Stuck caliper physics

shelby27604

shelby27604

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Location
Efland NC
Swapped out the pads, wheel bearings, and rotors on my F150 this weekend, rotated the tires, took it for a test drive and had a slight pull to the left (drivers side).

Did the hill billy alignment with jackstands and string and both wheels were pointed straight.....added a little toe-in.....same thing, slight pull to the left.

I put the truck up in the air again, found that the flex line or caliper on the passenger side was stuck/holding pressure.....I swapped out the caliper and flex line, and the truck drives and brakes straight......can someone explain why a stuck brake on the right side results in a pull to the left side?
 
shelby27604 said:
Swapped out the pads, wheel bearings, and rotors on my F150 this weekend, rotated the tires, took it for a test drive and had a slight pull to the left (drivers side).

Did the hill billy alignment with jackstands and string and both wheels were pointed straight.....added a little toe-in.....same thing, slight pull to the left.

I put the truck up in the air again, found that the flex line or caliper on the passenger side was stuck/holding pressure.....I swapped out the caliper and flex line, and the truck drives and brakes straight......can someone explain why a stuck brake on the right side results in a pull to the left side?
Click to expand...
Bc that side drags, gets hot, and fades? Or piston stuck and not applying pressure equal to left side.
Both result in pull to the left.
 
shelby27604 said:
Swapped out the pads, wheel bearings, and rotors on my F150 this weekend, rotated the tires, took it for a test drive and had a slight pull to the left (drivers side).

Did the hill billy alignment with jackstands and string and both wheels were pointed straight.....added a little toe-in.....same thing, slight pull to the left.

I put the truck up in the air again, found that the flex line or caliper on the passenger side was stuck/holding pressure.....I swapped out the caliper and flex line, and the truck drives and brakes straight......can someone explain why a stuck brake on the right side results in a pull to the left side?
Click to expand...
When you push the brakes, the left side tries to stop, but the right doesn't because the piston is stuck and not applying force to the pads. So the vehicle essentially tries to rotate around the tire that is trying to stop it, which results in it pulling in that direction.
 
I suspect I had a delaminated hose the kept full line pressure from bleeding off without brakes being applied. The stuck side seemed stuck in the brake applied position, the caliper piston would not fully retract. The truck pulled to the left when driving with no brakes applied.

While braking the truck drove/brakes in a straight line and pulled itself out of the "drift".
 
Maybe it was upsetting the suspension enough to cause the off side pull. I have never seen a front caliper stick and cause the opposite side to pull.
 
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