Hello
I have an F250 4x4 v10 crew cab (no, I’m not compensating, I use the truck to haul horses). I have had the usual problems with the rotors warping that you hear about with Ford trucks, so when I needed to replace the brakes recently (at 56K miles), I decided to replace them with non-OEM parts. The issue I?m having is that it pulls to the right; the more pressure I apply to the brake pedal, the harder it pulls to the right. We decided to replace all the parts again in case we got a bad caliper or something, but still no luck. We then decided to replace the hoses incase there was a kink or something that might have changed the pressure, but no luck. Anyone got any ideas; I really like the idea of being able to brake in a straight line?
A side symptom: A couple of weeks before the brake job, and also now, I would get an intermittent growling sound when braking (not like bearing noise, more like a dump truck braking sound).
Thanks for the help!
First question: Where the rotors scored?? If so putting new pads on scored rotors could cause this. If the rotors were fine…then it sounds like a stuck caliper. If pulling right then the left side is caliper is sticking.
We replaced everything (rotors, calipers, pads, …) twice because we thought that it might be a stuck caliper, but no luck.
Did you replace all four or just the fronts?
I’m wondering aloud if the rear brake is the one pulling.
Put a clear plastic tube, like from an aquarium, on the left brake bleed screw. Loosen the screw. As someone slowly depresses the brake pedal, observe the stream of brake fluid from the brake. It is a steady stream? Are there air bubbles showing in the clear plastic tube?
Go to the right side caliper and perform the same procedure. Compare the stream of brake fluid with the one from the left brake.
If the left has less flow, there may be a restriction in the line. If the left has air bubbles, bleed until no more bubbles come out.
I suggest when doing this that you put the end of the tube into a clear plastic bottle with some fluid in it, hung near the bleeder so the tube is as short as practical. Not only will any air bubble then “burp” out of the fluid in the bottle after it’s pushed through the tube, but any flowback as you’re performing the procedure will pull back pure fluid rather than any air.
We replaced just the fronts because the rears still looked good.
Is your steering wheel straight when you are going straight? Although I believe that you have a brake problem, sometimes a bad alignment can cause things like that to happen. Also, a bad idler arm can do it. A worn out drag link or tie rod end too.
We replaced the hoses just in case there was a blockage, but no luck. I guess we’ll try bleeding the system again.
We replaced the ball joints while we were under there because they were loose. We checked the alignment and much to our surprise, it was spot on. The steering wheel is straight and the truck travels straight. (And when I say ?we?, I mean the shop that is doing the work.) If bleeding the brakes again doesn?t work, they suggest going back to OEM parts to see what happens. I?m not a fan of Ford?s brakes.
It could help to bleed the brakes; but, what I was emphasising was the brake fluid flow from the left brake lines and hose, and the right side. A dented brake line, something foreign in the metal lines, distribution valve (if any), or brake master cylinder can reduce brake fluid flow. The check method I outlined would reveal if the flow were lessened, and/or different, from side to side.
Less brake fluid flow to one brake would cause that brake to apply less force on the brake pads which would result in less braking from that brake which would result in the brake which has more braking action to cause a pull on that side.
go back in your memory. did the ‘pulling’ occur before you did this complete brake replacement? or since? did you do the brakes to fix the rotor and pad issue, and have little or no pulling before?
you mention bad brakes, and changing them. just trying to get more ideas on the time line.
is this pulling while trailering or just driving alone? or both? if while trailering, does your trailer have brakes, and are they working OK? if so, try towing it on someone elses’ truck to see if it is trailer oriented.
The pulling occurred after the brake job. The only issue I had before the brake job was warped rotors (started to warp after less than 12K miles; based on the Edmunds forums, this is a common issue with the OEM parts). We did the brake job because there was less than 10% left on the pads. We replaced everything with non-OEM parts because the the OEM rotors are terrible.
I won’t be hauling the horses until after this issue gets fixed.
Had a similar problem several years ago with a Chrysler. Went thru all the similar brake issues with no improvement. Finally determined that the real problem was a bad wheel bearing. After replacing the wheel bearings the car stopped straight as an arrow.
sounds a little like a dragging pad or caliper pins not allowing float. The inside pad is often the guilty party and often in the rears. This gets the pad very hot and can make it grabby. I would pull the caliper pins, replace or polish them lightly, and the holes need cleaning too and replace with HI TEMP brake lube and make sure the caliper is really floating…the other possibility is that one of the pads is contaminated with something, Or caliper piston isn’t lubed properly and can stick or cock or even jam and eventually ruin the caliper seal…this needs a detailed exam of the parts for freedom of motion, even wear, type of pad (I like the Wagner Organic Pads even tho they still have 20% metallic.), heat generated just by driving (be careful when checking this).