Hey guys,
I have a slight problem with my brakes, they tend to make the car go left when I hit them. What is causing this? I have to turn the wheel right when I stop and I know it is causing havoc on my tires up front. I was told it is not the alignment and that the alignment is straight on. Maybe a bad right brake line? I hear a clicking in the right wheel in the front when I hit the brakes, could that have something to do with it? She goes in for inspection in a few weeks and I want her to run flawless when she comes out. Thanks.

 

Assuming you have GOOD matching tires on front and the pressures are OK... Make sure your brake pads aren't worn. Also make sure that they are wearing evenly. Clean and lube the caliper slides.

Road test. If that doesn't take care of the problem, replaced both front rubber brake hoses. They are known for causing this problem, but check the basics first.

 

Tires are matching and the won't be for long if this brake problem continues, one will be bald and the other one new, by the way they are both inflated properly. Mechanic says he saw nothing, he better check this out cuz i got a lot of people that deny seeing anything wrong with it, and this IS a problem. If I dont find the problem, Im buildin from scratch and thats it.

 

I have a similar problem except mine pulls right on braking, gets pretty scary when I need to stop short. I have done everything mentioned above to pinpoint the problem and think it is indeed the hoses. I am thinking about the stainless steel lines. Does anyone know if they are worth the extra cost?

THanks.

 

i agree with what Marc 85Z28 said...

i think you will be fine with just stock replacement rubber hoses..

the newer rubber compounds last pretty long..

 

Yeah, kinda hard to look inside a brake hose to see if it's clogged. He could use a brake fluid pressure gauge, but by that time, might as well just replace the hose.

Bottom line anyway; if they're the original 1992 brake hoses, you should replace them. Brake hoses deteriorate over time, that's why they clog, and we should've all replaced all our brake hoses by now. (Think of an '82 Firebird, the hoses are 20 years old!!)

The hose that's plugged is the one OPPOSITE the way the car pulls when you press the brakes. Why? When you hit the brakes, fluid goes to one caliper right away- that's the unclogged hose- and that tire stops first- and that's why you pull to one side. The clogged hose delays the fluid, and the tire stops a second or two later.

But you should replace both hoses at the same time, for two reasons. #1 is Safety!! #2, what if both hoses are clogged, but one isn't as clogged as the other? If you replaced just the one hose, your car might yank to the other side when you're done- and then you're taking the car apart again.

And don't let the master cylinder run dry!!! Remember, the reservoir for the FRONT brakes is the one closest to the FIREWALL. I forgot that when I changed my front lines, I kept watching the front reservoir (which is for the rear brakes)- oops. By the time I noticed, the master cylinder was 1/8th inch from running dry. Wound up spilling brake fluid all over the place trying to pour fluid in as fast as I could.

In fact, this summer, when I redo my whole front suspension, I'm buying new hoses (again), and I"m also going to replace those front calipers of mine. They're the originals, and as of today, have 241,000 miles on 'em. I hear they sell rebuilds for $10/each... not a bad price for safety. So if you have original calipers too, you might want to replace them just for kicks. You gotta disconnect the brake line anyway; might as well do it now instead of a few months or a year from now!

 

Oh and 92zzz28, people here prefer the Earls stainless steel brake hoses to the Russell hoses. The Russell hoses had problems with the hose separating from the fitting, and people were getting into either accidents, or near-accidents!! Avoid Russell!

 

Thanks for the tip!!

 

Tom P, u are a good man. This seems to be the problem, and even if it is not, the brake lines are going anyway. I will have the calipers checked out as well, I dont care how much it costs, this car has 70k on it, it still needs to live its life.

 

Tom P, u are a good man. This seems to be the problem, and even if it is not, the brake lines are going anyway. I will have the calipers checked out as well, I dont care how much it costs, this car has 70k on it, it still needs to live its life. By the way, do you think that the metal lines directly out of the master cylinder could be clogged as well, or perhaps another brake component failing on me such as the booster weakening, or the master cylinder failing for some odd reason. The funny thing is that my uncle replaced my drivers side rear axle and he noticed that the brake on the back was brand new looking, but it was replaced a year and a half ago. *** only knows if my back brakes are functioning properly.

 

Right!
I had the same problem with my 85. Did damn near everything except check the hoses from the rigid lines to the calipers. The Do have a tendency to break down and clog or even squeeze shut