Braking - pulls to the right slightly

1959 - 1978, M151, M151A1, M151A2, Technical questions and discussions, regarding anything related to the M151.
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Crux444
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Braking - pulls to the right slightly

Post by Crux444 » Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:32 pm

When braking, my M151A2 tends to pull slightly to the right. Not excessively so, but so that I notice and have to slightly compensate. Assuming this isn't normal, but I'm a new M151 owner and no gear head. What could be the culprit?

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markrdje
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Re: Braking - pulls to the right slightly

Post by markrdje » Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:39 pm

Brake shoe on left may need adjusting/maybe the shoes are worn too much
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Kurt Lesser
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Re: Braking - pulls to the right slightly

Post by Kurt Lesser » Fri Apr 09, 2021 1:07 pm

Pull the drums and see if the shoes are wet or if you have brake cylinders that are frozen.
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Re: Braking - pulls to the right slightly

Post by Rickf » Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:43 pm

Did you adjust all the brakes to the required 11 clicks from locked? If yes and still pulling then as mentioned pull the drums and make sure none are wet from brake fluid. Also look at the shoes and see if it looks like both shoes on each wheel are doing equal work. If it is not it will be obvious. Check front and rear since right rear grabbing will cause a pull to the right also. Then the big question, are all the wheel cylinders the correct size> 1" in the front and 3/4" in the rear. Usually if this is mixed up the tire with the bigger cylinder will lock up but if it has three 1" cylinders and only one 3/4" cylinder you could end up with this scenario. What happens if you hit the brakes fairly hard, not locking hard but a firm stop. Does the pull increase or stay the same as a light stop? If it stays the same you may have an alignment issue. If one tire locks up I would suspect that one might have a 1" wheel cylinder probably in the right rear or a 3/4" in the left front. And last but not least, how old are the rubber brake hoses? They can collapse internally and restrict flow causing all kinds of strange issues.
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W. Winget
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Re: Braking - pulls to the right slightly

Post by W. Winget » Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:50 pm

I have a GPW that jinxed left slightly on braking, found out I had crushed a right front axle line when chaining it down :oops: on my truck.

If it's a small pull, it could be anything mentioned above, and as simple as getting dirt into one side VS the other and wearing unevenly.
Just try a thorough inspection.
Used to be drums (ford) could be adjusted by braking while backing up (it cranked the adjusters down)

Not related, but perhaps you could see if it pulled one direction when braking while backing up to help diagnose which wheel is the issue, just a thought.
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