I just had a cracked right front rotor. I put on two new ones. Now The car pulls to the left when I slow to a stop. Not under light braking, but with a pressure at all, it pulls. It didnt do this before, what is wrong????????

 

I would look at a bad or sticking caliper maybe.

 

Did you spray the rotors with brake cleaner?

Did you replace the pads?

Did you accidently unhook an ABS sensor (assuming that it's got ABS)?

Did you check tire pressure?

And if you had to compress the pistons in the calipers to get them over the new rotors (which I'm sure you did), did you bleed the lines? It's not always needed, but the little time it takes, it's easily worth doing. Or as Florida Bird said, that caliper may have bound up from you compressing it.

The easiest way to check for that is to jack up the car, spin the wheels by hand while someone taps the brake pedal.

Good luck,
AJ

 

I dont have abs. I did not replace the pads because they would not fit over the new rotors, even with the calipers spread all the way apart. The tire pressure is fine too. So, I can try:

1. Spray with brake parts cleaner.
2. Check for sticking caliper.
3. Try bleeding them.

How do I tell if the caliper is sticking??? I can jack it up and have someone tap brakes, but how do I know if it is sticking?? Will it not allow me to keep spinning the tire????

 

I just looked at NAPA.com and it lists calipers for around 20 bucks. If this is trure, wouldnt it just be as simple to replace them???? Or is the part I am looking at not the entire caliper???? I dont know because I have never replaced the calipers. Also, I dont know if they are the original or not, but the car currently has just rolled over 165,000 miles. Is it time to replace them anyway????

 

Well first it's very odd that the pads would not (or barely) clear the new rotors even with the piston compressed. That itself may be the heart of the problem. It could be from the piston not being able to go all the way into the cylinder. I dunno.

When you jack the car up, and spin the wheels, they should spin with only a slight drag on them.

While the wheel is spinning, have someone press the brake and make sure the wheels stop.

If one wheel won't spin, the piston is stuck out. If one wheel won't stop, then the piston is stuck in.

One more thing. You did remove the lid on the brake resevoir before you compressed the pistons, right? If not, then you may bave blown a seal in one of the hoses. But that's something you should replace when you change calipers anyway. Especially with that many miles.

If it does turn out to be a caliper, then 'YES', replace them. Rebuilding them is something old men do instead of widdling wood. That's the caliper manufacture/rebuilder's job.

AJ

 

Yes i did take off the brake resevior lid before compressing them, and I also replaced the hoses this past summer. I went to NAPA today, and they had my calipers for 15 bucks each. I know all the guys that work there and they give me the 7% or so dealer discount. There has been a new development though, on my way home from work tonight at midnght, I was going down my road, and tested them, and it didnt seem to be pulling anymore. I am going to try again in the morning, but it might have just disappeared. I will keep you posted, thanks for all the help though.:hail:

 

Hey I used to rebuild calipers for a living And I'm not that old . But let me tell you I worked at one of the best rebuilders around I think they were #2 in the country in sales and I saw enough stuff going on that I wouldn't buy a rebuilt caliper. Just me though.