Brakes pull truck to left

The truck is a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 with a 5.9 l engine.

Pressing the brake sharply on the truck causes it to pull sharply to the left. I looked at the front brakes and they seem to be in pretty good shape. Would the back brakes cause this problem?

I had an old Camaro that had a collapsed line that caused that same issue. Are these dodge trucks prone to that failure?

Any other ideas for testing before I spend alot of time and money on this?

Make sure the left caliper is sliding freely on the pins.

And also make sure the axle seal on the right side isn't leaking and getting all over the back of the rotor and on the pad. And btw you should check the right caliper also and make sure it is sliding freely .

Were the rims hot if you touched them?It could be frozen up calipers(the pistons) or bad brake hoses.Brake hoses break up in the inside.A tip,do not use the new washers that come with new calipers and hoses,they don't seal up and leak.Reuse the old ones which seal up better.

if not the caliper your rubber brake may be colaped inside.

scrapper1 and wafrederick

The rims were warm, but not hot after about 1 mile drive. Do you mean the rubber brake line, and if so which side would cause it to pull to the left?

Angus 10

This is what I did from your advice. I took the tires off both the left and right side of the car and squeezed the brake pads with a c-clamp. The caliper seemed to move freely back and forth after squeezing the brake pads. I believe the previous owner did something with the left side axle because there was a little grease on that side. I wiped it off, put the tires back on and pumped the brakes until they were solid. Then I drove it down the road.

It still pulls hard to the left and then it feels like the right side catches up and it equalizes. However, that could be imagination.

I looked at the axle and there was no new grease.

Any further ideas?

scrapper1

Do you mean the rubber brake line, and if so which side would cause it to pull to the left?

Angus 10

This is what I did from your advice. I took the tires off both the left and right side of the car and squeezed the brake pads with a c-clamp. The caliper seemed to move freely back and forth after squeezing the brake pads. I believe the previous owner did something with the left side axle because there was a little grease on that side. I wiped it off, put the tires back on and pumped the brakes until they were solid. Then I drove it down the road.

It still pulls hard to the left and then it feels like the right side catches up and it equalizes. However, that could be imagination.

I looked at the axle and there was no new grease.

Any further ideas?it would be the one side that it pulls...

I will change the brake line tomorrow. Thanks for the advice everybody.

How can I tell if the brakes are anti-lock and is there anything you have to do to bleed an anti-lock system? Seems like I've heard something about it before.

One way to tell if it has ABS,look on the front axles for a tone ring.The brake caliper is the same as a 1988 to 1998 Chevy/GMC caliper.

I doubt you have front ABS, just rear in a 97. Easiest way to tell is if you have a wire going into the back of the hub bearing.

If it has ABS in the front,wheel speed sensors will not be in the wheel bearing and I have seen this except the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.There is a tone ring on the front axles and a speed sensor bolted in the spindle.I know it is this way,I have done a lot of these.The calipers off a 1988 to 1998 Chevy/GMC fullsize pickup will fit too like I mentioned,look the same and bolt up.

Actually, if the truck is pulling to the left, then you should look to the RIGHT caliper to see if it is sticking. If compressing the caliper piston cup into the body is difficult compared to the left, then the cup is sticking.

Sticking sliding pins will usually result in uneven wear between the inner and outer pads. A sticking piston will show up as the vehicle pulling to the opposite side and uneven wear of the pads front to back as the piston becomes cockeyed in the bore.

Sorry but! If it has front ABS which I highly doubt, the sensor IS in the hub/bearing assembly. It's not a chevy!

I changed both the driver side rubber brake hose and the passenger side caliper. Neither of these fixed the problem. Still pulls pretty hard to driver side.

I bled the brakes after I changed the hose and then I bled the brakes again after I changed the caliper. I noticed the following. The pressure that came out of the driver side was 10 times as strong as the passenger side. When I pressed the brake the driver side would spray the wheel well. The passenger side would come about 6 inches out of the caliper. Bled it at least twenty times on the passenger side with no better luck.

I then noticed when I went to fill the brake fluid that it seemed brake fluid was squishing out of the rubber gasket between the master cylinder and the brake fluid tub. It was the gasket for the small tub towards the front of the vehicle. Of course it could have been brake fluid that had spilled over the edge squishing out, but it looked like it might be a leak.

My wife said that when I pulled the brake fluid tub towards the drivers side and she pressed the brake it seemed to be stiffer. Could have been her imagination.

Does it sound like I need a new master cylinder? If not, what else would cause lower fluid pressure on the passenger side brake fluid than the drivers side? What is the difference between the small tub and the large tub on the master cylinder?

yes it would come out of master cynlder becaus you probaly never loosened the bleeders on cal or shoes when you bled them. ok next thing trace the whole brake line from front to rear for a dent in the line. the only other thing i think of right now is ppv...

I'm not quite sure what you mean by never loosened the bleeders on cal or shoes?

My wife pumped the brakes and held them while I loosened the bleeder valve. Did this for both the driver and passenger side of the truck.

I don't know if this helps. The fluid was not coming out of the top of the tub on the master cylinder it was coming out of the gasket underneath of the tub.

I will check for dents in the line.

What is the ppv?

well if you would have pushed your front piston in with bleeder tight that would make it come out and master cyl. if you would've push them in with them open you would have no fluid comming out of master..

well if you would have pushed your front piston in with bleeder tight that would make it come out and master cyl. if you would've push them in with them open you would have no fluid comming out of master..i meant would not have bee comming out of master cyl.sorry

scrapper1. Thanks for sticking with me on this.

I think I understand what you are saying. I should have loosened the bleeder valve when bleeding the new caliper. Until the brake pads were up against the rotor.

Ok. So when I go out and look at it this afternoon I should look for dented lines.

What is the PPV and how can I check it?

Could the low pressure also be caused by a collapsed hose on the passenger side?

OH by the way. I also tried this. My wife started the truck, pumped the brakes and then held them down. When I released the bleeder valve while the truck was running it had high pressure. I don't know if that tells you anything new or not?

the valve i'm talking about is where all 4 of you brake lines run into it before going to master cyl.and it should be in between the moter and fire wall..and i'm glad to helping you..

proportional valve = ppc atleast thats what i think hes talking about.check to see if the caliper pistons are metal or plastic.they used the plastic pistons & they caused alot of caliper failures/seizing

Wow plastic?

Brand new caliper on passenger side, everything I saw was metal.

I'm going to check as much of the line as I can for kinks tonight or tomorrow morning.

When I took the hose off the drivers side all of the fluid came out of the brake fluid tub. I then filled it up and bled that side. When I took the hose loose at the caliper on the passenger side very little fluid came out. I might take the hose off at the line and see if fluid comes out rapidly. If so, the rubber hose on the passenger side may be collapsed?

As screwy as it sounds, if it pulls left your right side is probably stuck. When you step on the brakes because the right piston is dragging, more brake gets applied to the left causing it to pull. It does not have to be very bad to cause it to pull the other direction. Replace the right caliper.

HEMIDAZE
ASE Certified in Brakes

Hemidaze.

Thanks for the advice; however, I have already tried it.

Left side is pulling. I changed the left side hose and right side caliper.

I currently think there is a problem with fluid pressure at the right side brake.

When I changed the left side hose and bled brakes high pressure. When I changed right side caliper and bled brakes low pressure.

no there not plastic there fiberglass and they did cause alot of problems.they are junk. and yes that was the valve i was talking about..

Oops, I misread the previous post. You are on the right track. If it pulls to the left it usually indicates a right side problem. I think my next move would be to replace the right side hose. Not too common of a problem but I have ran into it a few times and not too hard or expensive. A couple of years ago I had a plugged hose on the left front of an old motor home. I fixed that and found a rusted out line on the rears. I fixed that and the rear hose was plugged. Pain in the butt because you had th pull the duals to bleed the rears (no room for a tool).

OK I want to thank everyone for their help with this. I finally got it to work.

When I took off the right brake hose, at the caliper, very little fluid was dripping out. When I pulled the hose off at the line it started running out steadily.

So I replaced the rubber hose and now the car actually stops straight.

Thanks again everyone. Like always, this site and members are a life saver.