Car slides on the highway when braking, what could it be? (1 Viewer)

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Sep 6, 2006
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Cincinnati, OH
When I put a significant amount of pressure on the brake pedal at 65 mph or above, my LC slides to the left, and so i have to turn to the right but its hard to keep it in control.

This doesn't really occur from 0-60 mph or so.

I have tried slowing down from like 35mph to 0mph but the car doesn't really slide or turn to the left (although i suppose its possible its so slight i can't tell)

any idea what could be wrong, i have to admit it was kinda scary when this happend and this can't be safe.
 
what do you mean by breaking traction? I'm assuming you mean does the wheel lock up. If that is the case then no, i'm not pushing the brakes down that much.
 
You said sliding, sliding means you break traction. You mean you have a pull to the left, sounds like you might have air in the lines to one of your right side brakes or your tires could be at different pressures.
 
Make sure your tires are inflated properly.

I had this problem recently. It happened right after I rotated my tires. I waited longer to rotate than I should have and the inside of the fronts tire wore visibly more than the outside edge of the tires so causing a visible camber to them. I moved the front to the rear and the rear to the diagnal front. Next day coming home from work in the interstate I had to slam on the brakes and the LC swerved to the left. I inflated my tires and it seems to have gone away.
 
i have those little valve caps that turn red when the tires are low, however i suppose one of those could be broken and saying that the tire is the right pressure, so i'll double check that.

is there a simple method to check for air in the brake lines? without taking anything apart.
 
Bleed them...make sure all of your tires are within 2lbs of eachother, that should eliminate the problem, if not then look to bleed your brakes.
 
no, and i think my rotors may be out of spec
 
none at all, the brakes do squeak a bunch. When i rebuilt my front axle the pads seemed like there was plenty left so i just assume the squeak is some grease
 
Hadji,

I'm sure others are thinking this, but I'm just going to come right out and say it. Please don't take offense - if this were not your braking system I would not be this blunt. If your truck is pulling dramatically at freeway speeds then there is an immediate and serious issue with either your brakes or a major component about to come loose - such as the 4 bolts that hold on the bottom of your steering knuckle or an entire brake caliper. The comments you are making indicate an unfamiliarity with brakes, so I'm concerned you don't have the b/g to handle a potentially dangerous situation that is both real and immediate.

So, I suggest you take this vehicle to a competent mechanic before driving it another mile.

Regards,

DougM
 
Hadji,

I'm sure others are thinking this, but I'm just going to come right out and say it. Please don't take offense - if this were not your braking system I would not be this blunt. If your truck is pulling dramatically at freeway speeds then there is an immediate and serious issue with either your brakes or a major component about to come loose - such as the 4 bolts that hold on the bottom of your steering knuckle or an entire brake caliper. The comments you are making indicate an unfamiliarity with brakes, so I'm concerned you don't have the b/g to handle a potentially dangerous situation that is both real and immediate.

So, I suggest you take this vehicle to a competent mechanic before driving it another mile.

Regards,

DougM
i wrote that earler and never posted it:frown: i did not want for him to take me wrong:beer:
 
I would second the bleeding of the breaks. I have had that cause a pull on two cars I owned. I learned to bleed my brakes after a dealer told me I needed to replace the caliper because it was frozen....:mad:
 
Agree with Doug. Go for a $20 tire rotation. Most mechanics will check brakes while the tires are off, especially if you ask them.

Recently I had a stuck brake caliper piston. It was intermittent but would display similar behavior when stuck. I hear it is uncommon, but it's something to have checked. Definitely take it in. Not something to mess around with.
 
i have those little valve caps that turn red when the tires are low, however i suppose one of those could be broken and saying that the tire is the right pressure, so i'll double check that.

Dump those caps!! My :princess: bought her and I a set of those for Christmas one year so I was obliged to put them on. One of the caps developed a leak shortly there after causing the tire to gradually lose pressure. They aren't very accurate to begin with and the cap was still showing green despite it being obvious to the eye that the tire was low. It was by, 10lbs! You really don't need to come out of work one day to a flat tire all because of a leaking valve cap.

Buy yourself a decent tire gauge and just check the tires yourself every so often.

As for the pull, follow Idaho Doug's advice :cheers:
 
I have just rekitted both my front brake calipers because it was doing exactly the same thing as you are experiencing.

I took my truck to a vehicle testing station and we checked the brake performance to confirm my initial diagnosis and rule out suspension or tyre inflation problems.

Two pistons on one side of the righthand brake caliper were seized. They were a bitch to get out but all is well now.
Parts cost $NZ 92.00. Took me a 3-4 hours due to the difficulty in extracting the stuck pistons.

Don't delay with this repair!!!
 
Could it be a problem with the rear brake LPV?
 
Recently I had a stuck brake caliper piston. It was intermittent but would display similar behavior when stuck. I hear it is uncommon, but it's something to have checked. Definitely take it in. Not something to mess around with.

Long story:

Mine was pulling to the right intermittently under low-speed braking. When it happened, I had to steer hard-to-the-left just to stay in my lane. No way I would let anyone else drive it. It was a serious safety issue (think emergency braking), and I let it go much longer than I should have.

I checked a bunch of potential causes myself (TRE's, nuts at bottom of knuckle, bearings, etc.), and couldn't locate the problem. Took it to a professional who re-checked everything, bled the system well, replace a rotor (that was warped after 7,000 miles). Still had the problem.

I ordered a caliper rebuild kit from CDan-the-man and dove into it a couple of weeks ago. 3 pistons on the passenger side were seized (couldn't budge them -- tried everything except using a grease gun). I ended up ordering remanufactured calipers from CDan. No more pull. :)

Summary: There are a bunch of potential causes that need to be checked. It is NOT safe to drive the way it is.

Bottom line: What Doug said x10!
 

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