OT -- brake/steering question

This is a question about my '92 Pontiac Bonneville, but people in this
group are so knowledgable, I thought I'd ask here. Just ignore me if
you're a Honda purist.

It got totally new front disk brakes in March -- rotors and pads. On
the back drum brakes, only the cylinders were replaced. About two
months and 800 miles (car is not driven much) after the brake job, it
began pulling to the left but only after sitting in the parking lot
all day. After sitting in the garage all night, it steers normally.
When driving too work all is normal. When driving home, it wants to
veer left requiring the wheel to be held about 3-4 degrees clockwise
to keep it in its lane. This problem resolves after about ten miles
and fifteen minutes of driving.

I suppose it's possible that it has something to do with heat under
the hood and that it didn't get warm enough during the day here in
Ohio until May to make the problem obvious.
One mechanic told me to get a four-wheel alignment, but I can't see
how a misaligned car could steer normally in the AM and abnormally in
the PM.

Could the brake job have something to do with it?

Ron

 

yup. something weird is going on. id probably jack each side up when cold,
and spin the wheels. something is sticking somewhere... maybe the parking
brake?

 

If the vehicle pulls to the left when braking, it would appear
your RIGHT front brake is not functioning properly.


mike hunt

 

I didn't make that very clear, did I? It doesn't pull to the left
when braking. It wants to veer left during normal driving . . . in
the afternoon. When driving away from the home in the AM, it steers
normally.

Ron

 

Is your road heading to work has more crown then the road heading home
from work? Maybe the road 10 miles from work has more crown, so the car
veer left less?

 

Oh thank you Mike! You may have just saved another life!

You see...I would have thought that the right brake was working fine, but
the LEFT brake was generating more fluid pressure from sun spots, or even
the flux capacitor.

Thanks for clearing that one up...whew!

 

----------------------------------
Ron,

My guess: Solar heat is making your tires behave differently in the late
afternoon. Warm tires will show more pressure than cold ones. Get a good
tire guage and set all four tires to 32 pounds. I think you'll find
you've got an underinflated tire, and it gets better after 15 minutes of
driving because it's heating up.
You'll probably find it's also wrecked because underinflation is MURDER
on the sidewalls. They start to shred. Let us know what you find.

'Curly'
---------------------------------

To REPLY: If there are a couple of underscores in my return address,
you must remove them to reply directly . . . . . . Thanks.

Regarding stage performances: When everyone else has finished playing,
you should not play any notes you have left over. -

 

OIC. Does the road you travel happen to lean to the left
on the side you use going to work and it if level on the side you
use going home? That could be your problem


mike hunt

 

Apparently you thought wrong once again! No need to apologize,
we expect that from you.


mike hunt

 

It's not impossible but more likely a suspension problem. Before we leave
the brakes, did you have the front calipers changed with the pads/rotors?
Have you checked the temperature of the rotors/drums when it's pulling to
one side?... try stopping with minimal use of the brakes and see if the
left front rotor is much hotter than the left. Might as well do the same
check on the drums and if they're all OK it more or less rules out the
brakes as the problem.

If I had to guess I'd say it's more likely you have a bad ball joint or
bushing in the suspension... which gets cocked over when you make a certain
turn in the parking lot at work... or maybe the upper strut steering
bearing. BTW whats the camber like on those roads. If the road has a
distinct slope down to the left it'd be normal to get some tendency to veer
left, which could be exaggerated some suspension slop.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

No, it will veer left even though the road is normally crowned and
sloping downward to the right.
Ron

 

Very good thought. I have pretty new Michelins, and one of them has
suffered a slow leak. The dealer has remounted it a few times but it
persists. I haven't pursued it because it's SO slow that it's pretty
easy to keep the thing inflated properly. In fact I usually
OVERinflate it a few pounds to give it a little room. It's on the
left rear now, but this problem started about 5,000 miles after these
tires were placed on the car so I don't imagine that it's going to
explain the problem. Coming home tomorrow, I will document that all
four tires have exactly the same pressure and let you know if it makes
any difference.

Ron

 

I'll try that. Thanks

Ron

 

I'd say you have a problem in the front end. Unless you have
access to an alignment machine, take it to a competent alignment
shop and have the defect corrected, WBMA


mike hunt

 

Well you're already pursuing something which defies the logic that's
already been applied - try some umm, "illogic"... and check the
rotors/drums for dragging, i.e. temp.

It *could* be intermittent, depending on how you've driven before the
"event".... say like a sharp, near full-lock turn in the parking lot, which
could cause a loose joint to take up its play in the opposite position from
where it normally sits. Have you tried "rocking" the wheels? With the car
on the ground, squat down near the wheel, grab the top of the tire and rock
backwards

The alignment *might* be useful but the intermittent nature here suggests
something is moving around which shouldn't, so the movement should be cured
*before* any alignment is attempted. Many modern cars have no adjustment
for alignment anyway - if it's out the only recourse is part replacement.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Well, let's be frank, here. Anyone who can't tell, within a few hours
of using USENET, that "quote and reply" is FAR superior to top
posting, is a moron.

 

Yes at that age it could be any of the ball joints - also check mount
points of bottom suspension arm (A-arm ?), steering rack mounts etc. etc.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I'll get my mechanic working on this. I'll report results if this
thread is still alive when I have them. In the meantime, thanks, for
the list. I am fairly confident that I'll find the problem on it.

Ron