My 2005 2dr 4wd blazer is pulling to one side when breaking. I have to hang on to the steering wheel to correct it. This started happening out of the blue. One day it was ok, now it's messed up.
I checked out the breaks today and they appear to be good and are working well. (I replaced the rotors & pads a few months ago) I took off the calipers and checked out the pistons, they are moving freely. So I don't think it is a break problem.
Could it be in the steering? any Ideas?

Thanks.

 

Has to be a caliper or a brake hose. The brake hoses break down in time so i always replace in pairs to be safe. Calipers are around 15.00 each and hoses are about 20.00 each much cheaper than hitting something or someone.

 

More than likely one of your calipers are hanging up on you, not the pistons but the slide pins. Some folks have had success in cleaning up the slide pins and greasing them and they'll work fine. Others have to replace the caliper as the slide pin is too far gone.

 

Thanks for the replys, guys.

The cost of a caliper is very little, should I do both while I'm at it. (probably cost twice as much here in Canada). Will see if I can get a couple tomorrow and give it a try. Is there anything I should know about changing calipers or is it straight forward?

Thanks again, Jon.

 

I would start by getting it apart and inspecting the sliders. A hardware kit with new pins and seals is likely all you need.

 

X2

Don't go replacing parts before you inspect and find the problem. Also, if you can't fix the slide pin, providing that is the problem, I would highly recommend replacing both calipers rather than just one.

 

You should be able to replace the slide pin and seal without replacing the whole caliper.

 

A bad brake hose can cause a sudden pull upon braking or can cause a constant pull.
Start by raising the front of the vehicle on stands and try turning the wheels. Usually, the problem is the opposite side that the vehicle is pulling to. What happens when a vehicle suddenly starts pulling to on side upon braking is that one of the calipers cannot get brake fluid because the brake hose has developed a defect. That defect will act like a check valve and stop brake fluid pressure from getting to the caliper. The side that is working will pull the vehicle to that side since the non fuctional caliper is not applying equal brake pressure to it's rotor. Remove the wheel on the opposite side of the pull, have someone apply some some pressure on the brakes and carefully crack open the bleeder (careful with your eyes!). I'll bet that little to no fluid comes out. Replacing and bleeding out that side should correct the problem. Replace both, if you feel the need, but you really don't need to unless it has cracks or wet on the outside of it. On rare ocassions, the caliper or pads can develope a problem to cause a sudden pull upon braking, but most of the time, it is a brake hose.
Now, had your vehicle been pulling to one side while driving without appling the brakes, the first thing is to raise the front and try turning the wheels. If one is hard to turn, you have either a slide pin hanging up, a frozen caliper, brake pad jammed in the housing or a bad hose. Easy enough to find out which. Have someone apply the brakes and release them. Then open the bleeder and see if the wheel turns now ( a bad hose will cause the caliper to hold pressure, so be careful that the fluid does not spray you in the eyes when opening the bleeder!). If it does, then the hose has developed a defect (check valve preventing the fluid from releasing in the caliper) and needs to be replaced and bled. If the caliper will not release the wheel, carefully use a screwdrive try to push the caliper piston in. IMPORTANT! If it has ABS, only apply enough pressure to see if the caliper will move back in about 1/2 ". The last thing you want to do is force alot of fluid back into the ABS unit, it could cause problems (how do I know?). If the caliper moves in, take the guide pins out and turn the caliper over enough to carefully use Channel Locks to push the piston completely into the bore, making sure to open the bleeder beforehand. If it will not go back in or seems to bind going in, replace it. Should it go in without a problem then check the pads. They may be hanging up in the housing. Remove them, clean the guides and caliper pins, then apply brake grease (but not too much). Reassemble, bleed the caliper and apply the brakes. Check to see if the caliper releases.
Had the front wheels turned freely initially, then swap front tires with each other and test drive. If the pull changes to the other direction, swap tires front to back. If problem persist, check front end parts and have alignment checked.
RAP (replace all parts) to find the problem is not good to do in the auto world. Testing and checking is the best way, testing and checking.

 

I have this same problem but only in 4wd.

 

I hope I have'nt let you guys down but I took it to the dealer yesterday and let them sort it out. I did'nt want to buy parts and it still not work. Calipers here in Canada are $75 each.
They ended up replacing the front calipers and they repaired the rear ones, said the pins where seized on the back ones. The guy said he had trouble bleeding the system and almost had to replace the ABS module ($800) thankfully after a few trys he managed to do it. He recommended an alignment but my property taxes are due tomorrow so it will have to wait. It seems to be back to normal now.

Thanks for all your advice...... Jon.