MaritimeMan Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 I recently changed the pads of the front of my Pathy, and bleed them upon completion. However, when I step on the brakes, she still pulls hard to the left. She was doint this before I changed the pads, and the left inner pad was almost gone, while the other were in fairly decent shape. (about 50% pad left) Any idea as to what might be causing this? There are no leaks in the system, but the vehicle has over 200k miles on her. I'm thinkin I should bleed the right side some more, but not sure. Thanks M.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 8, 2004 Share Posted April 8, 2004 Mine is doing the same after sending it to Midas over the weekend for a complete front end overhaul (again). Any ideas on this? Anything over light pressure on the pedal practically puts it in the next lane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaritimeMan Posted April 8, 2004 Author Share Posted April 8, 2004 Oh yeah its great, I don't have to touch the wheel to change lanes. It wanders to the right due to alighnment, and pulls left when I hit the brakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Mine did that until I had the alignment done for the 4th time 2 weeks ago. Then it was perfect, no pull whatsoever, until my brake meltdown last Friday (see the other post). When I picked it up, the guy at Midas tried to tell me something was wrong with the front end, because it was pulling hard to the driver's side. I said it was the brakes, but he insisted not. It is. Drives perfect, but since they put on the new brakes it now mysteriously pulls. Of cooouuurse it isn't their fault, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2an Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Usually the side that it pulls toward is working right. The other side is not grabbing enough. Remove pads on right side again and check that they don't have grease or some other contaminant on them. Also check that the piston(s) are not stuck and that the slider pins are free to move. (Any noise when you hit the brakes? My first brake job, when I was 16 yrs. old, and I put one pad in backwards. Never got out of the driveway and knew something was seriously wrong. Never happened again.) Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 first part of that statement was correct ... likely your caliper on the side that ISN'T pulling is gone ... you can rebuild it or get a new one for about the same price all together ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I second the new caliper idea. Sounds like one of them isn't doing it's job properly anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 But how about calipers that are brand new? 1 week old and problems instantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 But how about calipers that are brand new? 1 week old and problems instantly. well .. .in your case it is probably an alignment/tierod/centerlink problem ... too much slop either way will cause the wheel to turn out/in slightly and there you go ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Except that it tracked perfectly, and still does, until you hit the brakes. There was no pull until after the brake job, and I had the alignment done 2 weeks ago. Time to go back and just plain demand they do it all over again, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Except that it tracked perfectly, and still does, until you hit the brakes. There was no pull until after the brake job, and I had the alignment done 2 weeks ago. Time to go back and just plain demand they do it all over again, I suppose. could be something simple as air in the line on one side causing that side to be spngy and the other side to be stiff ... I would definately take it back ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcardamone Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Ok Guys, try this. SLIDE PINS!!!. Proper maint on the slide pins may Help. I Wrote a Doc a while back on Correct Maint for Nissan Slide Pins, All Models. The Little rubber boots Suck in Moisture and Cause the Pins to rust and Not Slide Correctly. if there is resistance on the Release of the Caliper, it will hang. These Pins will Cause That. I am attaching the doc. Let me know if it helps any. Allways has for me in the past. Good Luck!! Brake_Caliper_Slide_pin_Maintenance.doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaritimeMan Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 Wow, that is a good write up. I will definately try that as soon as I can, and let you know how things went. M.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 mr Pickles & Martine Man have you looked at both front and BACK sets of brakes if only one of the four is not working properly, it will do wierd and wonderful things.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaritimeMan Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Yah, I thought of that too. The Pathy was pullin before I did the brake job, which was where I decided to do the brakes after checkin all 4 corners. The back ones are almost dead even, with about 60% pad left. Seein how the front ones do all the work, thats more than reasonable. I haven't had alot of time lately to check into her. Schools wrapin up for the semester, and I'm about to head off to sea for 2 months, then over to Europe for another month, so it will probly just have to wait till then. Any how, input is appreciated, as always. 9 time out of 10, its the one thing you didn't think of. M.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 well, my prob is somewhat similar but not really and I just didn't feel like starting another breaks thread so here it goes: I was driving down the highway yesterday when all of a sudden my tk started to feel weard and pull to the left a bit. I pulled over because I actually thought that my right front tire was going down but that was not the case. I felt the wheels and the driver's front was super hot. I got of the freeway and drove slowly to a preffered location. Parked the tk and let the wheels cool off. I sure didn't have any tools. Then I just couldn't help myself and wheeled a bit and then drove home checking the wheels for heat often. Well, the truck quit pulling and the wheels stayed relatively the same (all 4) but still kinda hot. Earlier this evening I pulled the wheels off and the fronts spin semi-normal. I did go wheeling a few weeks ago and did some "swimming" so there is some grit, but the driver's front is not spinning as freely. The calipers are not stuck as I thought originally. Any ideas??? While searching, I came across the post about the slide pins so I am going to look into that next few days but any other ideas would be appreciated. I have split cv boots too but right now just looking for a quick fix and was hoping to do major work and some mods this winter.. thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj big shoe Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 I had a '87 Z28 that did the same thing. When I tapped the brakes, it would initially pull to the right real hard, then track straight a half second later as if the left caliper was hesitating then gripping the rotor. I replaced both rotors and pads and the left caliper. None of that helped. I took it to a brake shop and after telling them what I had done, they checked it out and replaced the rubber brake line going to the "hesitating" caliper. Ends up the hose had an internal slice in it that was acting sort of like a check valve. When I hit the brakes, the fluid movement inside the hose would cause a piece of the inner lining of the hose to flip down and block the flow of fluid to the caliper for a split-second causing the car to pull to the right. I'd check the other suggestions on this thread first but if strange things continue, look for the unconventional. That hose kicked my butt for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChromoTech Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 How hard is it to work on the drums?? mine sux! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoViking Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 drums are easy... and look on ebay for them... i got a pair of them for $50... where the autoparts store wanted $120 for the set. shop around pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChromoTech Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 Cant you replace just the pads or do you have to get new drums too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 you should be able to just do the shoes. they are kinda a pita comparing to thhe discs but not that bad. JJ, i can see that possibility. my break fluid looks pretty bad. i don't recall seing it being changed in the records. i bet it's prob. original. I'll probably drain/flush the system and replace the hoses. I just need a helper... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 you should be able to just do the shoes. they are kinda a pita comparing to thhe discs but not that bad. JJ, i can see that possibility. my break fluid looks pretty bad. i don't recall seing it being changed in the records. i bet it's prob. original. I'll probably drain/flush the system and replace the hoses. I just need a helper... Definately change the brake lines at the wheel. I had the same exact feeling you described. The caliper would grab and pull the truck, and it would get super hot. I drove it for a bit not being able to put my finger on the problem and one day the thing self destructed. Very nearly locked up while on the freeway forcing me to turn the steering wheel a quarter turn right to go straight, and by the time I could pull off, it was already almost glowing hot. You could feel the heat from a good 2 feet away! Come to find out, the brake line that was supposed to have been replaced previously when I got new calipers (about 1 1/2 years before at Midas) didn't get swapped and failed. The thieving bastards wouldn't cut a break and it was stuck there, so I had to pay (again!) for new calipers and rotors cause they were cooked. Moral of the story: cheap to replace the hose, expensive to replace the whole caliper and rotor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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