brake pull

[Jeffintampa]

Hi all,
My Mark is pulling to the left when you hit the brakes. I jacked it up and covered the boots on the caliper with white Lithum grease and pushed them back, pumped them both back up, and bled them both. Well when you hit the brakes the steering wheel goes left if not holding it. Any ideas what to do next?

 

[NetKeym]

Contamination of a brake pad surface, malfunctioning caliper, worn suspension components, bad tire, mismatched tires, bad rubber brake line (can collapse), etc.

 

[Right on the Mark]

Contamination of a brake pad surface, malfunctioning caliper, worn suspension components, bad tire, mismatched tires, bad rubber brake line (can collapse), etc.

X2 pull off calipers and make sure all slider pins slide. These rust stuck all the time. If all looks well rotors, pads ,sliders,tie rods inner and outer I go with replacing rubber caliper hoses. I have had this happen many times. My 97 F150 did this big time from bad rubber caliper hoses.

 

[Lownslowlsc]

Strut rod bushings.

 

[Sapperfire]

The boots on the caliper need not be lubed, with anything, ever. They are only there to keep dirt/debris out of the caliper.

NEVER lube internal brake parts with any petroleum product, brake hardware/guide pins should be lubed with Brake Parts Lubricant, any other lubes can contaminate the parts rubber pieces, causing them to swell and bind

Check your system before replacing parts, to check for faulty hose or binding caliper raise wheels off ground and support with Jack Stands (never trust a Jack to hold over long terms). Remove wheels and spin the brake rotor. Then open the valve on the top of the caliper.
If the rotor seems to have freed up when you open the valve, then suspect the hose (or a binding port higher in the system)
If when you open the valve the rotor does not seem to have freed up, you've got a binding caliper or caliper guide hardware

 

[chris2523]

lower ball joints.

 

[chargerxr]

Chris hit it on the nose. If your strut rod bushings are good, then most likely the lower ball joint is bad on the side it's pulling towards. I fought brake pulls on these cars so many times, and most of the time it's ball joints.

 

[NetKeym]

Checking lower ball joints is pretty easy - do it like all the shops do. Jack the tire up under the LCA by the tire. Once the tire is off the floor, use a crowbar or similar to pry up on the tire. If you feel ANY movement AT ALL then the lower ball joint is bad.

Checking strut rod bushings is even easier - lock your emergency brake, then put your foot on top of your front tire on the side you are checking. If you can roll the tire back and forth (forward / backward) even just a slight bit, the strut rod bushings need replacing.

 

[Jeffintampa]

As always everyone here is great help. I really miss Jamie sniffle. I am curious if; can I get a lower ball joint? or do I have to change the total lower thing (cant think of what its called now)

 

[Lownslowlsc]

As always everyone here is great help. I really miss Jamie sniffle. I am curious if; can I get a lower ball joint? or do I have to change the total lower thing (cant think of what its called now)

The lower bj can be changed without replacing the whole LOWER CONTROL ARM. If the lca bushings are worn just go ahead and replace the whole thing.

When I bought my car it had a nasty pull, ended up being the srb's and the drivers side lbj. I guess it's possible one could've helped wear the other one quicker, idk, but that what was replaced and it worked.

 

[NetKeym]

Yes Jeff, you can change just the lower ball joint and not the whole lower control arm. It's just easier on you as the installer to swap the whole LCA. You're in Tampa, that's not too terribly far if you want some help. Send me a PM and I'll take a day trip down and help you with it!

BTW, if it's the passenger side, I have a spare or I can show you how to save a bunch of money getting a brand new one!

 

[Marcus]

Just to add my ++++1, definitely ball joints. I've owned these cars (T-bird and Mark VIII) for 17 years and have experienced the pulling thing several times, and every single time it's been a bad (lower) ball joint.

 

[chargerxr]

Make sure whichever way you go, don't put cheap parts in or you will be doing it again in 3 months.

 

[NetKeym]

Make sure whichever way you go, don't put cheap parts in or you will be doing it again in 3 months.

I put the cheap chinese lower ball joints from Napa in mine over 2 years ago and I haven't had a problem since...

 

[chris2523]

lucky duck! i got 6 months out of my cheap stuff.