Break Wobble and a pull to the right...
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas, United States
Break Wobble and a pull to the right... So I am about 90% sure of diagnosis but I am more than greatfull for the opinion of the brain trust.
Took ownership of a 98 Z28 with personality a month or so ago. It's had small issues but the drive train seems great. The suspensign is where I am now focusing all my time. I noticed immediately that I was getting some serious pulsing especially at slower speeds. I was sure this was a warped rotor so I went out and replaced all rotors and pads. It may be worth noting that the pad wear looked even on all of them. Well after about 1500 miles I am still getting the pulsing and I notice a pretty decent pull to the right. I am guessing that my left caliper has one of the pistons sticking. Let me know if you think I am way off here...
Took ownership of a 98 Z28 with personality a month or so ago. It's had small issues but the drive train seems great. The suspensign is where I am now focusing all my time. I noticed immediately that I was getting some serious pulsing especially at slower speeds. I was sure this was a warped rotor so I went out and replaced all rotors and pads. It may be worth noting that the pad wear looked even on all of them. Well after about 1500 miles I am still getting the pulsing and I notice a pretty decent pull to the right. I am guessing that my left caliper has one of the pistons sticking. Let me know if you think I am way off here...
I'd say you're on the right track. Couple things that I'd look for other than a stuck caliper: caliper pins sticking, and possibly excess rust on the wheel bearing (the area where the rotor seats up against.) I'd check the pins first, they're the most common thing to go bad first when someone asks 'What's wrong with my brakes.' If all the pins work smoothly, I'd check the calipers for functionality and the excess rust that I mentioned ^ up there.
Also some things to note as well. Where any of the pistons harder to compress back into the caliper than the rest? That's an indication of a stuck or potentially seizing up caliper. Also is this pull to the right all the time when driving or just when the brakes are applied? If it's all the time, that is more likely an alignment issue, uneven tire wear from left to right tires or even some of the time, most roads are crowned from the middle of the road, so even a perfectly aligned car will have a slight pull to the right on crowned roads anyhow.
Since the pad wear looked even, that's a good sign that all 4 corners work good, but that's not a definite sign either. I've always had some pulsing with 90% of the vehicles I drive. Some worse than others. A good quick remedy that usually doesn't last for a while is to do the bedding process with your brakes. I think Stoptech has a good write-up on bedding in brakes for the first time. This would be a good chance to bed your brake pads and rotors in if you haven't already too
Also some things to note as well. Where any of the pistons harder to compress back into the caliper than the rest? That's an indication of a stuck or potentially seizing up caliper. Also is this pull to the right all the time when driving or just when the brakes are applied? If it's all the time, that is more likely an alignment issue, uneven tire wear from left to right tires or even some of the time, most roads are crowned from the middle of the road, so even a perfectly aligned car will have a slight pull to the right on crowned roads anyhow.
Since the pad wear looked even, that's a good sign that all 4 corners work good, but that's not a definite sign either. I've always had some pulsing with 90% of the vehicles I drive. Some worse than others. A good quick remedy that usually doesn't last for a while is to do the bedding process with your brakes. I think Stoptech has a good write-up on bedding in brakes for the first time. This would be a good chance to bed your brake pads and rotors in if you haven't already too
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas, United States
It's only pulling to the right when brakes are applied. I did not notice any of the calipers being overall difficult to compress using the 2x4 and C-clamp method but I admit I never checked the pins. I will certainly look into it. Thank you for your input.
