Front drum brakes pulling to one side!

[DeepC73]

I have tried for about a month to figure it out. I replaced my drums and shoes. After that my bronco started pulling to the passenger side when I brake hard/fast. It doesn’t do it badly if I am driving normal and stopping gradually. It never did it before I messed with it. I have a power brake booster that have been on there for about two years. When it started pulling I went back and replaced all of the springs and wheel cylinders on all 4 corners. I also replaced both rubber hoses in the front. I am about to replace all metal lines up front, but after that, everything is new. I have adjusted them so they are even with the same drag, but it’s still there. I don’t know what else it could be. Any suggestions.

 

[jeffncs]

Not trying to be snarky here but…. This is one of many reasons most upgrade to disc brakes. That’s the best option, if your wallet can handle it.

 

[Ovalis]

One of the issues when putting on new shoes & drums is getting them adjusted so the OD of the shoes matches the ID of the drums and that they are the same on both sides. These days everybody sets them by feel by the amount of drag during rotation. The other big issue is a lot times the "roundness" of the shoes doesn't match that of the drum. In the old days when a lot of the cars had drums brakes, brake shops had a machine where they would mount the shoes on and cut them to match the drum. I bet if you pulled your drums off right now, you would find wear marks on part of your shoes and other spots without any wear marks. After awhile of driving, the shoes would eventually wear in to match the drum.

 

[B RON CO]

Hi, one cause of the pulling problem could be if the small primary brake shoe and larger secondary shoe are in the wrong position. The primary shoe belongs in the front, and the secondary shoe in the rear. I have seen the shoes reversed, as well as both primary shoes on one side, and both secondary shoes on the other side.This is a common problem.
Good luck

 

[Dne007]

I have gone so far, I'm talking a long time ago, switching front drums from one side to the other and remedied a pull, If all else fails, might try this. Just a drum thing!

 

[Steve83]

Front drum brakes pulling to one side!

How did you determine that the pull is from the FRONT brakes?

This is one of many reasons most upgrade to disc brakes.

Just a drum thing!

Pulling is NOT just a drum thing - disks can pull, too. And not all disks are higher grade than OE drums, so a disk swap CAN be a downgrade.

 

[Dne007]

Just saying it's something I had tried in the past and it has worked several times. It's just a simple thing to try before spending a great deal of money on disc setup. If the person can't find a reason then some simple things to try are at hand

 

[SteveL]

Are you sure it's the brakes? Have you checked your trak bar bushings and/or steering components like tie-rods?

 

[DeepC73]

UPDATE - i discovered the front brass plug on the proportioning valve was loose; about 2-3 turns from falling out. However, it was not leaking any fluid at all. I tightened it up and now it only slightly pulls. My best guess is that it was relieving pressure at the least resistance (driver side, shortest and closest). I would have never guessed it. I had assumed that since it was getting pressure to both sides that it was fine up to the block on the axle where it feeds both sides. Lesson learned. I’ve removed the front wheels and bearings 6 or 7 times over that last few weeks. SMDH! I hope this helps someone else in the future. Thanks to everyone for your inputs. This community is awesome!