miles or after hard braking. I found the rear brakes needed adjusting again. I finally started adjusting my back brakes every time I changed the oil. This really helped, rarely had the problem. When adjusting that often, make them just barely touch. I tighten them a little to tight couple of times, vibrations were bad.

 

[CWeaver]

Steering box: a nugget of hope !

Update: Friday I pulled apart the rear brakes & inspected them. RR Drum was hard to remove until I put down the two 4 pound hammers and used the 16 pound sledge hammer :-laf.

Both drum surfaces look good- shiny. Pads look fairly new with a lot of life on them, all springs and hardware looked clean & everything moved well. The wheel cylinders looked rusty but no leaks. Didn't see any axle oil leaking. just some rust. Cleaned & lubed brake bits . backed off star wheel adjuster a lot, cleaned drum & brake shoe linings & reassembled. Put back end up on jack stands & ran in first gear / reverse to test - would not stop. I adjusted the brakes until I could hear them scraping / rub just a bit. Test drove it & it seemed fine... but pull was still there.



So I called the local diesel mechanic on the block & he said he'd look & help me change the rotors next week. (I read so many horror stories of rotors not coming off & ruining unit bearings & ball joints I'm apprehensive to even try it) Even though I've changed rotors an many different cars & truck over the years...



Saturday: Helped a fellow TDR member move some diesel storage tanks etc. Josh is a real diesel freak and a good wrench. I had him drive my truck & then we inspected it.

He noticed that going down the road, if you let go of the steering wheel it tracks straight... hit the brakes and it pulls left... . BUT- only for a foot or two to the left. . then stops pulling & goes straight. About as much as the slight play in the steering... . ah ha!



So he had me work the steering & searched for play in the system. (I've been wanting someone to help me with this because I suspected I needed a new steering shaft).

Everything looked tight at first, ball joints, steering shaft... then we found it. . the sector shaft in the steering box/gear has a lot of play in it!! Side to side.



I'd already purchased a BD Diesel Performance steering brace but had not yet installed it. (got it late last week)

Now I've decided the next step is to replace the steering box.

After that I'll test drive before adding the steering brace. I think this is the issue + I think the alignment on the truck needs more toe in. . It looks like its toes out a bit.



I'll replace the steering box & let you know if that's the cure!!!

 

[bmoeller]

My '97 has always seemed to over-work the left front caliper. Asked to see if there a proportioning valve. From what I've been able to find out, there isn't.

I had to replace a brake line between the frame rail and fuel, due to corrosion. Replaced ALL of the brake fluid at the same time. Made a HUGE difference. Doesn't feel to pull to the left anymore. Just finished replacing the rotors with the cross drilled/slotted ones from NAPA. Work great. New calipers won't help brake pull, unless one is actually sticking. Mine weren't.

Get that steering brace on there as well. Won't regret it. You'll wonder why you waited so long, I did.

 

[CWeaver]

I got the new steering box & brace in... Most of the brake pull is gone. . just a hint remains. I got new flex lines, rotors, pads & caliper... . hopefully weather will be nice tomorrow night... . hopefully the rotors will come off.

Rotors:

I've seen some horror stories here on the forum about not being able to get rotors off?. The owners manual shows to take the rotor & unit bearing off as a unit...

so I suppose if they are rusted together I could just knock the bolts out & there shouldn't be to much to hold them together... . this always works on my jeep at least.

 

[Dave M]

I replaced the rotors on my 97 and the rotors/hub comes off as an assembly (Edit: the wheel studs are what holds them together). Then I laid the rotor/hub assembly on some 2x4's on ground and seperated them by hitting the wheel studs with a 4 pound sledge (with the wheel nut on the stud just below the first thread of stud to protect the stud threads. My rotor then fell off the hub. I re-used all my studs but you might have a few new ones handy in case any studs need replaced.



Installing the new rotor to the hub was just the reverse of removal. I put the stud thru the rotor and hub and used the wheel nut to draw the rotor into the hub.



The hard part is usually getting the rotor/hub assembly to seperate from the steering knuckle. It a very tight interference fit and any rust in there will make it very difficult.



I had more trouble getting my axle nut off. It takes a BIG 1 5/16 inch I believe socket that I had to search long and hard to find anywhere.



Do a search on my user name "dave m" and you will find several posts detailing the whole procedure with pics, hints, sockets needed and torque values.



Good luck,

Dave

 

[CWeaver]

What's with the Star socket needed to unbolt the assembly? It's bigger than any I have, tried Autozone, Napa, Ace Hardware... nothing that big..... I'm screwed for today...

 

[ethan17]

I've got a '97 2500 with all the problems you've got and then some. I'm not about to give up on it though. I think what you need is a 9/16 12 point socket.



I like the biodiesel. I run mine on svo.

 

[CWeaver]

14mm 12point fits... got the bolts out but can't yet get the assembly free..... thanks
trying extention & turning trick & hammering as I have new rotors... . no luck yet. .

 

[Dave M]

My hubs weren't bad to free from the hub... I just hammered on the rotors since I was replacing rotors.



Watch your axles don't come out with the hub or you will get an inner axle seal leak and that's more work to replace. Mine are still leaking. Have someone hold the axles in while you pop the hub... . what a pain huh?

 

[ethan17]

I use a big gearpuller on the end of the axle. make sure the knuckle is straight and there is a very real chance of pulling the hub bearing assembly apart but hey they might be on thier way out anyway. timkin replacment was $178. 00 at VIP auto in january, at least in Maine.

 

[CWeaver]

Success! New front rotors, brake lines, pads, calipers, & no more brake pull !!! Oo.

If your using the extensions & turning the knuckle method to pop off the hub & rotor assembly I have one tip to add. Try one top side bolt & then the other top side. or front side of knuckle followed by rear.

The first rotor assembly I tried the top right bolt on the drivers side & the unit wouldn't pop free (didn't try the other side- used a 4 pound sledge on old rotor)

When I got to the passenger side & tried one side then the other... . my wife was turning the wheel for me as I watched & the "pop" sound was so sharp it surprised her... when the assembly broke free. I had to reassure her the pop was a good sound :-laf . No hammer required.

Reinstalled with lots of anit-seize for next time. I didn't torque anything as can't find believable specs in the factory manual. I Painted the rotors & new caliper as I hate rust...

Thanks for all your ideas & help everyone. Now I just need to get the truck aligned & I should be going & stopping straight... .

 

[SLangone]

Last Tuesday I started working on the rear brakes. I had the truck pulling to one side. At the same time my parking brake was not working correctly so I was tackling that also. I finished the project on Saturday because while replacing the Right rear parking brake cable (passenger side) the part ordered was too short from Advance Auto, so I then went to the dealership and had to wait a day for the part to come in. I also replaced the parking brake equalizer (which again I had to wait a day for the part to be in) the original equalizer was badly rusted. I also had ordered bigger wheel cylinders and drum and brake pads I also replaced the drum brake springs. When taking off the old brakes the emergency cable was installed on the wrong shoe (primary) on both sides. Once I was done with the brake job I no longer have brake pull and I now have a working emergency brake.



When I apply the parking brake it does not stay to the floor I know on different vehicles the pedal would stay to the floor is this normal?



One concern I did have is when the parking brake is applied and the transmission is in reverse it still rolls back but if in drive it does not roll. Has anyone experienced this problem (might not be a problem)?



Thank you everyone for great help and I hope this information helps someone else.