Pulling to the left during braking

[Mark1972]

I've put over 1500 miles on since the 440 replaced the 318 in my 1970 Satellite, but this never happened until the other day. I got cut off in traffic, braked hard at 30mph, and the car pulled hard left. I had to fight to keep it in my lane. Never happened before. Now it pulls left everytime I brake. The harder I brake, the harder it pulls. This is what I've done since:
Checked tire pressure, all good and equal.
Lifted front of car and made sure tires spin freely. The did. No drag.
No broken torsion bar. Duh.
Shocks solid and not leaking.
All steering components tight.
Pulled front drums(10"x2.5") and checked brakes for damage, wear, collapsed hoses, leaking brake lines, low brake fluid, missing spring, and operation of wheel cylinders. Passenger cylinder only actuated partially. Driver side actuated properly. Replaced passenger side cylinder. Bled brakes. Topped up fluid. Cleaned brake drums and shoes. Reinstalled. Test drive. Same thing. Pulled left.
Came home and swapped drums side for side. Test drive. Same thing. Pulled left.

Out of ideas. Nothing in the steering or brakes on this car is over two years old. I have been asked in the past if I sweated the drums and shoes. I didn't. Never knew about it. Could this be causing the issue? Should I pull my drums and shoes and sweet them now? Seems odd that this never happened before, now won't stop. Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

[HawkRod]

My first guess would be a collapsed (or plugged) brake line hose. That will give the symptoms you describe. Sometimes they collapse on the inside so you can't visually see it.

If it were me, I would replace the hose, and flush with clean fluid when you do. I'll bet that will take care of it.

Good luck,

Hawk

 

[slimt]

Just a guess. But maybe if its shoes. Maybe they require adjustment. Or you may have a wet shoe.
Or even a glazed shoe.

I had one at one time lock on the left side. That hurt the fingers from the steering wheel relocating quickly.

 

[HawkRod]

But maybe if its shoes. Maybe they require adjustment. Or you may have a wet shoe.
Or even a glazed shoe.

Agree these are possibilities as well. The OP stated "Passenger cylinder only actuated partially", so this leads me to feel its the hose. Having said that, I have been wrong many times before, so this wouldn't be the first or the last time!!!

 

[Ron H]

Are your brake linings new? Either way, are they wearing evenly side to side? I'd also check the rears. Drums shouldn't spin 'freely', there should be a slight drag adjusted accordingly each drum.

 

[sam dupont]

Look at your right side again, it's the side not working correctly

 

[Mark1972]

Hey guys. The brake hoses are new, but I did check them both. I cleaned them both and blew brake clean and air through them and no blockages. When I bleed the brakes, the oil comes thru the bleed screw really good and even on both sides. So doesn't seem like a collapsed or blocked hose. To clear up an earlier comment, there is a touch of drag on all the wheels. Unfortunately, I leave day after tomorrow for work for two weeks, but on return, I'll replace both hoses, flush out the fluid, and replace with new. Is it still a thing to clean the shoes with alcohol and heat drums to sweat out oil or other impurities? As always, thanks so much for the help. I'll touch base again after new hoses and fluid and report.

 

[69L48Z27]

I would try to adjust the right side up a little more, see what happens. I’ve always had to tweak the adjustment so it doesn’t pull. I have idea how severe your pull is.

 

[RJRENTON]

I've put over 1500 miles on since the 440 replaced the 318 in my 1970 Satellite, but this never happened until the other day. I got cut off in traffic, braked hard at 30mph, and the car pulled hard left. I had to fight to keep it in my lane. Never happened before. Now it pulls left everytime I brake. The harder I brake, the harder it pulls. This is what I've done since:
Checked tire pressure, all good and equal.
Lifted front of car and made sure tires spin freely. The did. No drag.
No broken torsion bar. Duh.
Shocks solid and not leaking.
All steering components tight.
Pulled front drums(10"x2.5") and checked brakes for damage, wear, collapsed hoses, leaking brake lines, low brake fluid, missing spring, and operation of wheel cylinders. Passenger cylinder only actuated partially. Driver side actuated properly. Replaced passenger side cylinder. Bled brakes. Topped up fluid. Cleaned brake drums and shoes. Reinstalled. Test drive. Same thing. Pulled left.
Came home and swapped drums side for side. Test drive. Same thing. Pulled left.

Out of ideas. Nothing in the steering or brakes on this car is over two years old. I have been asked in the past if I sweated the drums and shoes. I didn't. Never knew about it. Could this be causing the issue? Should I pull my drums and shoes and sweet them now? Seems odd that this never happened before, now won't stop. Any thoughts much appreciated.

IMO.....Having had cars with drum brakes on all CORNERS....USUALLY, pulling to the LEFT is an indication that the RIGHT side braking system (fluid distribution lines, wheel cylinder, adjustment, hose) is not functioning or not functioning with the same pressure as the opposite side. In your case, look to the right side wheel cylinder for a stuck piston or seal or perhaps the master cylinder compensating valve or distribution block. The FSM is a great source of info ......just my opinion of course.
BOB RENTON

 

[33 IMP]

I have almost the exact problem with mine, except the right front locks up at low speed, at 25mph it will change lanes.
Ive got new wheel cylinders and hoses for both fronts, but i have to plumb in a new line lock first.

 

[haywire 440]

Shocks solid and not leaking.
All steering components tight.

I had a car that started pulling to the left when braking, it had a 440 engine. I drove it probably not realizing how bad it had gotten. It ended up being worn out upper control arm bushings and probably lowers too. The front suspension parts were replaced and the wear on those bushings were obvious. One last tip is after the front end alignment “old school” tech the car steered slightly to the left when the steering wheel was free while driving. I contacted the “old school” tech and he advised switching the front tires side to side. That fixed the drift and he was right. These cars can be a handful sometimes. Cheers!

 

[#41]

Any jittering also on hard braking? Last time this happened to me one brake drum was out of round. It took me a bit to figure it out as they were brand new, so I was looking everywhere else. I had them both turned and the problem was solved.

 

[MoparLeo]

Now you know one of the major reasons they haven't put drums on the fronts since 1972. Drum brakes are prone to pulling. Sooner or later and always when they get wet.
You may have glazed one of the drums. Are they new or just resurface ? If not new what are the measurements. Meaning how much oversized are they. FSM says .060 max and needs to be the same on both sides. What type of shoes ? Bonded ( the best way to go) or riveted ?

 

[Mark1972]

No jittering or shaking when braking. It brakes smoothly, just with the annoying pull. The drums were brand new, and purchased from a local part store here in Winnipeg. Same as the shoes. As far as brand name, I can't remember. I bought them 4-5 years ago, and they sat in my basement until 2 years ago when I installed them. The shoes are bonded, not riveted. The drums have never been resurfaced but I'd have to pull them and measure the inside diameter of both to give you a number. Regarding the control arm bushings, and every other front suspension or steering part, all replaced new two years ago with a full front end kit from PST. Of course that was when the 318 was in place, so after the 440 went in, and I cranked up the torsion keys to maintain a desired ride height, it went back to a shop for another alignment. The alignment went perfectly and he found no wear. As I mentioned earlier, I'm going out of town for two weeks tomorrow for work, and won't be able to spend much time on the car today. I will order two new brake hoses, and install them along with a fluid drain and change when I'm home. I'll report back if that helped.

 

[jim94746]

Measure brake drums and shoes then check for square on drums or wear pattern on shoes. Scuff or resurface drums. Most people gorget front drums need readjusted depending on miles driven. My Roadrunner did same and was fixed by adding few more clicks to adjuster. I also use brake drum gage. Can buy fairly cheap on ebay and save tons of climbing under car to adjust

 

[Osoroho]

Machine shops used to arc shoes and drums it went a lot smoother

 

[kbfallon]

Machine shops used to arc shoes and drums it went a lot smoother

An Old Timer I worked with would throw the new drums on the lathe to make sure they were true and alot of the times you could hear how out of round they were from across the shop as the cutter would hit and miss until they were trued up....