Dan Baldwin Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 At Summit Point last month, the car started pulling hard left under braking. I found that the front left pads were wearing down quickly and assumed a bad caliper. I've since replaced both front calipers with rebuilts and the car STILL pulls left under braking. I removed the ZX (I've got ZX discs in back) prop valve (right side front line goes through it) thinking it might be blocked, car still pulls left. I'll try removing the pressure switch next (device with front and rear inputs from MC; front left, front right, and rear outputs, has a wire coming out of it) as soon as I get a T-fitting. Anybody got any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 Are you sure it's the brakes and not the alignment or perhaps faulty tierod ends or some other suspension difficulty? Tire pressure differentials will also cause pulling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 Check your rubber hoses for blockage. If you dont already have them, switch over to braided lines. Flush system, rebleed and check it out. This is all I can come up with after everything else you have done. Maybe some else has a couple ideas. Hope this helps John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 Perhaps you should park your car in a Republican garage... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scca Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 "usually" the side it pulls too is working.. check the other side - defective caliper or ? and dont forget to check the rears for binding or not working at all as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted June 12, 2002 Author Share Posted June 12, 2002 Thanks for all the replies. Suspension seems OK, 90% certain it's the brakes. Tire pressures OK I have braided lines, will try swapping left to right I think I voted Libertarian last election, so car shouldn't pull left or right I'll check the rears, I wonder if the '82-'83 calipers require e-brake operation to keep them in adjustment (ebrake no hooked up on my car). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 Dan, the E-brake is what adjusts the rear brakes. Without the adjustment, you will soon find that the rear is not doing much at all in braking. Also, when you said you may swap left to right, if you meant the calipers, then remember that the bleed screw will be at the bottom when you do this. Also, one last item to ask about: did you resurface one of the front rotors but not the other recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted June 13, 2002 Author Share Posted June 13, 2002 Guess I need to get the ebrake functional. Whole reason for the swap was so I wouldn't have to futz around w/ keeping the rears tight. I was talking of swapping the lines, but then maybe the calipers too if the problem persists. I think there's a plug that can be swapped with the bleed screw, maybe? Both rotors were resurfaced. The left front rotor has been fully swept by the pads after a couple of days driving around, while there's still an unswept band on the right front rotor. Seems the caliper just ain't squeezin. Might hafta blow out the line. Thanks again, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruben Posted June 13, 2002 Share Posted June 13, 2002 Hey Terry, I thought the ebrake will only adjust the rear brakes if they are drums. If using the ZX disc brakes in the rear, they should be self adjusting. I believe Dan is using the ZX disc in the rear. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd just hate to see Dan go through all the work of hooking up the ebrake if he does not need to. Ruben '72 240Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted June 13, 2002 Share Posted June 13, 2002 My self-rebuilt rear calipers would not auto-adjust. The ebrake would eventually stop working After hand adjusting, I did notice that the brakes worked better. Seems crazy to make the normally automatic adjustment of the caliper dependent on the operation of the ebrake. But it wouldn't be the first boneheaded design from Nissan. If you twiddle with the caliper, you can see it moving the piston closer and closer as you move the ebrake lever arm back and forth (like 20-30 times). That's if the thing isn't jammed up. I'm not too happy with my ZX rear calipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 13, 2002 Share Posted June 13, 2002 Yeah, if it's a 280ZX caliper, the e-brake adjusts it. but you can just yank the lever on/off a few times to get it adjusted up to rule that out. BTW, teflon lined braided hoses can have the inner teflon liner break away from the hose and block the hose. This is why they have a minimum bend radius rating on those hoses. I've seen people do nasty things to those hoses (tie them in knots, let a caliper hang by them and putting a tight bend in the hose). I always cringe when I see that. I'd try removing the hoses and checking for this problem. Like Mike said, check the right hose - that's probably the side that has the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted June 14, 2002 Author Share Posted June 14, 2002 I think I got it. Replaced the right front SS line with an unused spare, and put in my new Carbotech Panther XP pads. Hey, it STOPS now! In a straight line to the parts store and most the way back. Then I *think* I might've detected a little left pull again, but nothing like what I had. Might just be crud in the line, maybe the act of replacing the line dislodged some of it? We'll see. Might hafta blow the lines out yet (I hope not). Anyway, the resurfaced right front rotor has now been fully swept by brake pad, whereas before there had been a band of untouched resurfaced rotor, so I think I'm O-Tay. The "82-'83 ZX rear calipers seem to be self-adjusting, as the left rear was tight despite no parking brake activity. The right rear not quite so tight. The right rear's piston notches are buggered up a bit, and partially blocked up with antisqueal (was that way when I bought the rebuilt rear calipers last year). I paid particular attention to ensure that the nub on the pad engaged one of the notches in the caliper piston. Might remove the left rear again to check that. BTW, without the prop valve (from a ZX), the fronts seem to lock easily upon initial application. The valve must also have some delay action to the fronts, which makes some sense. Yes, the prop valve IS going back in. What a mess THAT's gonna be. Man I hate brake fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCZ Posted June 14, 2002 Share Posted June 14, 2002 The way you describe the problem does sound like a hydraulic problem with the right side. The only thing I can add is to check your left side t/c rod bushing and torque. Any play there will cause diving while braking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted June 20, 2002 Author Share Posted June 20, 2002 Update: After ruling out the prop valve, pressure switch, and flex lines, I drained the whole system and blew out the lines w/ compressed air. I also ground the metal plate backing the friction material on the pads, as there was evidence of some interference (although the pull to the left ocurred with two different sets of calipers and pads, so I don't think that was the problem). Car ran/braked great at Mosport, won my class and set a new class record. On STREET tires (B'stone S03 Pole Positions). Woohoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 WTG Dan! Congrats and glad you got it fixed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 Originally posted by Dan Baldwin:Update: Car ran/braked great at Mosport, won my class and set a new class record. On STREET tires (B'stone S03 Pole Positions). Woohoo! Hey, anybody else show up in your class? Bwah Hah. You ready to move back south? Got some room for another stress weenie at the bomber plant... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 Hmm. I'm a bit-out-of-practice stress weenie that'd like to get back into that field. Bombers, that'd be cool. But I don't want to move, although I like that area. Dan, I have the B' S03s on my Eclipse daily driver and I really like them. Good thing I drive less that 5K miles a year! Those are some sticky street tires! Hardly what I'd think of as a daily driver tire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Baldwin Posted June 21, 2002 Author Share Posted June 21, 2002 KAT, I might be 'bout ready. They're behind on paying me up here and I need two new Hoosiers (4 really). You busted me, bTW, only one other car in my class, a Dodge Shelby Omni (weighs ~ same as me, with ~270hp). Oh yeah, that's stress wienER, I do have some self-respect left, though not enough to prevent me from considering Lock-Mart as an employer. Sorry, Pete, they haven't built bombers there in a LONG time. B-29s (I think) back in WWII. They do build F-22s there, which could be considered pretty cool. Mainly C-130s. Rivet music all day every day, with two music breaks. No music on Sundays. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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