Pulling to the left when braking...Any ideas?

I have a '98 Disco and recently replaced the rear drivers side caliper.
I then bled each wheel in turn as the pedal felt quite spongey.
Took it for a spin and the brakes are now working but the vehicle pulls violently to the left whenever I brake.

Any ideas?

If your o/s caliper is not functioning correctly then the vehicle is going to pull to the n/s, also are u sure the bleeding was ok.

Just steer violently to the right just before you brake !

This happened to me and it turned out to be the pistons, easy fix.

brainstorm said:

I have a '98 Disco and recently replaced the rear drivers side caliper.
I then bled each wheel in turn as the pedal felt quite spongey.
Took it for a spin and the brakes are now working but the vehicle pulls violently to the left whenever I brake.

Any ideas?

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Presumably you never had this problem before and you let all the brake fluid run out when changing the caliper, air in the system?

Bleed it starting from the n/s rear, get somebody to pump the pedal half a doz times then hold it down firmly and tell you, you open the bleeder and watch the fluid run out, your assistant tells you when the pedal goes to the floor and you shut the bleeder. do it a few times , then the o/s rear then the n/s front and so on.

The caliper you got is second hand its the wrong type or its siezed.

You ****ed brake fluid all over the discs and pads

Its been laying for a while and it needs the pads burnt in with a good drive.

Lastly make sure all the calipers are working and the pads are ok and free in the calipers, means yur gona have to strip all the calipers take the pads out one at a time, hold a couple of levers against the pistons in em, get somebody to press the brake gently and allow the pistons to come out a bit then press them back in again.

Dont let the pistons come out too far use the levers to control it, and tell your assistant to go slowly and stop when you holler

Last thing part of your steering or suspension is fooked, but I'd go for brakes.

Srm said:

This happened to me and it turned out to be the pistons, easy fix.

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Was yours a brand new caliper? What was the easy fix?

No it was the one I had, I changed the pistons and all was good, mined you I had to change them on both sides.

brainstorm said:

Was yours a brand new caliper? What was the easy fix?

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just encase you is going to fiddle with the calipers, do not be tempted to split them, as they will be chuck away items if you do.
Also, not that it would be the cause of your issue, but make sure you use correct spec brake fluid, as there is big issues in the long term if you don't.

ssmn1234 said:

just encase you is going to fiddle with the calipers, do not be tempted to split them, as they will be chuck away items if you do.
Also, not that it would be the cause of your issue, but make sure you use correct spec brake fluid, as there is big issues in the long term if you don't.

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No, I wouldn't dare split them as I've heard many horror stories about the dangers! But I will check it to see if it's actually operational.
Btw, I used dot 4 brake fluid.

rollin danny said:

Just steer violently to the right just before you brake !

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You're a genius Danny!
Why didn't I think of that???:doh:

In fact why use brakes at all? Maybe I should just cut out a hatch in the floor...Flintstone stylee!

If your happy that you've bled the system correctly and your calipers are ok and it still does it, then think about your front shocks, also on mine the front offside coil spring had snapped but the way it remained seated wouldn't have given you any clue to this when you looked at it from the outside.

brainstorm said:

No, I wouldn't dare split them as I've heard many horror stories about the dangers! But I will check it to see if it's actually operational.
Btw, I used dot 4 brake fluid.

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Doubt you could buy incorrect fluid these days, but it does have a sell by date since its hygoscopic and absorbs moisture, so best to chuck it away after a while once its opened.

could it be that the front left caliper is starting to sieze and just a little force is pulling it more then the right side?

david451 said:

Doubt you could buy incorrect fluid these days, but it does have a sell by date since its hygoscopic and absorbs moisture, so best to chuck it away after a while once its opened.

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Bloody castrol must be dumping all there dot 3 and other sh 1t, "into our market then," ba stids.

try removing the weak caliper and poping the piston out give it all a clean, put break fluid on the inner seal's and put it back in (make sure u keep the piston rotation the same because they usuly fit one way) so maybe put a lil permanent-marker mark on the piston and caliper.. like you would if u were doin a cam belt to keep it in the rite place.

discomark10 said:

try removing the weak caliper and poping the piston out give it all a clean, put break fluid on the inner seal's and put it back in (make sure u keep the piston rotation the same because they usuly fit one way) so maybe put a lil permanent-marker mark on the piston and caliper.. like you would if u were doin a cam belt to keep it in the rite place.

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Not a good idea to take pistons out, they are a pure bastid to get back in, normally I split the caliper to do that and fit a new seal kit at the same time.

A couple of levers in em and pump em out a bit to see if they are moving ok. If they are sticky, pump and lever them back and forth until they are free with wd40. Dont let em come out too far, thats what the levers are for, or you will damage the seals.

It seems that the caliper which was brand new was just a bit stiff and a good drive was enough to cure the problem. The vehicle brakes brilliantly now! Thanks for the advice.

ps

So glad that the steering and/or suspension wasn't 'fooked'!

david451 said:

Presumably you never had this problem before and you let all the brake fluid run out when changing the caliper, air in the system?

Bleed it starting from the n/s rear, get somebody to pump the pedal half a doz times then hold it down firmly and tell you, you open the bleeder and watch the fluid run out, your assistant tells you when the pedal goes to the floor and you shut the bleeder. do it a few times , then the o/s rear then the n/s front and so on.

The caliper you got is second hand its the wrong type or its siezed.

You ****ed brake fluid all over the discs and pads

Its been laying for a while and it needs the pads burnt in with a good drive.

Lastly make sure all the calipers are working and the pads are ok and free in the calipers, means yur gona have to strip all the calipers take the pads out one at a time, hold a couple of levers against the pistons in em, get somebody to press the brake gently and allow the pistons to come out a bit then press them back in again.

Dont let the pistons come out too far use the levers to control it, and tell your assistant to go slowly and stop when you holler

Last thing part of your steering or suspension is fooked, but I'd go for brakes.

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good good!