Truck pulls to left when braking

OK ToyotaWorld you've provided all the answers I've needed, but now I have one that seems to have everyone I know stumped. I have a 99 Taco SR5 4x4, with 354K miles. When braking my truck pulls for a second to the left, then seems to straighten out. Here' what I've done to try to fix it.

- New calipers, pads, rotors and brake lines.
- New (used) LSPV.
- Measured brake pressure & have 1500 at fronts & LSPV, 500 at rears, didn't notice any jump or difference, but I only have one gauge so could not see if both sided were reacting at the same time, but looking at earch separately, no obvious difference.
- New upper control arms (Light Racing) with new upper ball joints
- New Tie rods, inner and outer.
- Did not replace lower control arms (bushings) or lower ball joints, but they seem tight enough. (If someone has a sure fire way to check them let me know).
- I tried Caster at 2.5 & 1.0, neither seemed to make a difference. I did notice my right wheel is closer to the rear than the left, even when the caster is the same...with 353k when I got the truck, who knows what may have happened. Also note, I'm checking the caster with a digital level, 20 degrees to the left, "zero" the level, then 20 degrees to the right & that's the caster. I've read people going 15 degrees instead of 20 and others going 20 then taking the answer times 1.5, so I'm not sure what's right.
- The steering rack and bushing seem tight, so I haven't done anything to them yet.

I know this is a lot, but if anyone has experience a similar issue, I'd like to know what fixed it.

 

When i went to get alignments i was told that road crowning and uneaven surfaces of the road can create a slight pull to either the left or right ecpecially if you have over sized tires. Does it also pull when your driving down a straight road (hands off the wheel)? Im sure you already checked but have you checked to make sure the tire pressure in all tires are matching?

 

Thanks for the input I appreciate any ideas. I did check this on straight flat roads, I've tried the hands off the wheel thing, but only at lower speeds. It seems like it's most evident at higher speeds, like hard braking at 45 mph or faster. Do you think a bad strut would cause this? It's difficult to evaluate since I have very stiff springs...and a spacer for lift. I'm thinking maybe I'll take out the spacer, look at the strut and see what happens.

 

replace your brake hoses, if one is restricted it will cause this, also if you have air bubble in one of the lines too as well as if the front end has something loose it can pull to one side.

 

Have same problem here. I haven't done a whole lot to diagnose it. But yeah it has always pulled to the left a bit when braking. Sometimes more evident than others. Sometimes it'll brake straight after I correct it while braking. I'm leaning towards an air bubble. Just haven't got around to doing a proper bleed/flush. Hoping that'll fix it. I suppose it could be something to do with bad shocks.

So I'll be keeping an eye out here for all possibilities when it comes time to tackle this.

 

Definitely want to make sure the brakes are properly bled. Idk if you did the brake job or not, but i'd double check to make sure they're properly bled. Also remember there is a bleeder valve on the LSPV.

Edit: Also, make sure the caliper slide pins are properly lubricated. The 99's have fixed calipers correct?

 

I had to replace to steering rack bushings to control a shimmy at high speeds. I replaced the stock rubber with poly. Much better steering feel and it was fairly easy and cheap. If your steering bushings are the original rubber you may want to change them. Your 354k miles gives me a good feeling on how long my 99 may last.

 

Thanks again for all the ideas and inputs. I did bleed the brakes... FYI the brake bleeder kit you get from Harbor Freight sucks, because it doesn't seal, so it sucks in air. So went back to the old fashion way. I wouldn't swear there's not a bubble left, but I thought I got it all. The pedal feels right anyway.

I checked the alignment today at a shop to verify my numbers. I'm fine on toe and camber, but off from one side to the other with caster (1.46 LF & 0.57 RF). So this weekend I'll try to get both closer to 2.0 on both. (From what I've read that's where it needs to be). I'm hoping that almost 1 degree of difference combined with the 1.5 away from optimum on the RF will Git-R-Done. I had the RF around 1.0 and my big tires were hitting. I guess if that's what it takes, I'll get out the sledge and start bashing more room again, but I'm to the point where it doesn't seem like it's moving anymore.

 

jack both front wheels off the ground and brake hard then go see if both wheels "released" if not, change the brake hoses, if both released then it might be the back brakes causing this (maybe only one side is braking in the rear) so pull the back drums and see if everything is ok back there. a leaky cylinder will wet the pads and give you no brakes on one side. but if both fronts are free then drop the front and jack both rears off the ground and repeat the test, if all 4 wheels are releasing as they should you know its something other then the brakes causing it to pull like alignment or worn front end parts

 

I like the jacking up booth wheels and braking idea. Nothing to lose there by trying. The idea makes me think about the guy in this video.http://www.mindblowingvideos.com/hi...ixing-it-he-did-this-brilliant-hilarious.html
I did change the brake hoses, also looked at the rear brakes...and the steering unit bushings. All seem OK.

 

Today I adjusted both rear brakes tighter...that didn't help. I checked the brake lines for kinks...couldn't find any. Adjusted the caster so now I'm 1.3 on the RF & 1.46 on LF... seemed to help a little. Getting both to 2 would probably help a bit more (maybe) but At this point, I tired of jack'n with this thing. I've come to the conclusion the 1st gen brakes are just crap. I suspect a lot of guys with 1st gen trucks might not know the difference. I also have a 2nd gen Taco... big difference.
I guess it says something for the evolution of engineering on today's vehicles. It's just too bad the US Market embraces the bigger is better philosophy. The 1st gen truck is a perfect size for wheel'n. It can get in and out of places much better than the FJ or 2nd gen Taco. If it just had more wheel clearance and better brakes. I'm really kicking myself for staying with 15" wheels. Could have done the Tundra brake upgrade for all the cash I spent/wasted trying to get this thing better. : (
I guess I could also upgrade the rears to disk, but again don't really think that money would be well spent.

 

if it pulls to the left, your problem is with the brakes on the right side. I had a pin hole on my hose one time. the truck pulled to the opposite side

 

try this, slightly roll forward and press your brakes and hold them, now give a little gas to try to push the tires and make them slide. now without releasing set your e-brake so the truck doesn't move and holds the tires in that position. now shut it off get out and measure your alignment then do the same in reverse and re-measure.

what you are doing is putting road force stress on the front end to simulate what is happening when you hit the brakes to see if the front end has any "give" in it that is letting the alignment change under breaking.

this eliminates anything other then a braking issue itself which could be as simple as a caliper working but not freely sliding back and forth in its cradle under slight input causing uneven breaking pressure. if the caliper cant slide in and out in its cradle with just a light press of one finger with the caliper piston fully compressed, then its binding and will cause issues if its not cleaned and greased on the slide pins and the pad slides (brass clips that hold it in place)

 

keakar, good suggestion. It seems like this might help me see if there issome give in the lower control arm bushings as well. I think I'll recruit somehelp this weekend to try this. I've been trying to do this by myself and I cansee an extra set of eyes would help for this exercise.

 

I had some help this weekend so I had my son drive the truck while I observed. We did some suspension loading per keakar's suggestion. From that I could see there was some slop in the LCA bushings. I also had him drive the truck toward me slowly down my driveway, then slam on the brakes. I could see the right front wheel turn significantly toward the left. Seem like the only thing that would allow that to happen would be the steering rack, or the LCA bushings. Since the steering rack seems solid, I'll go after the LCA bushings. From what I've read, it may be best to just replace the LCA's altogether instead of just the bushings. More fun : )

 

I just replaced the bushings myself with moogs. Not too bad. Used a bottle jack and a 1and 3/8 socket. Fit perfectly. Just put some pressure on it with the bottle jack and start it, then tap the control arm where the bushing resides with a hammer and it pops right out... Then they need to be pressed in. I think for that i used one of the adapters for the harbor freight c clamp ball joint tool. Hammered it in.

 

Excellent, where did you get your bushings? I found some Moogs, but I couldn't tell if it was one bushing, a set of 2, or a set of 4. Also, can you comment on how it all feels before and after. Thanks

 

glad you found it, now hopefully the replacement goes easy without problems

 

Got them on rock auto. Was a set of two. And it feels a little better. Hard to tell. Certainly did not fix my pulling issue. But it may be something entirely different than your situation I'm not sure. Haven't really looked into it. But everything on my front end is new except shocks and brakes so I'm assuming it's something with those.. maybe even the rear is causing it.. But I can feel a little bit better response, and seems smoother, like on speed bumps and whatnot. No more squeaking for sure. which before it was pretty bad squeaking. It would definitely be good to change them if you never have. A bitch but worth it. I definitely love the 'new' feeling. Really topped it all off and feels like a brand new truck. Now to get my brakes and figure this pulling issue out... Yay. Hopefully a good flush will do the trick for me

 

Changed my LCA bushings yesterday. The old ones were shot! It was pretty clear to see after I removed them how bad they really were. I actually can't understand how I was not able to see how bad they were while they were in the truck. If I had to do this again, I would mount a GoPro under the truck so I could see the movement while driving.
Big thanks to "toendanger" for the quick write-up and pictures show how to remove the bushings. I was considering the "redneck" method with the threaded rod, but I believe this ended up being much easier. The "redneck" method requires you cut and grind off the bushing flanges and get just the right size sockets. The bottle jack method was pretty easy, my jack fit perfectly...however, it still scares the crap out of you. First you have the jack it to the extent that it's actually spreading the arms about 1/4" apart. You can just feel the energy ready to explode. Then you smack it with a hammer and POW, it's out. I made a video and will post it when I get a chance.
To put the bushings back in, I just adjusted my vice so I could bang them in with a hammer. I just happed to have a 1/4" x 2" diameter piece of steel so I could set it on top of the bushing and use it to distribute the blow of the hammer (and avoid damage to the bushing). 6-10 really healthy whacks with a 22 oz hammer and they're in.
Test drove the truck, and no more pulling. I felt good and solid. Now I have to redo the alignment. I made marks so I could put everything back exactly where it was. Now with tight bushings, my steering wheel is off about an 1/8 of a turn. That tells me how much play there really was in the bushings.