1981 c20 pulls right when braking

caliper seems fine pads look new..left side same except is slower to release , but then shouldnt it be pulling left... again pulls right when brake and pull stops soon as let off brake..could this be a collapsed hose on left side or weak cal on left side? any help be preciated alot thanks paps

Sounds like a brake hose problem to me, easy to replace and usually pretty cheap. Replace them both.

caliper seems fine pads look new..left side same except is slower to release , but then shouldnt it be pulling left... again pulls right when brake and pull stops soon as let off brake..could this be a collapsed hose on left side or weak cal on left side? any help be preciated alot thanks paps
Left caliper piston sticking...doesn't apply fully???

What do the rear brakes look like?

The usual issue is that the brakes are failed/partly failed on the opposite side as the pull. HOWEVER, I've seen "brake" pull due to wheel bearing failure, ball joint wear, control arm bushing failure, etc.

caliper seems fine pads look new..left side same except is slower to release , but then shouldnt it be pulling left... again pulls right when brake and pull stops soon as let off brake..could this be a collapsed hose on left side or weak cal on left side? any help be preciated alot thanks paps

the left side is most likely the problem. remove both calipers and check that the pistons move smoothly in and out. if they feel equal then replace both hoses.

this can be just a simple bleeding of the brakes. I would do that first see if air is in there , and the fluid looks good . bad fluid can do big damage .


the control arm bushings if worn can also cause this to occur. if they are bad you will feel and hear it when driving. hard to stay straight.

check the rear brakes with drums . if the drum has a good sized ridge on the edge [drum hard to come off] this usually means the drum is too worn. replacing the drums will provide greater braking and less wear on the front brakes/rotors.

right on fellas n thanks for all the responses...i figured since right side worked fine it had to be left caliper n was a little slow to release cleaned etc no diff.. then new caliper n dang same thing,,the end result was hose..the rubber hose had closed off enough to be slow to apply n slow to return..problem fixed..again thanks fellas preciate the wisdom...paps n son

right on fellas n thanks for all the responses...i figured since right side worked fine it had to be left caliper n was a little slow to release cleaned etc no diff.. then new caliper n dang same thing,,the end result was hose..the rubber hose had closed off enough to be slow to apply n slow to return..problem fixed..again thanks fellas preciate the wisdom...paps n son

with a old vehicle replacing the calipers in pairs is best. also if one hose is bad best replace both.

if your short on money I have found some very new brake parts on older scrap vehicles surprisingly...the bodys were in bad shape but the brake parts on most were new.

thanks cat..was told this is all new when we bought the truck ,,old one owner hog hauler 70k on it ,,but did lotsa sitting..cals pads rotors drums shoes all look like new in fact so did the hoses,,but after removed hose it was clearly restricted compared ta new one..figure the other cailper would have been fine had it had full hose to compress and release faster,,only a winter runner for now so going cheap n leaving as is..thanks again..n yer right on with scrap stuff too..been a few yrs but had a front drum break on a 64 elcomino n went scrapin n guy sez that one guy said just put new drums etc on..got wheel cyl too all new for 25..ok was 20 yrs ago,,but still..thanks again pappy

thanks cat..was told this is all new when we bought the truck ,,old one owner hog hauler 70k on it ,,but did lotsa sitting..cals pads rotors drums shoes all look like new in fact so did the hoses,,but after removed hose it was clearly restricted compared ta new one..figure the other cailper would have been fine had it had full hose to compress and release faster,,only a winter runner for now so going cheap n leaving as is..thanks again..n yer right on with scrap stuff too..been a few yrs but had a front drum break on a 64 elcomino n went scrapin n guy sez that one guy said just put new drums etc on..got wheel cyl too all new for 25..ok was 20 yrs ago,,but still..thanks again pappy

since this was not frequently used the moisture gets into the brake fluid. this does the damage to the rubber as well as corrode the internal metal. it is very common for these old hoses to collapse and restrict fluid flow.

I just wanted to point out that it is not considered correct to replace just one caliper if it was defective..

both should work exactly the same , if one is different , then the vehicle will pull , and also stress out the steering components.

if the brake fluid looks dark replace it.