JKM

After going through the truck from one end to the other replaceing EVERYTHING in the system except the rotors and drums (and they are all straight and like new) I STILL have a pull to the right when i step on the brakes , and the brakes DO NOT stop the truck like that should. I can't lock the tires on pavement no matter how hard I jump on the pedal, the pedal feels somewhat spongy to me also. I have tried manual bleeding , pressure bleeding , and vaccum bleeding, used almost a gallon of fluid now , and I am SURE there is no air left in the system.

I finally threw in the towl , I gave up trying to fix it and sent it out to a shop close to home who does all my parents work. They went through everything , and could not find anything wrong.

Is there something we are all missing here? Anyone have a hint/tip/trick that helped solve the same problem I am having?

clutch1

sure wish there was a way to see what truck you have but oh well.........
what was the initial problem? did it start as just a brake job? my dad had a simular prob with his 96' 1ton it started as a brake job. the shop decided to replace both rear cyl. while they were there, the truck would work fine for a while then it would have a spongy pedel. figured it was just air so we bleed it and it work good. next day spongy pedel again. come to find out the shop put on the wrong cyl.'s looked identical but not right. i think they were for a 2500 but not sure.

JKM

It's a 95 2500 4x4 , Has had a pull forever it seems , replaced the front calipers and slide bolts/pins a year ago , then 2 weeks later parked the truck and never used it got 5 months. When i started using it again , noticed a bad pull , replaced calipers again under warranty, still had a pull , so i replaced the front flex lines , still had a pull, Decided to bleed all 4 corners to get rid of the spongy pedal , broke off both rear bleed screws , so i swapped in the larger wheel cylinders from napa , bled everything , still spongy pedal , still has a pull , so i went to town and replaced the calipers AGAIN under warranty , replaced all the hard lines , and the master cylinder. And I STILL have a pull in the brakes. I have been living with the pull since november, and I finally had enough of it, so i took it to the shop , and they can't find anything wrong...

ratsun

JKM does it only pull to the right when you first jump on the brakes or does it continue to pull through out the entire application?

diesel don

Ever since I have owned my 97 I was never impressed with the brakes,I think they are substandard. I put the larger rear cylinders on the rear,it help when there are dry conditions. But thats about all I think it made it worse when it is wet,what happens is that it goes into RWAL I can see the fronts do not stop for hell,you would have to push like you have standard brakes. I know that I have never been able to lock up the fronts. I have talked to other people and they say they don't like there brakes. One thing I am going to do some day is to put a set of caliper from a 1 ton dana 60 0n my truck they are just a little bigger.

Dr. Evil

I am having a bit of a problem with spongy brakes too. Front are all new...have to get at the rears sometime soon.

DL1221

Yup the brakes on these 12-valve trucks are royal pieces of dog crap.

On my 96 I've replaced every single component on the brake system (except the combination valve) and I still have a spongy pedal that creeps to the floor. The truck seems to stop OK, with a bit of pull to the left, but the pedal is just not firm at all, it always creeps to the floor. My last attempt to fix this was going to be to replace the combination valve, but I got fed up with this thing and just left it alone. I took it to a shop, the guy saw it, drove it around, and said nothing was wrong. So that's it for me, I'll just live with the spongy pedal, tired of spending money on this thing, one of these day's I'm going to yank that 12-valve out and drop it on a Ford, at least they know how to build good brakes.

Need95-00CTD

Well I have to say, the proportioning valve could make it pull, but the spongyness is probably attributed to the master cylinder... The only reason I think this is because the 95 I have has the crappy sponge brakes, but the 98 doesn't and I has a very odd looking brake booster compared to the old regular can style vacuum booster's I'm farmiliar with. But that truck will stop on a dime, and it has one heII of a firm pedal... I'm thinking of replacing my 95's booster with a 98 or 99 version to see if it helps, but it will be a while before I do that, I can live with the sponge as long as it stops decent.

The only problem I have is when I apply the brakes, it makes the truck shimmy real hard until it slows down under 25mph or so... I know its not the rotors because it only does it some of the time, not everytime I stop. Anyone had this happen?

schoust

Hell I have tried everything also with my 95 with the exception of changing out the rear cylinders for the one ton Gm models. As far as the pull I thought I was just crazy I have it to and I changed everything and bled the living you know what out of it and still it's NO differant! I think the brakes are just a poor design??

Amos

On my 95 I had to remove the 1/4" (+/-) spacer from behind the passenger front wheel the make my brake pull go away. Take a look to see if you have this spacer and if so take it out. Then give it a drive and see if that helps.

ratsun

Hummm... since i put on the larger rims and tires the pull is a lot worse on my truck? It acts like the right caliper reacts just a split second sooner than the left one?
Only thing left I can think of trying was something that Infidel said, (its worth a try as hes usually on the money)the opposite side to the pull rear brake needs adjusting up? Mine doesnt pull continually it only grabs as soon as you hit the brakes so it leads me to think it has to do more with steering components than brakes? Its only bad at fast speeds if I have to jump on the brakes. I'm pretty much done replacing brake components though?

schoust

Hey Amos where exactly is this spacer located? Man it would be nice to get some decent breaking out of this thing!

StoneWellMark

Try removing the front calipers and wire brushing/scraping the caliper mounts (make sure the caliper can be compressed easily) , then be absolutely sure the front caliper bolts and slides can move indipendently and freely ( replace if needed) then coat caliper mounts and bolts/slides with "never-sieze" and re-install on truck. if that doesnt help try to adjust the rear shoes to be about the same drag when you spin the rear axle while its off the ground. if that still doesnt work I would try replacing the front brake hoses as often when they get older the internal lining breaks down and acts like a one-way valve which can make a truck pull in iether direction...may also be why rear brakes dont work for crap.

Dr. Evil

Its on the outside of the passenger side rotor....

schoust

The calipers are new and slide good,I think I will try removing those spacers????