Def swerves on left braking - HELP ME PLEASE

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bismillah

Member
Posts
35
Location
Italy
Hi guys, I am writing because I need a hand in solving a problem in my Defender 90 MY'06. All original with 150k km

It's a couple of years that when I brake from a speed of at least 90km/h the car swerves dramatically to the left, making driving dangerous for me in case you need to brake suddenly. The problem for me is always present but of course is more noticeable as the speed increases. The car was seen by several mechanics without being able to fix anything.

The first thing that was controlled by all was the silent blocks that have been investigated searching any plays. All the bushings are new and there are not prensent plays of any kind.

A mechanic also noted by measuring the distance between front and rear hub that there is a differenze of 0,8mm between the right and the left (which is actually a lot) but also after correcting it nothing has changed in the braking problem.

Toe and wheels (i've tried also other 4 wheels) are ok


Than i've changed in order:

front and rear discs
front and rear calipers
adjusting the resistance of the front hubs in steering
brakes pump
ABS modulator (and also try the car without ABS ECU)
rubber hoses that go to the front calipers
changed all shock absorbers

I am driving the car I always have the impression that the right front wheel brakes less than the left, but this is only an impression.


tell me what the hell can I do?
 
you tried swapping your wheels over? and i presume he changed the pads and fitted the calipers properly so they are nipple up?
 
blimp said:
You need to get the pressure checked at each wheel. It just has to be pressure balance problem. A garage with a rolling road would be best...
Click to expand...
You must have some pretty good rolling roads in Germany!!

To put a Landy on one could be interesting as they are permanent 4WD! ;);)
 
Be careful of what you say here. .. driving like that for 2 years could be seen as irresponsible. Just saying :rolleyes:
 
Do your tyres have 'direction of rotation' arrows - and are they fitted that way?

And I would try swapping them side for side as trax said. I had one bad tyre in a set of four new ones which caused horrible pulling to one side.
 
trax said:
you tried swapping your wheels over? and i presume he changed the pads and fitted the calipers properly so they are nipple up?
Click to expand...
blimp said:
You need to get the pressure checked at each wheel. It just has to be pressure balance problem. A garage with a rolling road would be best...
Click to expand...
boguing said:
Do your tyres have 'direction of rotation' arrows - and are they fitted that way?

And I would try swapping them side for side as trax said. I had one bad tyre in a set of four new ones which caused horrible pulling to one side.
Click to expand...

the problem can not be in the tires because I have already tried to reverse them (they don't have any direction of rotation), pressure change and then I also have another set of tires and the problem is always present ;) I tryed also my friend's mud tires

The problem was present also before I changed all the callipers and brake pads. I did the job thinking the problem was there... Purge did well and several times
 
Last edited:
I'd change all the fixed brake piping and fluids. Maybe something has caught a pipe and restricted it's flow to one side, so start with fixed piping to the right front and rear. I did my own, very easy with copper piping and a flaring kit, very awkward to get back looking 'factory fitted', but then I'm often in a rush and looks maybe don't matter too much!.
 
In which case I think that the swivel bearings and all the bushes need to be checked again.

If that doesn't find anything, it's back to the brakes. Disconnect each caliper in turn and get someone to press the pedal once (at the same speed for each caliper) and compare the rate at which fluid spurts out.Because the actual flow rate in a working brake is so small, any obstruction of a pipe would have to be almost complete, and that test will show it.
 
Ok next step could be changing the fixed brake piping even thought the quantity of liquid that comes out of the calliper when i did the purge sequence (did several times) didn't seems different.

I realy can't understand if the problem is in the braking system of in the chassis...
 
Were it me I'd be looking as others have said at the fixed piping. You may get the same quanty out of each, but under pressure a crimped line could restrict the flow - and cause trhe swerve. Run your hand over the piping and look for crimps in the line running to the right side if it's pulling left.
 
Could well be a dodgy suspension bush, that would cause the vehicle to turn one way on braking:)

Check them again and mounting points for cracks
 
Last edited:
blimp said:
You need to get the pressure checked at each wheel. It just has to be pressure balance problem. A garage with a rolling road would be best...
Click to expand...

bismillah said:
the problem can not be in the tires because I have already tried to reverse them (they don't have any direction of rotation), pressure change and then I also have another set of tires and the problem is always present ;) I tryed also my friend's mud tires

The problem was present also before I changed all the callipers and brake pads. I did the job thinking the problem was there... Purge did well and several times
Click to expand...

Not pressure in the tyres...

Pressure in the brake line ...

Do the late 90s have a 'bias valve' or pressure reducing block? -James
 
Some are built into the servos ...

but the OP is in Italy, so who know what variant they have ...

oh yeah, they're sometimes called 'G valves' ... feck knows why :confused:
 
This is the result of the toe
http://diafino.altervista.org/image.jpeg


I did a test: I disconnected the ABS fuse. In this way, the ABS and TC does not work and possible problems of sensors have no effect.

The result? Great loking brakes but unfortunately always inclined to left. Damn.

A friend advised me to check

- Steering box has come loose

- Play in the steering box

- Play in the intermediate shaft on the steering column

what about?

I did the braking test on rollers. Every wheel brake good and the difference between the front is 2% and between the two rear is 3% the tollerance in 30%


So.. it is not a braking problem...

Let's look to the Steering box?
 
It could be something on the rear suspension; if there's play there it could be your rear axle moving slightly so it steers the front left?
 
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