[Washout]

Ok, guys I need some expert help here. I've replaced everything in my brake system except the steel lines and I can't stop the car from pulling to the left when I get down to low speed.

Just to be clear I changed;
both front calipers and pads with loaded calipers from OGTS,
both rear wheel cyclinders and shoes
All three brake lines were replaced with Stainless steel flex lines
Changed the master cylinder

The only orginal parts left are the steel lines from the master to the flex lines and the front rotors and rear drums. I adjusted the rears brakes as per the FSM and bleed all the lines. There is no spongyness to the brakes and I have good peddle that only raises about 1/2 inch when I pump the brakes once. The brakes work very well with the exception of pulling left. At high speed there is no pull or at least very little. It's when you are just about stopped that the steering wheel wants to turn left with some authority. It's not unsafe to drive but it is bugging the heck or of me.

Any ideas?

 

[jordan]

sounds like my gt, but mine pulls to the right and it is really annoying, I can't think of another idiosyncrasy that a car would have that is more irritating than that. I haven't done the brakes yet but where did you get your flex lines? paragon?

 

[Washout]

Yes, I used the paragon brake lines.

 

[soybean (R.I.P.)]

Washout,this is probally a dumb question. Before you put in the master cylinder and before you put everything back together, did you blow out the lines? Jarrell

 

[Washout]

yes, I used an air chuck and made sure the lines were clear.

 

[baz]

all i can think thats left is to
have the hubs checked to see if they run true(even new discs can warp)
check the ball joints on the steering for wear(may only show when they less force pushing them but high tourqe due to braking)
and check the alignment in case theres any distortion of the steering

 

[Washout]

Thanks Baz,

The ball joints are new, I rebuilt the front end this past winter,

The rotors or Hubs are the originals but normally if they were warped I would expect to feel a pulsing in the brake pedal and there is none of that.

The alignment may be suspect, I did the alignment with a tape measure and a straight line as I used to on my sprint car. But down the road the alignment seems perfect. It doesn't pull left or right, it's straight down the middle.

I suspected that maybe a rear brake was too tight but I just checked them again and they are fine.

Got me stumped.

 

[Bosco2]

My brakes were also pulling left...started all of a sudden. I figured a caliper was sticking but went thru the manual for their troubleshooting ideas. One of them was tire inflation....I checked and somehow there was 40 lbs in one front tire and 32 in the other. After setting them both at 32 I drove the car and it no longer pulled left. Strange but true. Probably a long shot to work for you but maybe worth a try.

 

[Anonymous D]

Check Suspension Components

Check the suspension bushings for excessive wear on the side that the car pulls to.

Also, check to see if the upper contraol arm bolt has worn
out or "elongated" the hole in the suspension cross member,
as that will also cause a pull upon braking.

 

[greensmurf20]

is there any paticular rim that feels hotter or colder than the rest of the rims after a few quick stops? if it was a physical problem with the brakes it'd tell you if one is grabbing too much if one is hotter or if one is not doing its job if its colder.

 

[Washout]

Bosco, It was a good idea but my pressures were within 1/2 pound of each other.

The suspension bushing were all replaced with Polys less than 1000 miles ago.

I'll see if I can determine a hotter wheel tommorow, I think I can get my hands on a pyrometer to test them.

 

[GTJIM (R.I.P.)]

Since most of your brake stuff in new it sounds like you have glazed a set of pads or a rear brake shoe when bedding the linings in after replacement.
Pop the set of pads on the side it turns away from ( the brakes on that side are doing less work at low speed so have a lower coefficient of friction somehow ...) If the pad surface is very shiny just rough them up with a sheet of wet & dry sanding paper on a sheet of plate glass. If that does not fix it then you may have to look at the rear shoes on the same side to see if they need similar treatment. If that does not fix the problem then you are going to have to dig in to the other things like loose suspension components, misalignment etc. etc.
HTH

 

[Washout]

Thanks Jim,
I'll do an inspection tonight and see what I find. I can't remember now if I had the rotors turned or not. If I didn't that may be the problem as well. If there is enough meat left I may try that if not perhaps I can put them on the lathe and just rough them up a little.

This problem existed before I did the brakes, actually that is a lot of what prompted such an extensive brake job in the first place. I really want to get this solved before carlilse.

 

[garcica]

hot wheels

To comment on the pull, I wonder if it's actaully the coefficient of friction that is decreasing with lower speeds? Seems like it should just be the force you're applying that would be less and that as long as your materials aren't changing you've got a constant kinetic friction coefficient. I would thinks it a matter of proportion and at lower speeds that force just seems bigger.

Anyway, I don't have a pull to one side or the other, but I'm curious about how hot my breaks should be getting? I got out of my opel the other day after taking about a 10 min ride and felt some heat radiating from the back wheels. The lug nuts were too hot to touch (as I quickly found out) and I didn't know if that was normal or not... And no, I wasn't driving around with the emergency on!!