Hi all, and greetings, I'm new here but I'm sure I'll be here a lot. Just bought a 1998 1500 4x4, mechanically it seems to be in good order EXCEPT either the brakes or the steering mechanism, which is kinda scary. I kinda figured this was something I could fix so I went ahead with the purchase anyway.

When stepping moderately hard on the brakes, unless you have a good grip on the wheel, you're gonna turn left RIGHT THEN. What do you reckon the culprit is?

 

Sticking caliper. Time for new brakes and calipers.

 

Do I need to change both calipers, or just the one on the left (the way it's turning)?

Hmm, maybe the one on the right, since it's not braking. Either way, can I just replace the one?

 

You can, but I prefer to replace them together. If your pads and rotors are OK, I would consider replacing the bad caliper. (probably the right one). If you need pads and rotors, I would replace them both. I have good results with Wagner brakes.

 

cool thanks!

 

Make sure that it is the caliper thats sticking first. If it is seized on the guides, you will get pretty much the same behavior. Also, it may be the the RIGHT caliper is NOT working, rather than the left caliper working too well.... Replacing both is a good idea. If they truck is high mileage, replace the soft lines as well.

 

Another possibility could be a bad flexible brake line. They can come apart on the inside and block the incoming or outgoing brake pressure. Look to see if the rotors have turned blue, this would be an indicator of which brake the problem is occurring from.

 

Yup, exactly this. Mine did it when I bought it from my niece. The right brake pad was gone. I replaced the pads and guide pins. My problem was fixed with that but I'm also considering upgrading to the 2500 brake calipers now.