brake pull to the right

[kenversusryu]

I've had this weird brake pull to the right.

I first initially thought it was the front left brake. I did some random ebrake testing while driving around 15 mph and it did not pull to the right. I just thought it was the front left brake seizing or sticking.

I changed out the calipers, pads and rotors and it still exists! I don't see any suspension components bent. I replaced the tension rod with a poweredbymax tension rod thinking it could be the bushing but it's still there. Adjusted the caster and camber to oem spec but admittedly the toe is a bit off. (not entirely sure if toe will cause a pull, let me know if i am incorrect)

here is my list of parts
tein flex
tein tie rods
tension rod poweredbymax
brakes thoroughly bled before and after the caliper replaced with ate superblue. Stock lines.

for the rear
splparts toe and silkroad camber arms. Not sure if this is relative.

The only thing I can think of is my tires or my toe alignment. But I've had toe ridiculously off before and it never pulled. Can anyone give me any other ideas?

I upgraded to q45 calipers and when i lock my brakes the steering will pull only a tad bit but more or less relatively straight. When it's anything less (hard braking) it will pull. Ignore this part if it confused you.

Thanks all.

p.s. Nothing is leaking if that is what you are thinking.

[murda-c]

incorrect toe can cause a momentary pull to one side.

[OptionZero]

any sign of leaking brake fluid?

[g-via]

check your toe (as stated before)

I had this, toetoetoetoetoetoetoe :)

[kenversusryu]

How does toe contribute to brake pull? I'll check my toe but like i said before, my toe was way off before i installed my coilovers, tie rods and tension rods. 3 seperate installs and 3 wacked out alignments and it never pulled like this ever.

I'm pretty sure I"m within the oem specs even tho its a bit off from my preferred specs.

no leakage anywhere

anything else?

Thanks for the replies

[g-via]

Other than going to get an alignment I'm out of ideas

[luftrofl]

How does toe contribute to brake pull? I'll check my toe but like i said before, my toe was way off before i installed my coilovers, tie rods and tension rods. 3 seperate installs and 3 wacked out alignments and it never pulled like this ever.

I'm pretty sure I"m within the oem specs even tho its a bit off from my preferred specs.

no leakage anywhere

anything else?

Thanks for the replies

If your toe is off, it'll contribute to brake pull because the wheels aren't perfectly in line with the direction of the car. It seems to me that your toe could've previously been off on both sides by the same magnitude and therefore resulted in no net force to one side or the other. That seems to have changed if your toe is still off- one side could have toe in and the other could have toe out.

Or maybe it's not your toe. Have you properly bleeded your brakes? I haven't and my car pulls ever so slightly under braking.

[mifesto]

to add the alignment aspect, braking will make the misaligned camber setting worse as you brake because the weight of the car will be mostly in the front. maybe its your camber settings (or rather a full alignment hehe)

[clark]

it seems like you have exhausted all of the other suspension options. try swapping in a different BMC. maybe for some ridiculous reason, your brake bias is being thrown off right at your master cylinder. i've never heard of this happening, but reading through the posts, seems like everything else has been checked. i'd give it a whirl.

but it could also just be the right caliper is in better condition than your left caliper....

[racepar1]

Front toe will not cause any driveability issues. Front toe can only wear tires and cause the steering wheel to be off center. Did you check your inner/outer tie rod ends? What about your front ball joints? Do you know how to check any of those parts?

[kenversusryu]

Front toe will not cause any driveability issues. Front toe can only wear tires and cause the steering wheel to be off center. Did you check your inner/outer tie rod ends? What about your front ball joints? Do you know how to check any of those parts?

To be honest I have not checked my tie rods. What am i looking for other than a bent rod? I have had a bent rod before and it didn't cause a pull but rather a wheel shimmy.

While we're on the subject of tie rods, 7 months ago I tried to take off the tie rod end on right side off the knuckle without a puller. Had to drift the next morning so just took a hammer and pounded the end off the knuckle *BAD IDEA I KNOW*. If the ends are damaged, would that result in a pull? should the bolt on the tie rod end have some play at all? I pulled off the left side tie rod just fine that day without a hammer.

Ball joint on the lower control arm? How do i check my tie rod ends and ball joints?

[racepar1]

The quick way to test the ball joints and outer tie rod ends is you jack the car up, take the wheels off, take some BIG channel-lock pliers and compress the ball/shank into the socket. There should be very little movement, like you are not even sure if there is movement. For the inner tie rod ends jack the car up and rock the wheels back and forth and look for any play in the inner joint.

[kenversusryu]

Front toe will not cause any driveability issues. Front toe can only wear tires and cause the steering wheel to be off center. Did you check your inner/outer tie rod ends? What about your front ball joints? Do you know how to check any of those parts?

For toe, that's what I was thinking as well. If my steering wheel is crooked on straights, it should in theory be crooked while braking. As long as it is somewhat in factory specs with total toe out in front.

To be honest i did not check the tie rods. I have tein tie rods. What am i looking for other than rods being bent? As far as ball joints, I'm not quite sure how to check those. Inform me on what to look for as far as the tie rods and ball joints are concerned. What kinda tests can i do?

What else could it be?

[cdlong]

your e-brake and hydraulic brake are two different systems. it's still possible the rear is causing the pull from a weak or sticking left rear caliper. and 240 rear calipers suck and freeze up all the time.

also, check all the ball joints and bushings on the car as a failed bushing/joint can cause changes in alignment settings under different loads. check by jacking up the car and trying to rock the tire back and forth and up and down. also, make sure all the adjustable arms are tight.

[kenversusryu]

your e-brake and hydraulic brake are two different systems. it's still possible the rear is causing the pull from a weak or sticking left rear caliper. and 240 rear calipers suck and freeze up all the time.

also, check all the ball joints and bushings on the car as a failed bushing/joint can cause changes in alignment settings under different loads. check by jacking up the car and trying to rock the tire back and forth and up and down. also, make sure all the adjustable arms are tight.

I'll check the rear brakes. I doubt it's that because I've had a seized brake pads before but it never really felt like this. I'll check the caliper this time.

There are very few rubber bushings left as i have replaced them all with aftermarket rods with ball joints. But with the front I'll check the LCA bushing and the joints on the LCA and Tie rod end... but what am i looking for? I thought these joints are supposed to have some play?

[kenversusryu]

It really does feel like the left side of my car is lunging more than the right side resulting in a pull. As if the brakes are failing on the left side. Checked everything out though but still no answer. Maybe I missed something.

Can incorrect toe result in a pull? My steering wheel is off and it points to the left. When i drive 15 mph and brake the steering wheel points straight. Anything faster than that and brake will pull to the right. Hope that helps a bit.

Oh yeah one more weird test I did. If i keep my steering wheel straight and gas it will veer to the right. If i keep my steering wheel straight and brake, it will try to veer to the left! That's ONLY if i hold on the steering wheel straight. Weird huh?

This shit is frustrating as hell!

[kenshinS14sks]

i had this problem before . . . later that day i saw that one of my front tires were going flat... added air... problem solved :)

[gprb25]

You said you have Tein Flex's right? Just a suggestion, but have you checked the height of each side and counted the threads to see if the coilovers are even?

If its pulling and you have checked all of the brakes and arms, then maybe thats what it is. With one being a little higher than the other it could cause it to pull.

Good luck man.

[iwishiwas-all*]

t- to tha o to tha e
TOE

[kenversusryu]

As an update, I just wanted to let people know what the actual issue was just in case someone is doing a search in the future.

So the pull continued and I gave up on trying to resolve the issue myself. I took it in to my friends uncles shop and he told me i needed a new ball joint on the drivers side and suggest changing out my steering rack because of a leak on both rubber boots. He wouldn't guarantee that changing these would fix the issue. Using my best judgement and remember racepar's suggestion, I had him change the ball joints and steering rack.

3 days later... voila! Just like new! Damn ball joint! If you have a similar situation, check your ball joint, my passenger ball joint had a slight bulge but was informed that it was normal, the driver side looked similar with no tear.. it bulged more to one side and kinda looked lopsided. he used a crow bar to jiggle the lower control arm to where I can see the slight movement in the lower control arm. Imagine that with just a crow bar! Coudln't imagine what it would look like with 3000 lbs of load from the car.

Good luck everyone drive safe!