Brakes Question?

I have a '91 Chevy Suburban 1500, 2x2, 5.7L with rear anti-lock brakes. I have always believed the brakes to be inadequate for this heavy vehicle, as the front brakes wear excessively. Presently, when I apply pressure to the pedal, the truck yanks *hard* to the right. Once I release the pedal, the truck swings back *hard* to the left. I have had the brakes worked on lately, but they couldn't correct the problem. They replaced calipers, pads, adjusted rear brakes, and replaced the worn rt. rear emerg. brk. cable. They said that they didn't know enough about the Proportioning valve and metering valve to diagnose them. I did some checking on the net and reasoned that one of those valve might be the problem. However, a co-worker mentioned that the rubber line from the hard line to the calipers might have collapsed internally causing fluid pressure to remain in the line, which would cause the situation that I am experiencing to occur.

Any thought?

Thanks folks!

Mark

Reply to
Guyz-N-Flyz
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I had a line collapse on an 83 4x4 truck once and it wanted to pull pretty bad when i applied pressure to the brakes. It might fix yours, plus, it's pretty cheap to replace them; I start on the cheapest part and work up; it could be that proportioning valve, but they're at least 100 bucks; try replacing both front rubber lines.

good luck

TB

Reply to
Trailblazer

Have you had the front end alignment and suspension parts checked? If you have some very worn steering components you could get a pull to one side as well.

Brian

Reply to
NoSpam

Yep I plan to replace both lines this weekend, but I figure it couldn't hurt to ask beforehand. I have a feelin' that this will be the fix. I can feel the front right brake draggin' after I release them, when movin' slowly. Havin' read a bit about the proportionin' and meterin' valves, I more inclined to think it will be the meterin' valve, if the line replacement doesn't work.

Anyway, thanks for your time and thoughts!

Mark

Reply to
Guyz-N-Flyz

Yep, they replaced a worn.....ah hell... shit! It's a brace, bar or stabilizer of sorts that has to do with alignment... So then they aligned the front end, cause I had all new tires installed. I'm fairly certain it's gonna be either the proportionin' or meterin' valves, if not the lines.

One thing I have never understood: Why did they put ABS on the rear instead of the front? Wouldn't one rather the rear wheels lock-up, than the steerin' wheels!

Thanks Brian!

Mark

Reply to
Guyz-N-Flyz

I thing the reasoning there was that drum brakes on a fairly light rear end would lock first. When you apply the brakes hard the vehicles weight shifts to the front and can cause the rears to lock.

Brian

Reply to
NoSpam

The rears are what make you lose control!

So a controlled stop on the rears only, is better than not having any anti-locks at all. If the rear ends slides out from under you, it's much harder to control, than letting go of the brake pedal, and correcting.

Refinish King

Reply to
Refinish King

I'd change the front rubber hoses and fix your rear brakes. when the adjusters quit working (and they always do) you'll start eating front pads for lunch. When I fixed my rears, (after going through about 3 sets of front pads) on the first application of the brakes, I nearly slammed my Bro's head into the windshield.

-Bret

Reply to
Bret Chase

I agree with everyone who said swap out the brake lines, if the vehicle steers fine when not under braking, then it's probably brake related, and I had the exact same scenario on my '95 1500 2WD, and 2 new lines....about $40 .......fixed it right up. Good Luck, Ed

Reply to
Ed White

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