Brakes pulling to one side
 

I had a seized brake on the front near side. Have changed piston and seals.
Under heavy braking the car pulls violently to the near side.

I am ruling out suspension problems.
Could be tyre pressure so will check but brakes.
If it pulls left, is the left brake working better or worse then the right brake?
I get the impression the right wheel will lock up and the ABS has to do its thing when I test. This leads me to think left brake is not as good but then I would expect the car to pull to the right. This has left me confused.

I accept near side pads may have over heated and are now duff but what of the disc, if it still runs true, even though it too got very very hot is it still usable?

macafee2

Sorry to ask the obvious Ian but following your repair, have you bled the brakes at all four wheels following the sequence in the manual?

Simon

If you think the pads have become glazed use a dreadnought file to bust the glaze. I often do this with the rear handbrake shoes, doesn't need more than a "shave".

My logic says if the left brake is operating better then it will pull to that side, not experienced it though.

Keep well

When restoring or replacing callipers it's best practice to replace/restore a pair, the old ones will presumably be both the same age and will have had the same usage, so even if the O/S calliper assembly, piston, sliders etc are working they may not be as efficient as the N/S, a ride on a brake roller will show the difference in efficiency between each side.


When my sons did track days they often had blue discs at the end of the day, the only thing they did at the track, but not always, was replace the more aggressive pads for normal road pads, then drove home.


Don't forget that ABS can give a false sense of security and will only operate when one or more wheels are at the point of slippage, till then, under normal braking it won't correct side to side imbalance.

Simon,
no I just did that one caliper.

macafee2

I am wondering the same thing about efficiency of the two sides and it makes sense, near side moves easily, offside a bit sluggish.

I have always replaced pads in pairs or discs in pairs but never done a siezed piston in a car before.

I know changing the piston and seals should be a 5 minute job but the difficulty I had replacing the dust shield on the near side I sort of cant face doing the offside but perhaps a new set of pads on both sides and a new piston etc on the offside is the way to go or should I bleed all 4 wheels first?

Gents, I am grateful for the advice


macafee2

I did both sides (pistons out etc) on my daughter's ZS180 although one side was binding more than the other. Think you should consider doing the same (even with the dust cover:}).

I've not quite finished as I've had to wait for new sliding pins. Can't find them locally although fitted to all Honda Civic etc, no Honda agent in town, eventually got a USA custom shop to get hold of them. Collected an hour ago.

More progress later today.

Keep well

Yes Ian, that's what you should do (strictly in the order given by the manual).

Simon

In that case Simon I am making an executive decision, blow the expense, not a lot of expense. Following advice I will order a new piston kit for the off side and 2 pairs of disc pads.
I will do the lot including a proper bleed as per the manual and be done with it.

Seal kit about £20, mintex pads 16.50 and brake fluid I already have.

worst thing is working on the drive in full view of one and all.

thank you for the advice. As Jim Dimond sings " I should have known better"


macafee2

Hi Ian,

My thinking is that air could be in the OS circuit, causing less effective braking action which would explain the pulling to the left. All you need to do is bleed the brakes. I don't see any need to replace anything on the OS (it worked perfectly before I assume) and you certainly don't need new pads.

But it's your money (and time). :D

Simon