Pulls to the right when breaking and hub doesnt spin freely

Quick background information

• 2000 Tacoma 3.4L 4WD Manual 3 inch lift running 33s
• JBA Upper control arms. Bilstein shocks with Eibach Springs. Moog Bushing and ball joints all the way around. Steel braided extended breaklines. 1.25" hub centric spacers. Aftermarket rack and pinion from autozone (original one leaked fluid) and new CV axles as the boot on both sides where bad.

Here is the issue. When I break break the truck will pull slightly to right. it is more noticeable at highway speed. I general have to turn my steering wheel to the left to correct. I though that it might be an issue with air in my lines but thinking back, the truck has alway pulled slightly to the right when breaking. i feel like it is more noticeable now that I am running bigger tires now. Might be wrong though. I have bleed the breaks twice now. Both times using the two person method where someone pushes the break, i open and close the bleeder and then repeat. I also know that its not an alignment issues and i went and had the truck aligned at sears and still had the issue afterwards.
Thinking that it might be an issue with the rotor or caliper I went to investigate. Their is where im not sure if these two issues are separate or not.
Rotors where not warped. double and tripped checked, test with multiple pairs of new rotors. Thought that the calipers might be sticking so I went out and bought a power stop break kit. (I wanted to do the tundra break swap/upgrade anyways) thats when I noticed this. Note: the old stock calipers and rotors are currently on the truck. I dont want to bother doing anything until i figure this issue out.
- all of this is while in 2WD btw
When the caliper and rotor are off the truck and I spin the hub it doesn't spin freely. It will spin freely about 80 degree and then the last 20 degrees or so before it completes the whole rotation its like its going over a bump or up a hill, basically it gets more difficult to spin; it does spin by hand though. It also feels like the CV axle is causing the issue because it appears to somewhat jostle on the last 20 degrees but dont quote me on that. I have also noticed that when a caliper is on (held on tight by a lug) and the caliper is on but without any brake shoes inserted, that the rotor/hub assembly doesn't spin completely straight. If you look at the caliper and rotor from the front of the truck you will see that rotor moves slightly to one side (getting really close to touching the caliper) when it is spun. When i put brake shoes in the caliper it will rub on the shoes for the last 20 degrees or so of travel. It does this with new rotors, calipers, and shoes. doesn't matter. I can hear it grinding/scraping the shoes in the morning or when it is cold outside. I did notice that the bushing on the rack and pinion are soft so i ordered some polyurethane ones to help keep the rack in place better. hopefully it will give the steering wheel a stiffer feel.
I have a few ideas as to what the problem might be but I am not sure.
1. bad wheel bearing. (wheel doesnt feel lose or wobble when I put one wheel up in the air and shake the wheel to check for play. keep in mind that i might be wrong as I have never experience a bad bearing before. the truck also drives straight and comfortably as long as im not breaking) kind of hoping thats not the issue as while its not an expensive job, its going to take me some time as the hub and bearing are press fitted and i would have take them to a machine shop to get new ones pressed in.
2. maybe i didnt tighten the cv axles all the way down or didnt insert them all the way (no clue on this one)
3. something to due the 4WD further in. the light doesn't turn on when i shift into 4WD but i know it is in 4WD because i can feel it. since the truck is manual and i dont just push a button i feel like the light not going on is a non issue but im not sure.
4. maybe im just really bad at bleeding the breaks and their is air in the line somewhere causing uneven pressure. While bleeding them, i did accidentally let the reservoir get a little low but i dont think the master cylinder was sucking air. this would explain the truck pulling to the right when breaking but not the other issue.

Any input would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

This sounds like a case of a stuck caliper. If you have a replacement then try it out, if it doesn't work hit the next potential suspect issue. Being a mechanic is a process of elimination game anyways.

 

I do have a new set of calipers but havent put them on yet. The whole wheel not spinning completely free and the rotor moving slightly from side to side when spinning is making nervous and i dont want to damage a new set up rotors, pads or calipers.

 

What he said^^^If its a bad wheel bearing then you will hear a hum when you spin the wheel, if the wheel locks with no breaks, from my understanding that is signs of a deteriorated bearing as well. I could be wrong about it being the bearing...but bad bearings can cause your wheel to seize. Not sure about the cv as I have yet to experience a bad cv. Also just because it was recently aligned doesnt mean they did a good job, did you get the numbers?

Bleeding brakes should start at the farthest end of the line, for first gens its the rear passenger, then you do rear driver, then bypass I believe then pass front n dr front. I doubt that is your issue cause it would mean less pressure in your system if I my understand of bleeding brakes is sound.

 

Put two lugs on your rotor to hold it in place if you havent already, it shouldnt move.

 

no hum or anything when i spin my wheel. I actually didn't get the numbers this time. they had to put it on a machine that was able to print anything out at the moment for whatever reason. im just assuming that they did a good job I guess. I did put two lugs in the rotor when i spun it to check to see if it was spinning straight in regards to the caliper and it was not.

 

Does anyone know what site I can buy a leaf spring from for a 2000 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner 2x4

 

Amazon

 

Hmm thats wierd, could be a cv thing I guess. At this point I cant help suggest anything. Good luck man hope you find the problem! Hopefully its just a bad caliper!

 

Thank you for your input! @Prayn4surf

 

This is really much easier than you think. If you want to test to see if it is the caliper then just replace the caliper first. Reveled that side as you know introduced air into that portion of the system and retest it. If it fares well, then perfect problem solved.

There will always be slight movement while the rotor is spinning as I believe first gen's use a free floating design instead of fixed position calipers. That movement you are seeing may be normal.

If you cannot take the wheel and introduce up and down movement while the truck is in the air then your bearing is in good shape typically.

Replace the caliper. Report back with your findings. KISS is your friend here. (Keep It Simple Stupid)

 

You guys don't have ADD 4X4 systems. I envy you guys for that.

 

12TRDTacoma makes very valid points OP. The rotor is in fact free-floating so it will move/float unless you secure it with a couple of lug nuts. Also, when the suspension is fully drooped the CV will act a bit odd when trying to spin as you describe. Put a jack under the lower ball joint and jack it up a fair bit to relieve the CV angle, put a couple lug nuts on to retain the rotor and try it again. I have had to replace the OEM calipers for this exact issue, pulling one way under braking, it's not an uncommon issue.

 

I’ll add to the replace the caliper crowd, my tire wear (hum) and a bad/dragging caliper led me to think my bearing was bad. No play but all the other symptoms. I have a new set of calipers that will hopefully go on this weekend. An easy way to rule out wheel bearing would be to spin the hub with the rotor off. When your changing out the calipers, pop it off real quick and give it a spin and see how it does with nothing on it. Then as you put each piece back on give it a spin each time and see if it’s still good.

 

Turning the hub slowly will typically yield the results you're after. These trucks have large front wheel bearings so they contain quite large internals. Being so, you can typically feel roughness or even each individual bearing 'rolling over' when they're bad. It should turn smoothly with fair resistance and no noise or notchiness.

 

I'm having the exact same issue. Pulls to the right when I brake. Pulls pretty hard imo.
Recently new wheel bearings.
Brand new suspension. Ball joints, tie rods, etc etc.
It leads me to believe its the calipers. I'm probably going to do the tundra brake upgrade and see if it was the calipers.

 

@IEatPieLeftHanded

I had a very similar issue with my 01. 3inch lift, with 33's. I literally replaced the whole front end solving the issue. Disconnect the lower control arm from the spindle on the right side, check the lower control arm for movement front to rear. ie: grab the LCA at the ball joint and try moving it towards the front and the rear.

If there's slop, replace the whole LCA with a Toyota OEM one. It comes with the bushings and is cheaper than getting all parts separately. I started with aftermarket shit and had to replace it all anyways cause it made it worse...

The slop causes the tire to toe out under braking. As your front end dips down, the tire turns slightly right, causing the pull. It may be more pronounced than usual because of your spacers as well.

The other way you can see it is if you get a buddy to crank your steering wheel left and right- bout a half turn each direction, and get underneath yourself to look for movement.

Also make sure you use hightemp lube on the through bolts that the brake shoes slide on, mine we're sticking because I did not, and it solved the problem 100%

Good luck man, I hope I'm right

 

Read my post

The rubber on the OEM LCA bushings is at the age on these trucks where it is deteriorating now. They should be replaced or you can get extreme pulling like I had...

 

Damn, never thought of the LCA bushings for some reason. Definitely one thing I did not do.

I'm also getting some shaking when I brake. Now before everyone says warped rotors yadiyaditada. I put in new rotors,pads and still had the issue.
Then put in a new steering rack and bushings. Still have the shaking/pull to the right issue.
Whole front end is pretty much new except for the LCA. I really think that could be the culprit to at leas the pulling issue.
I think that the worn bushings on LCA could be actually causing both my issues. I'll start ordering some parts. Well see.
I'm a huge proponent to OEM but to be honest with you I will prob go after market bushings and press them in. I can't justify the cost of the whole LCA for this when its just the bushings. EDIT: I see people are using whiteline and highly recommended over the poly energy suspension bushings.
I can already feel the pain of having to remove these old ass LCAs. I know they aren't gonna come out easy haha

 

I wonder if you can see the toe just when the truck sits. Even when I had truck aligned I felt like I could see some toe. We'll see if the LCA bushings resolve any of my issues. I'm sure itll get one if not 2.