Left Pull When Braking

I'm totally stumped! I have a 96' Tacoma 4x4 Standard Cab 3.4L V6. I am the original owner. A few months ago I noticed a pretty good pulsing when braking. Warped rotor right? I thought so too. So I installed new rotors and pads. Pulsing is still there and now I have a hard pull to the left when braking. Bad caliper right? I thought so too. LOL I installed NEW calipers and for good measure I warrantied out the rotors and pads. Still I have a intermittent pulsing when braking and a consistent pull to the left when braking. A little background: About a year ago I did the rear drums. I replaced the drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, self adjusting hardware and ALL other hardware. About 6 months ago I replaced ALL of the high pressure lines. So basically my entire brake system is new except for the master cylinder and proportioning valve. PRO valve is just for front vs rear correct? Shouldn't have anything to do with side to side? Could the master cylinder be the culprit? Or, is there some other obscure reason my truck is pulling to left when braking and the occasional pulsing. Also, my tires are new (Yokohama Geolander) and the alignment was done a few months ago. HELLLP........ I appreciate any and all feedback!

 

Wow, thats weird.

Seems like it started with the new tires. I'd suspect one of them.
Verify they are all the exact same size. Maybe one is defective. Try rotating front to
back and see if it makes any difference.

 

you covered the front so the issue has to be with the back brakes.

probably a warped drum, sometimes sudden hard braking can warp a hot drum.

you need to get all 4 wheels off the ground to see for sure which one it is. do the front two last since im sure they are fine so start with the rear two and only this way can you see which tire is dragging and rubbing/pulsing

 

a worn inner tie rod could cause wandering when braking.
have it aligned
and the tech could determine if the itre has play or steering components need attention.

Not saying it couldn't be checked by ones self...
experience offers a more thorough investigation tho'

Could also be worn rack mount bushings causing the whole rack to shift.

Not saying the new rotors are good or bad quality wise...
but if the brakes were overheated or the wheels were over torqued...
the rotors could be warped and contribute additionally to your issue.

The Tacoma ifs front suspension/steering systems amplify issues/faults noticeably if component wear occurs.

 

I'm pretty sure it's not a tire. The problems started well after new tires. They very good quality and all the same size. These are exactly the same make, model and size as was on the truck when I bought it in 96'. With that being said, I haven't tried the rotation idea yet. It is possible I got a bad tire. I will rotate them tomorrow and report on the results.

 

About a year ago I did the rear drums. I replaced the drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, self adjusting hardware and ALL other hardware. I did the calipers, pads and rotors today and I had all wheels off the ground. I turned all four wheels by hand and nothing hung up and no one wheel was harder to turn than any other. The occasional pulsing I feel is in the wheel not my backside. I appreciate the ideas.

 

About 2 years ago the steering rack went out. I replaced it with a Maval rebuilt. Maval is the Toyota/Lexus OEM for racks. When I replaced the rack I completely rebuilt the front end suspension with all Moog parts. Upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, upper and lower control arms and ALL bushings with an Energy Suspension kit. Back in 2008 I put Bilsteins on all 4 wheels. Could a bad strut or shock be causing this issue? They have a lifetime warranty.

The calipers, rotors and pads were just done today. I don't think my 10 mile test drive was enough to warp them that fast. I went easy on them just for testing purposes. I used my CDI torque wrench to torque the fluid line to 12ft/lbs, the caliper bolts to 90 ft/lbs and the lugs tom 83 ft/lbs. These torque values are from the FSM for my truck. I appreciate you thoughts. Any other ideas?

 

2 years ago is not today
just because something was new, installed back then...
does not mean it couldn't be failing now.

I have gone thru 4 racks... and double that #, if accounting for itre replacements.

of course I did spend a lot of time on the trails
and the 285's then/295's I roll currently... are hard on components.
Bigger tires kill things quicker.

I too purchased a factory reman rack 1st round...
and the itre's only survived for two years.
following year... the rack pissed it's innards.
I was disappointed with the purchase price...
as it did not survive even one half the life of my original factory installed rack.
Possibly it could be a hit or miss deal...
but I'm not paying the exorbitant price for another to make further determination.

Currently I utilize a Napa rebuilt rack with the LLW, going on 3yrs now
Even then... my current Napa rack itre's are getting sloppy and it wasn't wheeled much
during my latest rack install.

The quality/durability of the factory re-mfgr'd/distributed racks...
are not as good as was the original factory rack. JME

You can choose to ignore what you think it can't be...
but that denial won't likely source yer problem.

but it's likely related to something listed below...

...brake wear or improper install and even incompatible or sub-grade oem components

...steering/susp. component wear = things wear out, just happens.

...poor or faulty tire balancing = lug centric balancing insures a proper balance

...defective tire = rotate tires to see if effect changes

 

So I rotated the tires this morn and went on a 12 mile test drive. I still have an intermittent pulsing and a consistent pulling to the left. I did some further internet research and I found a couple posts saying that although rare, a failing master cylinder can cause a pull to one side. Also, I discovered the proportioning valve isn't just front to back. It operates on kitty corner. I mean it controls the left front with the right rear and the right front with the left rear. So if it is failing than it makes total sense it could cause a pull when braking because only one front caliper is completely gripping. I found this info on a Nissan forum, not Toyota. Can anyone confirm the proportioning valve works this way on my truck?

 

On my Tacoma the proportioning valve only controlls the rear axle...
it compensates when weight is added to the bed...
it does not proportion independently left to right.

I would not think the MC is your issue.
tho' ya could have air in the lines.

Is the vibration noticed only at the brake pedal...
or at the steering wheel as well ?

 

Our proportion valve only controls the rear. Have you bled the brakes? Do u have a solid pedal or is it soft at all? I also can't imagine how a failing MC would cause a pull to one side.

 

I have a similar issue, constant pulling to the right when breaking. bought an inexpensive BPV to see if that would change the issue. valve didnt work at all and the issue worse and change sides. going to buy the OEM quality and try that.

any updates on if this issue ever got fixed?