HI.. still having brake problems. I 've replaced everthing thing UNDER THE car. Everything is new or rebuilt. THERE isn't a orginal piece on that car, that hasn't be rebuilt. I replaced all brake lines, rubber, steel, all valves, ball joints, bushings, tie rods, everthing!!! and SHE STILL PULLS TO THE RIGHT.

The car didn't pull when I finished putting everthing back together. I noticed after driving the car around that I had this vibration in the front end. turns out that the drivers side hub was bent or warped. So, I replaced the drivers side hub and installed a new rotor. AFter I did that she started to pull again to the right. I still have the orginal hub and rotor on the passenger side but I have new spindles, knuckles, etc....

There is no play in the bearings. Everthing is tight on the front end. I checked and tripple checked. I even had Tony's corvette shop check my work... No leaks from the brake lines. All nuts are torque to spec.. Everything seems right but she still pulls. I'm about to push the car off a cliff... Drove the car home from tony's after and about 10 to 15 miles into the trip she started to pull hard. I had about 8 calipers on the front. and about 4 on the rear. 2 sets of rubber lines, and I have SS lines on there now. Umm... 4 master cylinders... No leaks from the calipers... I am so pissed I can't even think straight... :mad :mad :mad

Oh... I have sucked (vac pump) and blead the brakes with gallons of dot 3/4 fluid....

The only thing I can think of is a caliper is sticking, but which one? I don't think its the pads, but I'll replace them with another set i have tomorrow...

thanks for letting me rant... I feel better. The car drives really nice but when I need to stop!! :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry

going to move the pads from the pass side to the driver and driver to pass side. if the pull moves, then it has to be the pads.

Hmm..


If anyone wants to know how to replace anything under the car.. Just ask.. I've done it all.. But don't ask me about brake problems


Yes, I still need to still the new radiator...

list to fix:
1. brake problem
2. radiator
3. AC
4. tranny
5. paint

then she'll be done. She should last another 23 years.



[Modified by Bluewasp, 12:17 AM 7/11/2002]

 

You still have air in the calipers... most likely the rears.

Get two of those bleeder cups from PepBoys or AutoZone or somewhere.

Put one on a front caliper, and one on a rear caliper.
Leave the bleeders closed at first... hammer the brakes hard to nudge the prop valve to center position in case it's off center.

Fill both M/C chambers to the top.
Then open both a front bleeder and a rear bleeder at the same time... doesn't matter which side.
Pump to get fluid to the open bleeders, then 10 to 12 full strokes and close the bleeders. Empty the cups and start again until you flow about 4 of those plastic cups through EACH bleeder. The fronts will fill faster and need emptying sooner... but keep going until the rears have been processed.

Bleed them two at a time (one front, one rear) to keep the brake (prop) switch from screwing you up.

Keep a constant watch on the M/C reservoirs. If you let it run down to the ports, you have to start all over again.

Lastly... do the "two man bleeder" trick with two (front & rear) at the same time to eliminate the last few bubbles.

I tried the vacuum pump today.... it was a total flop. But I'll take the blame for operator error.

 

If it's pulling to the right the issue is with the left calipher and is either sticking pistons, air,bad flex line,blocked line or contaminated pads. Sounds like your on the right track with your analysis of the problem.
Had the same problem and it turned out to be the pads. Just swap as you already mentioned and you'll know for sure if the problem follows.
LoL BoB

 

One no cost thing to try is swapping the front pads from one side to the other. It is possible that the warped hub/disk/vibration had enough drag to glaze the pad. If the pull goes to the other side then a new set of pads should fix. I am only thinking of this as I just went through this with an IROC I have. I would not have previously thought that could be a cause for pulling.
bob

 

Pads normally won't cause a pull. A pull requires more force than just the slight variation of pad surfaces (as long as the pads are from the same manufacturer, and the manufacturer provides consistent quality pads). Did you get brake fluid on any of the pads? Did you try cleaning the pads with degreaser? Are the rotors new/resurfaced? Did you get hand prints or anything on any rotor surfaces? Any of these things will cause a pull. Air in the lines won't cause a pull (well, there may be a slight nudge at first, but it won't actually continue to pull because the pressure in the lines will quickly equalize) because because the pressure in the lines will equalize such that the pedal will keep going down and there won't be much in the way of braking at all.

Our Vettes use a fixed caliper so there isn't much that can go wrong mechanically, and the fluid system keeps every caliper at the same pressure. About the only thing that can cause a pull is when the pad-to-rotor contact is contaminated. However, it IS possible that the suspension can be tweaked such that when the front end dips a bit that the alignment gets screwed up. Did you get an alignment done?

If nothing else works, then maybe attach one end of a cable to the brake pedal and the other end to the steering knuckle such that pressing on the brake also turns the wheel to the left just enough to compensate. :jester

 

I totally disagree with this statement...

"Air in the lines won't cause a pull (well, there may be a slight nudge at first, but it won't actually continue to pull because the pressure in the lines will quickly equalize) because because the pressure in the lines will equalize such that the pedal will keep going down and there won't be much in the way of braking at all."

We've had this discussion before... oh what a short memory.

To prove my point , I bled the brakes on my 66 to make sure they were functioning correctly, and then I let all of the fluid out of one line... left front I think it was..

Then I took the car for a test drive.... it pulled extremely hard to one side, and continued to do so throughout the entire drive. Spun the steering wheel right around.

Re-bled the brakes, and the car no longer pulled to one side.

Case closed.
No books, philosophy, or theory.... just the facts.

Shall I do it again? :)