Brake Question

[shenning]

I have a '99 GP GT, 3.8L engine. When I have to make a hard stop, the car pulls hard to the right. I've had the brakes checked twice (two different mechanics), and both times I've been told that the brakes look okay. I found out today that I have a bent right rear spindle rod, but I don't know if that would have anything to do with the problem. Is it possible that there could be an issue with the anti-lock system?

Thanks!

[G.A.S.]

with respect to all mechanics, A hard pull to the right would indicate to me that the left caliper is not functioning properly or the slider assy. for the left side is frozen.
There could be a number of issues that cause this problem. Low tire pressure, colapsed hose, ABS, perportioning block, master cylinder ect.
I would want to know first off that the calipers are working properly, sliders and all.
A frozen caliper would be like the breaks not working on that side.

[tblake]

believe it or not, my car dynamited hard to the left every time I hit the brakes unless I was holding the wheel straight. My lower controll arem bushings were bad. Have a mechanic check those out. Once I replaced mine, all was fine!

[rickisrad]

Originally Posted by G.A.S.

with respect to all mechanics, A hard pull to the right would indicate to me that the left caliper is not functioning properly or the slider assy. for the left side is frozen.
There could be a number of issues that cause this problem. Low tire pressure, colapsed hose, ABS, perportioning block, master cylinder ect.
I would want to know first off that the calipers are working properly, sliders and all.
A frozen caliper would be like the breaks not working on that side.

I AGREE CHECK THE LEFT CALIPER THAT IS PROBABLY YOUR CULPRIT. Most people make the mistake and just check the side that they think the issue is with. For instance a customer insisted he had a bad left front tire due to the the helicopter sound it made, I inspected it and told him the RF wheel bearing was bad. He refused to believe and took it the dealer- only to replace the RF wheel bearing. He later came in to apologize.

[Floydian]

Collapsed hoses have often been the culprit on other cars that pull hard to a side. A Seized caliper or sliders would also have the same effect. A faulty ABS unit can also cause/have problems dividing the hydraulics evenly (But you'll usually get an ABS light if the unit is misbehaving)

[shenning]

Thanks, everyone for your replies. Looking into the suggestions.

[shenning]

Just wanted to provide some feedback on this post. I did have the bent rear spindle rod replaced. It's either a coincidence or the problem with the hard right pull during braking is gone. I've run about 200 miles since the repair, and tried several "panic" stops. Apparently this mechanic knew what he was talking about!

[richtazz]

The bent rod was causing an alignment issue, and when you hit the brakes, it caused that wheel to "steer" to the right. Same with tblakes problem, different part bad, but same result.