pulling to kerb under braking.

defender 90 - stock brakes Although with new stainless pistons , new disks , new pads , new hoses , new cupronickle lines and new master cylinder.....

It has new suspension - and bushes all round, all TREs are new and swivels have been rebuild and adjusted using a set of scales.

pulls left under hard braking and it annoys me - its not terrible but noticable. Passed an mot as is but i want to sort it while im in there changing the servo.

things i know.

when the brakes are off the disks all the pistons move freely and fairly equally when the brake pedal is pushed

The brakes work damned well and stand it on its nose if i hold the steering wheel right.

Things im wondering -

will an imbalance across the adjustment of the rear drums cause it to pull to one side - although both are adjusted to the the point of scuffing it could be an out of round drum grabbing or something. - again new drums , shoes , springs , and slaves - all proper no blue box or equivalent.

ive had a good going over the suspension to check for loose **** but anything in particular to pay specific attention to that could cause my pull under braking?

Did you get the brake performance figures from the MOT, if so what are the imbalance figures? How was the tracking set up after the rebuild? If there is too much toe-out then the camber of the road may be making it pull to the kerb. Try stopping quick on a flat camber free surface (like an empty car park) or with a slight right turn bias on the wheel to see if it still pulls left.

the test was done with a tapley meter so i believe - he only had a 2 wheel rig.

the tracking was set up at 0 - 2mm toe out as per the book - i used my tracking jigs to do so.

The front discs are the stronger brakes but are affected by the rear diagonally opposite drum. If pulling left then left rear drum is not biting early enough or right rear is too early. This allows the front left to bite more quickly and thus pull left. Balancing the drums can be a pig. Make sure that you also have the shoes on correctly. Check for all the obvious leaks. Check drum and shoe condition. Check master cylinder.

May be worth trying to find a place with a roller brake tester to get the actual figure, that should confirm if it is a braking effort or geometry issue. It will also show if you have warped disks or oval drums. My old Passat would consistently pull left on wet days, only started when I fitted aftermarket disks and pads to the front. Had everything out and back in several times to no effect. Probably a material issue as ended up changing to OEM disks/pads and all was fine.(didn't touch calipers or hydraulics as they were fine before the initial disk/pad change).

I though rear track rods were set up toe in?

Most 'normal' cars toe in as that assists to self-centre and stability, LR in their wisdom state to toe out as this improves steering reaction but makes it less stable By rear track rods I assume you are talking about front axle (as rear axle is not adjustable)

Will look at the rear drums gonzo, that sounds plausable. I have a whole new rear axle with good condition original drums which might end up on it

Kwackers i think /hope lynall means trailing track rod set ups , the idea being that when you drive forwards the wheels are pushed outwards by the act of going forwards and being tied together at the rear.

How ever apparently it doesnt work like that on perminant 4wd and that the steering geometry stays pretty much the same.

If the drums are out of balance, you will be pulled to one side but the steering wheel will stay straight. If the front brakes are out of balance, the steering wheel will pull.

Ok its the front end out of balance then , the wheel pulls to the left. Hmmm.

Front axles been rebuilt , all seals are good and the disks and pads are new.

The seals and pistons in the calipers are new . Bled well and seem to be moving when you press the brake with the calipers off the disks.

Odd.

Right. Need to change servo and master cylinder as my servo diaphrams gone , gonna get some more red rubber grease and rebuild the calipers at the same time then bleed the whole lot again see if that helps.

Need to change my rear diff as well asap , ive got a half inch up and down play in the bearing :/

If I was you I'd change the master cylinder (and bleed) before messing about with the callipers. If it's anything like mine, the front brakes are supplied from different outlet pipes on the master cylinder so depend on different seals inside it. If you've got a bit of leak-by on one but not the other it could be exerting more pressure on one front brake than the other. Try a new one and see if it makes a difference.

on mine because its an 87. both front calipers are fed from the same outlet.

the issue must be caliper , hose , pipe or friction material related if ones working and the other isnt.