All right, here goes.

I bought this truck about 6 wks ago. Since then I've had to do a lot of stuff to it to get it up to snuff. Right now I have two problems: transmission slips from 1-2 and the fricking brakes. The tranny will be covered under warranty when I get around to bringing it in. The brakes, of course, are not.

So. What the brakes do is pull the vehicle to the left when braking. It's worse after driving around town for a while and is better after extended interstate driving (until you've been driving around town for a bit). Here's what I've done so far, in order:

New rotors and pads in front
Replaced leaky rear wheel cylinders
New shoes, hardware, and drums in back
System bled out at a shop to replace all of the fluid
Replaced driver side caliper
Replaced passenger side hose

It STILL pulls to the left. Tire pressure is symmetrical, no bent wheels, it's *supposedly* been aligned 3 times. It has a new track bar and one new tie rod end.

It also pulls to the left just going down the road in spite of having been aligned (hence the supposedly).

At this point I'm at a loss as to what to try next. The only odd thing I notice is that the rear brake back plate on the pass. side is straight up and down, while the driver's side is cockeyed (can't remember if it's towards the front or back). It doesn't appear bent, it just looks like that's how it is.

Help!

 

Did you notice if the left rotor seems to be worn more than the right, and if the old pads were worn evenly? I have a 99' 1500 as well.

 

Check your caliper it might be sticking

 

How about the hubs, if one is goin bad (left bad-pulls left) could cause what your describing..If when jacked up one wheel seems to drag or harder to spin or worst has movement up and down and is not the balljoints. Hub is bad...

 

you only replaced the drivers side caliper, you should always replace them in pairs.
It sounds like your passenger side is sticking.
When you do get the passenger side caliper, best to grease the caliper guide posts (both sides) with brake grease (trip to Napa).

Make sure you clean all parts with brake parts cleaner.

 

yes agreed replace them in pairs calipers and hoses remember the new caliper is gonna apply more pressure due to it being new

 

Got it. I'll replace the other caliper tomorrow.

The hubs seem to be tight-- no play or looseness that I could discern.

Thanks guys

 

OK, replaced the caliper and the brake line. The truck STILL pulls to the left. I'm not sure where else to look. I thought fleetingly about the proportioning valve but that controls front to back and I don't think it would cause this.

The only other thing I noticed in the front was that the u-joint on the left front wheel possibly had a tiny amount of play, but it was so miniscule that I'm not 100% sure that it did. The wheel spins freely in any event.

Maybe I should take it to another shop for alignment-- it still pulls to the left some just going down the road.

Any other ideas?

 

try doing a cross tire rotation and see of there is any difference at all. even if the tire looks good, it can still have a problem.

and also, they say that if you replace i brake caliper, you should replace them both, not something that i know, but have heard

 

My wife just suggested the tire rotation before I read your response. Good girl

I did end up replacing both calipers-- same manufacturer to avoid any potential differences. I didn't notice any asymmetrical brake wear (only a couple thousand miles on them) either.

I'll try the rotation. Do you think I should do an x with all 4 or just swap the front ones around? The tires were new then as well, but are cheap ones (Hercules Terra Trac). I'm on a budget :/