- Joined
- Aug 18, 2002
- Messages
- 2,151
I'm finally getting my HCS on the road again after rebuilding the engine and transmission. And now the brakes pull hard to the right. If I brake slowly it definitely pulls right, but I can easily control it with the steering wheel. But if I slam on the brakes I have to really hang on tight to avoid being put into the curb to my right.
I have factory front discs (single caliper) and rear drums. I rebuilt both front and rear in Oct 2020; New front calipers & pads, new rubber lines front and back, new distribution block & proportioning valve, new master cylinder, new rear wheel cylinders, new rear drums and replaced all rear drum hardware. And finally a rebuilt power booster (Midland style). At that time the brakes worked fine. They weren't amazing and I felt like I just needed to bleed them better.
Since then I haven't had a chance to drive it much since I've been working on other things, including bodywork, paint, and rebuilding the engine & C4 transmission.
Since it pulls to the right, my thought is one of the right brakes isn't working properly. And I assume the front right disc since the fronts do the majority of braking.
My problem solving steps so far:
Any other brake tests I should be doing?
I have factory front discs (single caliper) and rear drums. I rebuilt both front and rear in Oct 2020; New front calipers & pads, new rubber lines front and back, new distribution block & proportioning valve, new master cylinder, new rear wheel cylinders, new rear drums and replaced all rear drum hardware. And finally a rebuilt power booster (Midland style). At that time the brakes worked fine. They weren't amazing and I felt like I just needed to bleed them better.
Since then I haven't had a chance to drive it much since I've been working on other things, including bodywork, paint, and rebuilding the engine & C4 transmission.
Since it pulls to the right, my thought is one of the right brakes isn't working properly. And I assume the front right disc since the fronts do the majority of braking.
My problem solving steps so far:
- fluid levels in master cylinder are good. No visible leaks at master cylinder, proportioning valve or along the hard lines up front.
- I jacked up the front and end had a helper push the brakes while I hand spun each tire. Both stop OK and very little pad drag. I can manually overpower the brakes if I really try turning the tire, but only when the car is shut off (power discs). When it's running I can't.
- I had the car media blasted a while ago and there was still media in the wheels and brake areas, so I removed both calipers and pads to clean everything off really well. I checked the piston travel when the calipers where off (piece of wood in between the pads) and both seem to travel smoothly. They don't travel very far, but I don't think they're supposed to. Reinstalled the fronts and test drove. Still pulls hard to the right.
- I pulled the rear tires and drums. Both drums were adjusted correctly (minimal dragging when rotating the tires by hand and I had to back the adjuster star off just a bit to get the drums off). The left side was dry as a bone with typical brake dust. The right side was a little oily. Both wheel cylinders appear dry with no visible leaks. So I'm wondering if the axle seal on the right side is leaking a little. So I cleaned the right side off with liberal brake cleaner, but ran out of time to put the wheels back on and test drive.
Any other brake tests I should be doing?
