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My brakes pull strongly to the right upon application of pedal pressure. No lock up or pulling seems evident upon release of pedal pressure. Alignment is good, suspension bushings brand new, shocks good.
There seems to be plenty of brake pad, and rotors seem fine. I am puzzled. Could there be a pressure differential in the lines? Any thoughts on causitive factors are welcome.
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Phil, this is common and is almost always caused by one or more stuck pistons in a caliper. Thats what gives you "differential pressure". The good news is, in nearly all cases, the fix involves lots of labor and no cash at all unless there a leak. I've described this operation in detail, with photos, in the POCA news several times. Remove the caliper mount bolts & coat-hanger the caliper so its not hanging by the hose. Put a drain pan under the area, remove the brake pads and have someone gently step on the brakes while you watch the pistons move. One won't. Block the three that do move and have your assistent really tromp on the pedal; it WILL move, eventually. As it blows out, you'll discover why the drain pan is there (watch your eyes)! The piston is stainless steel and built-up varnish can safely be scotch-brite-ed off with no damage. Wipe out any debris in the caliper body, too. Reinstall the piston and the rubber dust boot that also blew out, bleed that caliper of air and you're done.... for a while. The sensible thing would be to do all the pistons in both calipers, change the fluid and be done with it for another decade. The rears rarely give trouble except for sticking e-brake cables.
A sticking e-brake cable? First find out if a mechanical problem caused the sticking: an eroded spot on the jacket will allow water to get inside and rust things, or in this weather, will freeze solid & prevent the e-brake from working. A bent, pinched or collapsed jacket will squeeze the inner cable & do the same. One Pantera was undercoated with what appeaered to be hot tar that melted the protective plastic, penetrated into the inner cable and froze it solid. Once the cause is found & corrected, you can fabricate a paper or cardboard funnel around one end of the cable (disconnected at the caliper), taped securely & positioned so its slightly higher than the end fastened to the under-engine bracket. Fill the funnel with motor oil or the penetrating oil of your choice. After a day or so, the lube will start drilling out at the bracket end. Begin 'exercising' the cable until it frees up. The oil should keep moisture from getting in & causing further problems.
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