Brakes or suspension?

[carlospena96]

Hello everyone, i got a problem with my spider, when I brake it goes to the right, I don't really know if it had a bad alignment or the brakes are really bad

[AriK]

Inspect calipers and lubricate its sliders. A brake hose may be shot. Sometimes bleeding the brakes can restore the pulling.
Another very common scenario is bad control arm bushings.
A good visual inspection is in order. Look for loose suspension nuts at the control arms, and crossmember to frame. Inspect crossmember for cracks as well as cracks at the crossmember to frame rail. Make it a habit to perform these inspections at every oil change.

[DieselSpider]

If the brakes have not been flushed religiously every 2 years and the rubber hoses have not been changed in 8 or 10 years chances are that the hoses need replacing regardless of whether the caliper guides are binding.

Time to inspect the suspension and brakes thoroughly not overlooking the wheel bearings. If one of the fronts is hard to bleed then you likely have a collapsing brake hose so all the rubber hoses should be replaced regardless of how nice they look on the outside.

Thankfully most of the parts for doing the brakes are available locally with few exceptions and the rebuild kits available from the Fiat specific vendors for around $10 have the parts to repair a set of 2 calipers on the same axle.

[kilrwail]

Check that the brake pads on both sides look the same. It's possible that one is worn more than others or the finish is glazed, which will cause a pull. If you're not sure, switch them from side to side and inside to outside and test it. After replacing all hoses and rebuilding all my calipers, I found that this had been the reason for a major pull all along.

[aj81spider]

It can be suspension too. I had a hard pull to the right on braking that was cured by replacing bushings.

[DieselSpider]

You really need to vet it all out and leave nothing to chance. Glazing on only one side can be due to lack of or reduced braking on the other over a long period of time.

Time to put on your detectives cap and become a super sleuth.

[carlospena96]

Ok, so I will check brake pads, brake hose and brake liquid are ok, I changed less than a year, I will check the alignment if the brakes are ok

[DieselSpider]

On mine the previous owner had the car serviced by Tire Kingdom and they put a full synthetic brake fluid in when they helped him with flushing the brakes, he did not realize the rear axle needed to be supported to keep the compensator valve open, and all the OEM formulation hoses turned to putty inside in less than a years time and plugged up. The car pulled terribly to the left from that and when I pulled the hoses it looked like they had old black caulking in them. Sometimes when the lining of the hose detaches on the inlet side it will only plug during a hard application of the brakes and if the lining detaches on the outlet side the brakes may not release and end up dragging which makes it harder to troubleshoot since the hose acts like a one way valve when there is a rapid movement of the brake pedal.

They also did not align it laden or torque everything to spec with some things way over tightened and others far under torqued.

Since I replaced the hoses and had a lifetime alignment done by the local Firestone shop it has held true on the alignment and brakes straight. I provided Firestone the front end FAQ from Mirafiori along with the specs from my owners manual to ensure they had all the information required to get it done correctly.

[lglade]

The bushings in the steering idler of my car (newer style, without oil) were totally gone. Under braking then, the right side wheel would "kick out" as the pitman shaft moved around inside the body of the idler...this caused the car to pull to the right. If your own car is still riding around on some or all of its original suspension, then you should give each of those old component a good close visual inspection--ideally with a pry bar to apply load at the various joint to check for looseness.

[md88plt]

Had a similar problem. Check your brake line! I replaced my right brake hose and no more brake drag. The inner hose was collapsed inside the brake hose and not allowing brake pressure to release.

[aevansgatech]

Related question since I don't have experience with this before: When you have the caliper out, I know the piston can be stuck in there fairly well and it's recommended to use low pressure air to get it out. So, once it's out and cleaned up, how freely should the piston move within the caliper? Smoothly by hand? Not at all by hand?

[md88plt]

By hand

[lglade]

It took about 90 psi before I got the piston out of my front left caliper. So use a rag and a thin piece of wood to 'catch' the piston when it finally pops free.

And keep your fingers clear! Pistons can come out with the kinetic energy of a bullet, so be safe.

[narfire]

And keep your fingers clear! Pistons can come out with the kinetic energy of a bullet, so be safe.


Thumbnail on left hand is #2.....I can remember it hurts like.......