qqq6677

I have a 1992 Toyota pickup base model 2wd. When I step on the brake pedal the truck turns sharply to the left. So six months ago I replaced the passenger side brake caliper thinking that it wasn't working. This made no difference. The truck still turns to the left just as much when I step on the pedal. Why is that? How could the truck turn to the left if the passenger side caliper is ok? Later I learned that brake parts should be replaced on both sides at the same time. The caliper is a Duralast I bought from Autozone. The caliper is under the Duralast name, but the guy I talked to at Autozone said it's really an Atsco or something like that. So what should I do? If the caliper I put on is good would the truck still act this way? Should I replace the driver's side caliper to see if that fixes the problem? The Duralast brand I now know does not have a good reputation, so should I give the caliper back to Autozone with no refund and buy two reputable brand calipers? The caliper was only $33, so I don't care about getting rid of it if it's not reliable or possibly faulty. Are there other likely causes of the truck turning when the brakes are applied like faulty brake hoses, clogged brake lines, etc? Thanks for any replies.

vital22re

iTrader: (2)

Pull the truck in the air, have someone push the breaks while you spin the front tires. Make sure both sides work. If only one does make sure its properly bled. If no change disconnect the brake line from calliper push on the brakes and watch to see if you're getting fluid to the caliper. It could be a pinched hardline somewhere. Just gotta play the elimination game.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Have you inspected the suspension, alignment, or tire pressure? It might not be the braking system.

Visually inspect the lines for kink or other damage. When you bleed the brakes, make sure you drain the old fluid. A brake shop can pressure test the lines, to check if the right side is clogged.

For suspension it could be a camber, or toe issue/mismatch, a bad strut bushing, or soft shock. Does the body roll, eg dip the left side? Is the front ride height even, eg torsion bar adjustment?

*EDIT/PS* You can test for unbalanced flow at home, disconnect the brake lines and place them into two equal sized see thru cups, pressing the pedal to the floor should give equal amounts of fluid. You can this thru the bleeder valves, or with a one way fitting. Drips and other leaks will cause measurment problems..

racersg

Also suspect the rubber line that goes to the caliper. These are double wall and sometimes the line will collapse inside. Hard to spot sometimes. You can do the test above, jack it up and spin the wheels, apply the brakes and see what happens. If there is a pinched line or a collapsed line, that brake will hold a bit longer.

scope103

This happened to me; the hose looked fine on the outside but was completely blocked. It's easy to find, though, because when you bleed the brakes nothing comes out. You DID bleed the brakes after replacing the caliper, didn't you?

If one of the caliper bolts is bent the piston/cylinder can be fine, but it won't move on the slide so the brakes don't apply.

So, obviously, the first thing you do is jack up the front end and spin each wheel. Some problems will allow the bad brake to apply just enough to keep you from turning it by hand, but not enough to slow the vehicle. This is also pretty easy to find; if one side of one of the discs is rusty, the pad is not applying on that side of the disc.

If you only get pulling when you apply the brakes, it's unlikely to be a suspension/alignment/tire pressure problem. But obviously keep your eyes open when you put your head under the front end. Brake systems work on pressure, not volume, so opening the lines and checking for "even flow" won't tell you anything. The passenger side is farther from the master cylinder, so when open to the air it should always have slightly less flow.

ldivinag

on my 4runner, i had a bent trailing arm on the rear axle.

so if you looked at the rear axle from above, the left side was a wee bit slightly ahead of the right side. so when i had a cheapy front 2 wheel alignment they aligned the front so there was a slight right turn. i was essentially "crabbing".

so when i hit the brake, the whole vehicle would "turn" left so i had to correct it.

eventually, i had the bent trailing arm exchanged, did the SSC for the front link and had a proper 4 wheel alignment; soon after, the whole vehicle tracked straight.

even braking, i could let go of the steering wheel and it would go straight.

so, have a good proper 4 wheel alignment and make sure all 4 tires are moving straight and perpendicular to the rear axle...

SCToy

definitely check alignment, I had a bent tie rod that caused that to happen.