The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline front brake pulling question

guys.
as most of you know, i have a 3 inch dropped front axle in my 57 that has all new king pins, modern style ford tapered tie rod ends and modern style roller bearings in the rotors. i also have power disc brakes.
the truck rides very smooth up to 80mph and does not pull at all to either side while braking at speed.

but, today i noticed something strange. while setting at a red light, stopped, with my foot on the brakes, i let off slightly to roll maybe 1-2 feet, then brake, and while i was looking at the hood i noticed the front of the truck shift to the left, drivers side. it was as if something was loose, or the drivers side caliper was grabbing but not the passengers side. i really have never noticed this before, but maybe it has been doing thing for a while, im not sure.
like i said, while at any speed, say 30, 40, 60mph, when i hit the brakes it does not pull at all to either side. so im sure i dont have a caliper dragging.

when i got it home i jacked it up and grabbed both front wheels at 6 and 12 o"clock, and there is no bearing or king pin play at all. i also checked all U bolts, all bolts on the steering arm and spindles that hold the caliper brackets, everything is nice and tight.

but, it does seem like my leafs still have the factory bushings in the eyes, do you guys think there is a possibility there is play in the bushings maybe causing this ?

i am kind of baffled. it was a little scary at first. i thought something was coming undone, but i now feel safe since i checked every front end bolts and nuts.

thanks in advance for any input.

leonard

If it works at highway speeds, why worry about it.

My truck had a brake pull when I bought it which I put down to the drum brakes needing work. When I fitted the power disc brakes to my truck it still pulled slightly to the left like you describe.

On my truck it wasn't obvious what was causing the fault as everything felt tight when I got under the truck to check. I finally tracked the fault down by getting my girlfriend to drive the truck past me at walking pace as I stood alongside the truck and watched as she pressed the foot brake and came to a stop, the backwards movement under braking of the front roadwheels in the arches was obvious then, both of my spring pins/bushes were worn, but the pin on the lefthand side had 1/16" step worn in it allowing more backwards movement on that side and the resulting brake pull. Once I'd fitted new pins and bushes from Classic Parts, the brake pull was gone completely.

Stuart.

Are you stating that the front of the truck (ie hood and fenders) seems to shift? Maybe the mounting bolts are loose. Check the mount bolts of the radiator support to the frame.

it's bound to be those ford parts .... or maybe some side play in the leaf spring shackles - jack it from the frame or axle so both wheels are up and see if a bar can make any spring end move sideways at all

Bill

Stuart Giles,
your description is exactly what mine is doing. as i suspected, i must have worn spring pin / bushings. thanks a ton for your help.

Builder,
it "looked" like the fneder and hood were shifting, but more like something was loose in the suspension, like the worn bushings and pins.

squeeze,
yea, must be them ford parts. LOL.

thanks for the input guys.
since my wallet is pretty thin these days, its gonna have to stay this way for a while. when i do get the cash i think i will spring for some new leafs and bushings and pins.

is there a chance the pins could snap on my while driving, causing the whole front end to drop out ?

thanks again guys.

leonard

The front spring pins on my AD truck are 11/16" diameter, so if yours are the same size, they shouldn't be likely to fail even with an 3/32" or so step worn in them.

Stuart.

thanks Stuart. didnt realize they were that large a diameter.

leonard