pulling to the left when braking

[waynepeele]

1976 has new calipers,pads, rotors turned,new fluid, new flexible line and still pulls left when braking.any hints.

 

[Yoda]

waynepeele ~ Welcome to the Corvette Action Center Community ~

Wayne,

I moved this down into the C3 Techincal Forums. I believe you'll see a few more responses to your question.

Welcome aboard and enjoy the

 

[brusso]

Waisted control arm bushings? I don't know. There's just nothing worse than no response so I thought that I would say something.

 

[GTR1999]

Check the right caliper for leaks and the left brake hose. You said you replaced the rubber hoses right? If not replace them if they're older then 4-5 years. what about your tire pressures,I know it sounds simple but low pressure could cause a slight pull. It still sounds like the front system though.

 

[80convertible]

Verify that the pistons are actually working. My vette would pull way left when braking. I finally got in there to inspect and found that the pistons were not functioning properly causing the brake pad not to fully contact the rotor. I could actually see the improper wear pattern on the pad. In my case the parts were not new.

 

[corvetjerryd]

Welcome Waynepeele, This problem drove me crazy on a 67 coupe once. I finally swapped the front rotors from side to side and the pull also moved. So under closer inspection I found that the rotor was cracked right down the center of the fins all the around and it was squeezing together when you step on the pedal. I replaced the rotors and the problem went away...

I'm not sure if this is your problem or not but you might try it....

 

[mike weyman]

you have all but eliminated the brakes as the problem, you must ensure the new parts are not faulty, then,check the wheel bearings,if not that, check the front end, maybe tie rod ends?

i'd confirm the new parts are working, then on to bearings.

 

[waynepeele]

Verify that the pistons are actually working. My vette would pull way left when braking. I finally got in there to inspect and found that the pistons were not functioning properly causing the brake pad not to fully contact the rotor. I could actually see the improper wear pattern on the pad. In my case the parts were not new.

thanks

 

[Evolution1980]

Well, seeing as you have new calipers, lines, fluid, etc... AND assuming you bled the system correctly...

I'm far from being a mechanic, but isn't there a proportioning valve in the master cylinder? Or does that only proportion front to back?

Does your steering wheel actually turn when you apply the brakes, or does the car simply start to fade to one side without any noticeable movement from the steering wheel? Can you "feel" anything in the steering wheel either under light or heavy braking?

 

[snr8715]

Jack the car up and turn each tire by hand and have someone hit the brakes while you turn them. The one thats slow about releasing is the one with problem. Most of the time if it's on the front it the rubber hose.

 

[SJC]

C2 & C3 Brakes Pulling after Maintenance

I also had a problem of the brakes on my non-power brake '67 pulling and not having the proper feel after replacing all the calipers on my '67. Since the C2 & C3 systems are similar, my experience may be able to help someone else. Some of the responses above are very good, such as the cracked rotor one, but in that case the problem should have existed before other brake work, but that illustrates the need to look at everything carefully when all the stuff is pulled apart.

In my case, even though I carefully bled the new calipers, I could not get the problem to go away until I bled the master cylinder. At least on '67s, there are two master cylinder bleeder screws (don't be surprised if either bleeder passage is plugged within the cylinder as well, as many years ago I had to drill one of the two out to make it functional). At any rate, going back and bleeding the master cylinder(M/C), which I should have done first, anyway, solved my problem. Prior to that the car would pull left sometimes and right sometimes and the pedal had too much travel (on a non-power disk brake equipped car) before the brakes engaged.

Why didn't I bleed the M/C first as I should have? Well, I rationalized that since the M/C had been on the car and working prior to installing new calipers that it didn't need it, but I overlooked that the rear caliper leak(s) allowed enough brake fluid to drain out of the rear system such that M/C also ended up with air in it, even though the rest of the system bled out fine.

I hope that you find your problem, but I have found that for problems such as this, that it is necessary to go back and look at everything associated with the system and assure they are working as expected before chasing a bunch of other things such as alignment, ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc.

 

[Antz81]

I hope that you find your problem, but I have found that for problems such as this, that it is necessary to go back and look at everything associated with the system and assure they are working as expected before chasing a bunch of other things such as alignment, ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc.

This thread was last active in 2004. I would hope they have found the problem by now.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Good information though. It may help someone.

Thanks,
Tom