My Wagon pulls to the right upon braking...

[plumsmooth]

However it stabilizes as the brakes get engaged.

My Guess is it IS the brakes.
Maybe one caliper is sticking and not engaging right away.

Now I am trying to guess which side it would be.
Seems it would be the opposite side.

IF vehicle pulls to the right upon braking --then the right is grabbing before the left?

I'm sure there are a few reasons vehicle could pull left or right, but if it is happening during initial braking then...

[j-dawg]

Out-of-spec toe will cause the car to pull on braking as well. Probably worth checking alignment.

[plumsmooth]

Out-of-spec toe

Not sure what that means but I'll do a little research.

I have never had an alignment performed on this car...

However, I think I might have another tie-rod problem too and i believe it is good to fix those before an alignment..

Seems I've had them tie-rods done too many times in 10 years -- which has me wondering if there is some kind of protective boot that the mechanic hasn't fitted properly or at all?

[RussB]

Not all brands of tie rods are created equal...


Check brakes for sticking/frozen calipers. Check suspension for worn parts, check tires for uneven wear, after all that's taken care of, have it aligned. Don't forget to check the rear trailing arm and trailing arm link bushings. Often the later are frozen in place and do not allow the mechanic to properly align the car, unless they are replaced. Living in the salt belt takes its toll

[abscate]

Look at your rotors. Both sides should like shiny pieces of polished steel , almost like mirrors. If there is anything brown on the surface , the caliper is freezing up. You have to crawl underneath to check the inside face of the rotor

[j-dawg]

Not sure what that means but I'll do a little research.

"Toe" means the angle between the wheels, as seen from above.


The toe angle can affect, among other things, what the wheels do when you hit the brakes. A loose tie rod will be even more likely to do what you describe (initially pulls, but quickly settles down), because the wheel's toe is sloppy, and it's being held at one side of that slop by the forces from the road and transmission. When you transition between applying torque and braking, the wheel will "switch" from one side of the slop to the other, hence the brief period when the car pulls. Once the wheel is done switching, the pull from the other wheel will tend to center the tires again, and you'll be pointed more or less straight, though the steering wheel may be subtly off-center.

That was my experience when I had a loose ball joint on the control arm - braking resulted in a transient "wiggle". Kind of scary. Definitely get an alignment done once you've replaced the tie rod. It makes a huge difference in how planted the car feels, and it'll save you money on tires in the long run.

[plumsmooth]

Definitely get an alignment done once you've replaced the tie rod.

You say this like you Know...

Funny...

Actually when I last left my a-hole mechanic he said My Tie-rod was bad too...

This was around the time that instead of finishing the oil leak job he starts on suspension work.

So I ended up saying oh well...

[j-dawg]

You mentioned it in your previous post

[RussB]

I have never had an alignment performed on this car...


Seems I've had them tie-rods done too many times in 10 years

How does one replace tie rods and NOT get the car aligned?

[cn90]

Been there done that. Car veered to the right a bit.
Thought it was alignment issue, but it was aligned properly.

Turned out the RF caliper was seized.
You can see the seizing even without removing the wheels.
Get a flashlight and shine in there.
If there is uneven wear on the pads, it is telltale sign of a seized caliper.

See the photos of my seized RF caliper:




More detail below:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... 1&start=28