850 pulls to right while braking

viperocco · Post by **viperocco** » 10 Sep 2010, 09:45

Hello all, searched around but couldnt find a direct answer, basically what title says, when braking car pulls to the right while steering wheel goes left. inflated the tires no change, could this be a ball joint issue or am i looking at some brake work?

Post by **jblackburn** » 10 Sep 2010, 09:55

If it were a ball joint issue, you'd be looking at the steering wheel going back and forth under hard acceleration or just driving down the highway too. If you gun it, does it pull to either side? If so, then I'd look at ball joints first.

If not, I would look at the calipers first. Is one side missing more brake pad material than the other? The left one may be rusted or stuck, and the right side is doing all the work. Sometimes, it can be solved just by bleeding the brakes thoroughly, sometimes you need to get a new/re-built caliper.]

Oh, and welcome to the site. Let us know what you find out, if you would!

viperocco · Post by **viperocco** » 10 Sep 2010, 10:27

Thanks dude I'll check it out today and let you guys know

viperocco · Post by **viperocco** » 12 Sep 2010, 13:41

ok so i examined the brakes and both sides were evenly worn. worn out completely but worn evenly. calipers both compressed when introducing new pads so I made the judgment call to not replace the caliper. replaced pads and rotors though and at first it didnt seem to exhibit the symptoms and then slowly as we were test braking she begin to pull to the right, not as badly as before though. any ideas?

Post by **charlyW** » 12 Sep 2010, 15:50

Ball joints would be the next point of inspection

Post by **JDS60R** » 12 Sep 2010, 19:51

Left front caliper is sticking- remove and rebuild both front calipers.

Verify with a non contact thermometer comparing the temps of the left and right front rotors after several 40 mph+ stops.

You will see higher temps on the right.

Less frequently the right hub could be failing and adding extra friction under high load (Braking).

Even less frequently you could have air in the system on the left side - or its leaking.

Report back with the rotor temps and any noise you are hearing from the hubs please

viperocco · Post by **viperocco** » 28 Sep 2010, 15:58

sorry for the delay, here is an update on my saga. it turns out that replacing the control arms which included fresh ball joints and bushings along with the sway arm links took care of the drifting while braking. fcp groton on ebay 88 bux, what a freakin deal. very easy to install. thanks for all the help and advice