car pulls left

[Steve B.]

My 1960 pulls strongly left on braking. This does not happen when just using the emergency brake (rear brakes) and does not occur when not braking. Car has been pulling about 4 1/2 years, brake rework and adjusting brakes usually offers short relief.

I took it to a local shop, told them I'd worked on the brakes and couldn't cure the problem. The shop replaced every brake part I had not.
I have rotated the tires and checked the pressure. Pulling still occurs.
The shop adjusts the brakes which, if lucky, may last until a drive where the brakes get warm, but sometimes not.
Still pulls strongly left.
No obvious visual problem
Please, if anyone has had similar problems or any idea to narrow the problem. Your help will be greatly appreciated

Some vehicle history
Original car 139,000 miles, auto transmission
New shocks 30,000 miles and over 20 years ago
king pins 9,000 miles & 12 years ago
front bearings and seals 7,000 miles & 8 years ago
radial tires 6,000 miles & 7 years ago
3,000 miles ago brake rebuild, new cylinders, body to front wheel hoses, new ft drums, shoes, springs.
Yearly lubes.

Steve Banich
650-854-8284

[John Nuzzo]

Re: car pulls left

I'm sure this has been done, but the only time I experienced that type of a problem with my '62; I simply had the front wheel cyls rebuilt and I replaced the rubber brake line hoses and it was FIXED.......If you have replaced the wheel cyls and rubber lines, I would do it again. John N

[Duke W.]

Re: car pulls left

Are you saying the the pull was there both before and after the new front wheel cylinders, hoses, and drums?

And it only occurs intermittently when the brakes get warm?

It's possible that some of the new parts are defective or out of tolerance. I would suggest measuring the drum ID. Brake shops should have a tool for this. A "thin drum" can cause pull because one side gets hotter than the other.

Also verify that the front wheel cylinders are the correct bore size and the friction material appears to be the same type on both sides.

It's also possible that something in the suspension is deflecting excessively under braking - like a A-arm bushing that is causing a caster change on one side.

Duke

[Denny J.]

Re: car pulls right

Take the left drum off put on right side & right side on left side.that will tell you about the drums.Denny72

[Roy B.]

Re: car pulls left

I've had a bad shock cause what your saying , allowing the front or rear to dip /that gave no resistance to that corner weight of the Corvette which in turn caused the Corvette to pull one way or the other , Remove one end of each shock and move it up or down by hand to see if it's got no resistance to it!

[Denny J.]

Re: car pulls right

When you have the drums off scuff the brake shoes with some sandpaper to take any gloss/oils off.Your brake shoe will also tell what's going on also.Denny72

[Joe M.]

Re: car pulls left

Based on your description of the pull being present both before and after work was performed I might suspect a brake part that was not replaced but rebuilt. I had a similar problem on my 63 after having the wheel cylinders sleeved/rebuilt by a company no longer in business. They worked great for a while and on my first trip with my wife, I hit the brakes and ended up in the opposite lane. Problem stemmed from incorrect sized parts being used to rebuild the cylinders. Replaced the original rebuilts with off the shelf replacements.

On my old 62 I had a brake drum out of round even though I had it turned down. Replaced the drum and no more pull.

Be aware that it takes some miles to mate up the drums and shoes and sometimes the pull just goes away. Used to be able to get the new shoes matched to the drums on a machine but not so common anymore.

Don't know how critical the backing plates are when the shoes wear grooves into them but that may be an issue. Perhaps a shoe is getting hung up.

I'd also suspect some suspension part except that you said the braking improved for a short time after an 'adjustment'. That leads me to believe the problem involves the front brakes /lines with out of round or 'thin' drums where heat would be a factor.

New brake lines could have dirt or insects clogging the line, so unless you flushed and blew compressed air in the lines before assembly they would be suspect. Dented brake lines in some obsure location would also be a factor.
Shoes contaminated with oil would also cause the problem.

I feel your frustration.