Pulling to the left on braking

Oldnblue · Post by **Oldnblue** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 5:34 pm

Hi guys

Have come across something that I think will be a brake issue, but just a quick question before I pull the wheels off the old girl.
When I took the car out this morning, I discovered that she was pulling reasonably hard to the left whenever I applied the brakes. The harder I stepped on the pedal, the harder it pulled.
With the brakes off, there didn't seem to be any difference from normal...perfectly straight line.
Everything is still original, drums all round.

Until this morning, there hasn't been the slightest issue. Drove into the garage last night without the problem, but pulled out in the morning with this happening.

Any suggestions what I should be looking for? Would I be right in thinking it may simply be that one of the drums needs adjusting?

Cheers, Scott.

ps: replaced the bulbs in the headlights (re. last weeks problem) and so far so good. I'm booked in to see the auto sparky next week to have everything checked out properly though (as per Smooth's suggestion). Will let you know if anything is discovered beyond just a run of dodgy bulbs.

smooth · Post by **smooth** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 6:13 pm

Scott,

Each wheel cylinder has two pistons that "should" expand outwards evenly when under pressure (pushing one brake shoe forward and the other backwards). These can become stuck/sticky with age/corrosion and is the most likely problem that you will have when a brake is pulling.

Reconditioning wheel cylinders is a good idea. These can be bored and a stainless steel sleeve fitted to avoid pitting and corrosion in the future.

The other reason for a car to pull one way under brake is that only one side is working. (the way it's pulling) meaning the opposite side is doing nothing or very little.

Regards, Smooth

Oldnblue · Post by **Oldnblue** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:51 pm

Thank for the quick reply Smooth.
What you described sounds most likely and I'll be booking the car in to have the brakes checked and re-conditioned as soon as they can do it.
Will pull the wheels off tomorrow anyway and see if there's anything that looks out of the ordinary.
Cheers, Scott

FB MAD · Post by **FB MAD** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 12:03 am

As an addition to what smooth said, if the wheel cylinder on the offending wheel is leaking brake fluid past the wheel cylinder piston cups ( wheel cylinder rubbers ) and on to the brake linings this can also cause a wheel to "pull " to one side as the brake fluid combined with the lining causes the lining to become sticky and the lining will "grip" the drum on brake application.
Same can be said if bearing grease gets on to the linings.It will cause the linings to become "grippy" or "sticky" and cause the wheel to pull.

Terry.

Oldnblue · Post by **Oldnblue** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 11:17 am

Well, pulled the wheels off and sure enough, the driver's side front drum was leaking fluid onto the brake linings. Looks like only a little had leaked so far (the master cylinder level had dropped by about 2 or 3 mm) but obviously enough to cause the problem.
I'll be booking the car in to have the whole system checked and overhauled where necessary.
Thanks for the input guys.
Cheers, Scott

Oldnblue · Post by **Oldnblue** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 11:06 pm

Picked up the car this evening and she's back to her old self.
The front brake cylinders were re-sleeved as suggested...pulling up better than ever now.
Thanks for your advice guys.
Cheers, Scott

smooth · Post by **smooth** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 12:22 am

Good to hear.

Regards, Smooth

Trev · Post by **Trev** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:51 am

Good on ya Scott, just for the sake of others who are putting up with dodgee breaks, tell us how much it cost. No one should put up with breaks that don't work properly, and it doesn't take much to get them fixed.
Trev

.

Oldnblue · Post by **Oldnblue** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:31 am

Note that I had a full service done at the same time (inc. all fluids/filters etc) - the total cost for the job with the front brakes re-sleeved/re-conditioned, and rear brakes and handbrake checked/adjusted was $330.

From my experience, that's a good price but I'd be interested to hear what others on the forum compare it to.

Cheers, Scott

Oldnblue · Post by **Oldnblue** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:36 am

Oh, and one other thing I wanted to mention. Working properly, the drums are doing a hell of a job stopping the car. Maybe not quite as good as the discs in my EH (HR front end), but not far from it.
I've heard it argued by many people on many forums that drums are, or aren't, capable of braking properly in modern driving conditions...I'm impressed with how good they feel at the moment.
Cheers, Scott

EK283 · Post by **EK283** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 12:09 pm

Guys,
Let me tell you there is nothing wrong with drum brakes.
In actual fact they have more surface area than a disc pad hence the need for a booster.
If you have driven a car with boosted drums you would be surprised at the stopping power.
Over the years cars have gotten heavier and faster and the only problem drums have is heat disappation. The disc brake is able to expell the heat much faster and is easier to maintain.
Having said that my buddies racing with me in the EH class have to run drums and boy do they stop good

Regards Greg

smooth · Post by **smooth** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:36 pm

Best stopping car I ever owned was my XU-1 (12.7mm Discs with dual piston calipers, double diaphragm booster and fluted brake drums on the rear) "The fact the car weighted not alot helped" closely followed by my '62 Pontiac (4 wheel drums) and I'm hear to tell you my FB Station Sedan with VH24 and 4 wheel drums stops very well. Brake fade in the only issue when they get over heated.

I also think my sons HK van has awesome brakes HQ rotors with the HK-T-G double diaphragm booster.

Never been a huge fan of 4 wheel disc's (just don't like the feeling "or lack of")

Regards, Smooth