'01 Tundra - front brakes drift

Hey Everyone, I got a 2001 TRD with 280,000 miles on it. It has an issue with the front brakes pulling to the left & right. It feels like it cant make up its mind! It makes braking feel like surfing. I had this in other vehicles in the past & diagnosed it as the rubber front brake lines. So I replaced them on my Tundra, but it did nothing. Pads are in great shape, rotors are as well. No warpage in rotors that I can feel while driving. I pulled a way to heavy equipment trailer over the mountains the other day & just about died, so I thought 'Time to get to the bottom of the brake issue'!
My thoughts at present are:
ABS system?
upgrade the calipers?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
John

 

Stuck calipers?

 

No, calipers do not appear to be stuck....

 

Ball ball joints or tie rods.

 

I guess that would be possible. the tires are not wearing like any front end components are worn out & I cant get any play / looseness in anything when jacked up. I do not know the history of the front end & it does have some high miles. Wouldnt I be getting drift just driving down the highway if the front end was worn out?

 

Does it do it without the trailer? A heavy trailer could be “wagging the dog” , that is pushing your truck in the direction it wants to go rather than trailing.

 

Yes, does it without the trailer. It was alot worse with the trailer, but I had a lot of weight in the back of the truck as well as the trailer. I keep coming back to the clalipers, I've read on here the first gen.'s brakes arent great and a lotta folks upgrade them.

 

Just so you know, I have been towing with the ‘weaker’ WE calipers since the truck was new. The front rotors warped the first year and have been that way till last year when replaced. I have never had the issue you describe.

You can upgrade to WL calipers for negligible results better. Or, tick some other boxes first. Looks like you are towing a Porsche?

 

I also have the 'bad' calipers....and warped rotors I'm waiting until spring to replace...no pulling issues though. When is the last time you had an alignment?

 

So what do you experience with warped rotors on a Tundra? In my old '85 toyota 4x4 I remember the brake pedal pulsated, that was about all. Yes, a Porsche 911sc body. The rest of the car was in the back of my truck. A porsche in 1000 pieces!

 

How does the steering rack look? Bushings on it okay? Hearing that when you apply brakes it picks a random direction and goes makes me suspect theres a weakness in the steering that gives way. If it were at least always going left, or right, I would say check the rear brakes to be sure they're okay.

 

I will check the bushings - good call. I've had it jacked up & checked everything pretty thoroughly for play and it seems tight. Driving around it feels fine and the tires arent wearing funny or anything.

 

+1

Put your phone under your steering rack in the ground and record video while you turn left to right with the tires still on the ground. I think you'll be surprised by how much play there is .

 

So what do you experience with warped rotors on a Tundra?

On mine, and my subaru that had the same problem, it was a pretty pronounced shaking during moderate braking. Couldn't feel any pulsing in the pedal but the whole vehicle shakes when braking.

As for check your suspension, you need to jack up the front end, but also jack up the control arms slightly. A lot of things will feel tight when maxed out by the springs but when you push the control arm up it unloads those joints and suddenly you can find things that are actually very loose.

You can also use an infrared thermometer ($20) to check your brakes after driving. I've used that tool before to find sticking calipers and such. If say, the brake disc on the right side is 200º after driving but the left side is 300º you know know something is wrong with one side.

 

Warped discs created a wobble pulse in the steering wheel when slowing down. My 02’ front end was tired from years of use. Just had it all rebuilt and she is driving better than new. Sounds like you know what you are talking about, but just looking for clues.

I remember a thread from a visitor a few months back that was stating his steering wheel would suddenly turn one way or another out of the blue while driving at speed. Ended up being a bad tie rod if memory serves proper.

1) Sticking caliper/too much pressure on one caliper
2) Bad ball joints/tie rod
3) Loose steering rack

Could be time to do a complete rebuid!

 

When the front suspension was rebuilt in summer 2018. All new OEM except the rotor/pads? All this plus the shift to rear brake adjustment (LSBP Valve) and she brakes finely. Like its a new truck.