90 Pulling left under braking?

Hi,

Just nicely bought a 1992 200Tdi 90. Under fairly heavy breaking she pulls quite severley to the left.

I have checked the following: Front brake pads - All OK Callipers are not seized (either side) Front Discs - OK but see below. Fluid level in resevoir is correct

I did notice however that someone has replaced the right hand side disc at some point - it looks newer and is generally in better condition than the left one. Also the the pads on the newer disc look to have a bigger "biting " area than the left side - the traditional rust track on the outer edge of the disc is smaller than on the left disc.

Is it possible that the pads are different (genuine / non-genuine) and one side is biting more than the other, or could it just be the fluid is due for replacement?

Would it be safe to move the left hand side pads to the right disc and right side pads to left disc and go for a SHORT drive to see if she pulls the other way?

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

If its important its done about 140,000 miles. One other thought, if its important, it had to have a new left hand side rear disc and new brake pipe to the right rear disc for its MOT.

Thanks Jon

Reply to
Jon Kelly
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This precisely the reason brake parts are supplied in axle sets. Replace both front discs & pads together. Unless there is air in the system brake fluid will have little or no influence on uneven braking.

HTH

Reply to
Adrian England

Could be air in the right pipe causing poor fluid to the right hence the pull to the left.

If I'm replacing anything like shockers, discs, calipers then I always do them in pairs.... that way you know your getting the same each side.

Try bleeding the system and putting fresh fluid in first in the process.

Then try driving for say 1/8 mile at about 20 to 30 mph with the brake pedal depressed enough to feel the car holding back... this will get the pads hot and burn off any contamination... I had exactly this on one of our Rangies..everything visually looked good but this simple process cured the problem. No idea what contaminated them in the first place.

If that all fails then check both sets of pads against each other...it's not unknown for bodgers to us the wrong caliper or even a vented / unvented disk if swapping a complete axle end.

Finally if that doesn't do the trick then I guess it's new pads and disks on the appropriate axle.. You may be wise taking it to an MOT station to get them to check which wheel isn't working as alot of taime can be wasted working on the wrong wheel as it's easy to be thrown by what you think are the symptoms...

Of and if you do remove the calipers give the caliper bolts a good lubrication before with good penetrating oil.....I didn't but thats another...very ....very....very long story.

HTH

Lee D

-- Project Percy - Jaguar 4.2 and Auto in to Series IIa 88 see it @

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Reply to
Lee_D

Your right front pads may be slightly contaminated, it could be brake fluid leaking from the brake caliper piston seals, pretty simple to replace (check the pistons are not scored too). I think the pads basically look smoother when there is some contamination. I replaced all the seals and stopped losing brake fluid.

However for me the problem was twofold. There is an oil seal in the front axel that if old, lets a little oil run from the inside of the brake disk "cone" onto the inner surface of the brake disk and therefore the inner right-side brake pad too.

I don't know how you tell the difference between brake fluid and oil (one gives you cancer? Great...) but the best place to look if you have a little leak is to see if the rim of the brake disk is oily, everywhere else it gets burnt off. The oil seal is not expensive (was a little tricky to fit, but then again I could bodge anything!) but cured it for me.

If you have bled the brakes, checked seals, checked your shock absorbers, checked your tyre inflation pressure (maybe even wheel alignment?) have a look out for this pesky oil leak too. Simple problem, but it took me flipping ages to find.

Concerning your pads, I wouldn't advise trying to skim contaminated pads with the wire brush attachment for the drill, they are not asbestos pads, but still, I had a dodgy cough for a while. (Clever!) Try either the harsh braking, or a blow torch.

Guy

Reply to
Guy Lux

As others have said, best to do these things in pairs!

Also check:

That all pistons are moving (not unknown for them to seize in the bores) Check the REAR brakes too - if one not working properly it will cause a pull under heavy braking)

Mike.

Reply to
Mike Buckley

On or around Tue, 16 Sep 2003 08:30:43 +0100, Jon Kelly enlightened us thusly:

differing discs, unless seriously worn, aren't gonna have much effect; different pads, however, will.

Also check the rear brakes.

best bet, in fact - get around to your friendly local MOT place and sweet talk 'em into putting it on the brake tester, which will easily show up which if any brake is not up to standard.

I'd advise replacing the front pads if in doubt with an axle set of either genuine parts or a reputable maker such as ferodo or lockheed.

yes and no. Fluid would affect all brakes.

can't hurt, but it's easier to take it round the garage as suggested above, and find out which brake is suspect.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies.

I found the guilty culprit this weekend - the inner hub oil seal had broken down and so oil and greese was finding its way onto the inner face of the disc and pads. Problem solved.

couple of gaskets and a few hours later job fixed.

Can someone tell me if the rear pads should be the same as the fronts? the reason i ask is this: as a last resort on Saturday i had to go to my lcal landrover garage for some new pads. They have given me what look to be a rear set and they dont match my fronts! so i'm off back to the garage at dinner to change them.

thanks jon

Reply to
Jon Kelly

Wahey, I was right! Bloody hell, that's a first! You lucky bugger, that took me months to find! ;-)

Regards

Guy

Reply to
Guy Lux

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