1995 GMC 1500 steering pulling to right when braking

rja116

My husband has recently noticed that his truck pulls to the right when braking. He has replaced his brake pads for the first time (at 77,000 miles) and this problem was noticed afterwards. I am not sure if this coincides with the pulling or not. Does anyone know what may causing this? He doesn't seem to think it's a caliper problem since both brake pads were evenly worn. Any suggestions? Thanks

mullins87

The pulling could be caused by any number of problems. Check to make sure both tires are properly inflated, a low tire will cause a pull to one side. Since it showed up right after the new brake pads, I'd bet the problem is either one or more of the pads were installed incorrectly or one of the calipers is sticking. Another consideration is to make sure one of the pads hasn't fallen partially out. I didn't think that was possible until I had it happen to me. Another possibility is a stuck slide pin. If the calipers don't slide easily, then a pull is very possible.

To get more difficult, when your husband pushed the caliper piston back into the caliper, he could have forced a chunk of dirt/rust in the brake fluid into an orifice, causing it to be plugged. This would prevent equal hydraulic pressures between the two front brakes. A steering component, such as a tie rod end, could be worn allowing the right tire to turn out slightly, giving the feeling of a pull.

There's not that many brake parts to give you trouble on your husbands truck. I'd start with the simple stuff and work your way toward the more difficult/expensive stuff.

wpalkowski

This probably needs to go in GMC forum, but I'll give it a shot before the host intercedes. :-)
  Steering pull is a problem with the front brakes . Since it is only evident after the brake job, your hubby's work sounds suspect. The brakes may have worn evenly before, but now something is amiss and he's not getting equal braking force on both wheels. One side is braking more effectively than the other, causing the truck to pull to the side that's being braked harder. Is the truck just gradually pulling to one side, or is it diving across two lanes of traffic when you try to stop?
    Basic question: he changed pads on both front wheels at same time? Hope so. Did he just change pads, or were rotors resurfaced too? Old pads and rotors wore together for 77K miles, they were matched set. If rotors weren't turned to make them flat and smooth, possibly one of the new pads is not making as a good a contact with the disk as the other side. This could give light to moderate pulling. Did he lube caliper pins when reassembling the brakes, one caliper could be momentarily sticking as brakes are applied. So braking force gets applied to one side sooner the other. Truck would jerk to one side, then straighten out as brake forces equalled. Did he need to bleed the brake lines? If so, did he bleed both sides - could be an air bubble on one side that's not allowing it to send hydraulic fluid to caliper - this would cause truck to severely pull. Another problem could be that he put a kink in one of the brake lines while the brakes & calipers were disassembled - this would cause uneven hydraulic pressure between the two sides. Check condition of metal brake lines and the rubber hydraulic line.

wpalkowski

Started to answer, then got side tracked. Finally posted and found you snuck in.

akjbmw

Verify that the rotor or pad surface has not become contaminated by something slippery...

oldharry

Did he open the bleeder screws before pushing the piston back? If not, he may have forced dirt/rust into the hose on the side away from the pull. If so new brake hoses are required.

Harry