Hey guys for some reason i have no brakes on the driver side or little if any. I hit the brakes and the truck pulls violently to the right any ideas? it seems to shake quite a bit too but I think thats due to a worn and soon to be replaced drag link. I did my wheel bearings the other day and i did notice the calipers on my truck were 2 different styles one had the big boot around the caliper piston and the other one was a more contained style piston boot (Not hangin out all over like the other) Im figuring they replaced one caliper already and not the other. I need to find out its very rainy here in FL aka dangerous to drive like this. I have to correct it so much when i hit the brakes that if i let off it jerks back over to the other side of the road. Im thinking maybe the piston is stuck from when i compressed it back into the caliper to put it back on. Anyone have any other ideas? are there any porpotioning valves or anything i might check. Ive bled both sides and fluid is there so im thinking it has to do with the caliper itself considering it didnt do this till i changed the wheel bearings. Pretty scary seein as i just drove 800 miles with it like that from TN to FL. YIKES PLEASE HELP.

 

you can check the metering valve next to the master but these are front rear split. you can check to see if the piston is moving or putting force be detaching the caliper and put a 2x4 in it then slowly depress the the pedal and check to see if it clamped the wood if it has then check to see how hard it is to press it back into the cylinder. if you need to know how hard it should be do the good side. i imagine you might have had a bad caliper seal, and you might have finished to off when you calapsed it. since it is raining it will be hard to check for fluid leakage around the dust boot. you could rebuild it yourself but its a bit of work with little savings.

 

Just so you don't go changing the wrong caliper,.......if it pull hard to the right, thats the caliper that is working and the other side is not!

The vehicle will tend to pivot around the brake that is working
Mine does the same thing only not to that extreme.

Have heard of other people taking about bad ware spot on caliper slides, might want to check that if you pull caliper off.

IF its pulling to the right then the left caliper piston or, slide could be bad.

This is what i suspect on mine, but don't know............................



Flash.

 

A bad brake hose on the right side can cause the same problem. It lets fluid threw to the caliper but won't let it return fluid to the MC.

Remove the right side caliper. See if you can compress the piston with a C clamp. If it will not compress. Loosen the connection on the brake line then see if the piston will compress. If it does replace that hose. If it doesn't replace the caliper.

 

This started after you did wheel bearings? So you fubarred somehting in the process of reassembly. Put a pad on wrong. Got the caliper misaligned? Whatever you did, I'm sure has been dore before.
A far as recall the calipers should match. Get a pair of remans and pads for very few dollars and you'l be right. Might considers brake hoses with milage you have. Careful on the fitting at frame, they tend to corrode and freeze. Don't push fluid back into master cyl.

 

yah im thinkin when i compressed the caliper maybe i didnt do it straight maybe got it a lil crooked to where its hung up anyone ever done it? After dinner im gonna go jack it up and check it out. Might do the rebuild (if i can get one of these kids at the local advance to find me a caliper rebuild kit) ill keep yall updated thanks.

 

Anymore, I just buy loaded calipers and rid myself of all these problems. The kicker is at my Autozone, buying calipers and pads separate is more expensive than buying them loaded.But you do have to order the loaded ones from thier warehouse.

 

i didnt see anything out of the ordinary that jumped out obvious. I had the girlfriend stand on the brake pedal and tried to spin the wheel. It didnt move but the inertia of the truck is definately more force than i can exert on that puppy (Sorry felt like talkin smart). I tore it down again and the piston looked like it may be a bit crooked so i layed a piece of steel across it then clamped it down it looked a lil more square when i was done. Any who it seems like that fixed the problem. I think i got off lucky because that could have damaged the caliper. Take a lesson from me and make dang sure ya compress your caliper piston square and not uneven. common sense stuff ya know thanks guys

 

is there really any way you guys can reccomend to check and see if its a hose. I mean both calipers seem to be working. Just a lil confused here any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.

 

One way to check if it is a hose is to pump up the brakes and then go and open the bleeder. If the hose is only letting the fluid into the caliper. You will see fluid come out of the bleeder screw and the piston in the caliper move back. When I say fluid coming out of the bleeder it will basically shoot out due to help pressure. If the hoses are normal then fluid should just seap out when the bleeder is open.

HTH
Glenn

 

so youre sayin if it comes out with a lot of pressure then its a brake hose problem?

 

Yes. What happens is inside the hose the rubber breaks down and the high pressure from the pedal pushes though the collapsed brake hose. So when you apply the brakes, the fluid will not return to the master cylinder. Hence then you have high pressure stored in the caliper and that brake stays on. Once you open the brake bleeder, you release the pressure.

Now if you have one collasped hose, I would suggest that you replace all 4 on the truck(4wd).

Another thing came to me also. Since you just did the wheel bearings, did you turn the caliper when you put it back on? If you look at the hose going from the front axle to the caliper you will see that it has a loop. It usually doesn't cause a problem, but with the ages of our trucks it can cause the brake hose to fail. Just something else for you to look at.

HTH
Glenn