Date:         Sun, 2 Aug 2009 19:16:18 -0700
Reply-To:     Trooz <trooz@ROADRUNNER.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Trooz <trooz@ROADRUNNER.COM>
Subject:      New brakes, now pulls to the left
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

I took my van in for front brake pads after pulling the wheels and
determining that the rotors were good.  I was expecting to get hustled for
new rotors.  Instead, the guy told me I needed new calipers at $125 each.  I
said I used to rebuild them for the price of an ATE rebuild kit; he
countered that it would be more for him to rebuild them than to replace
them, and that he was using new, not rebuilt, calipers.

About $700 later, which included repacking the front wheel bearings and
installing new grease seals, I picked up the van and drove about two miles
home, noting that the brakes felt a bit mushy which I expected with green
pads.  Yesterday I made a short freeway run and noticed that the van pulls
strongly to the right.  Under braking, it pulls even more to the right.  It
didn't do that prior to having the work done.  On moderately hard braking
from about 60 mph I could feel a rapid pulsing in the brake pedal which
wasn't noticeable at lower speeds.

Tomorrow I'm taking it back, and I'm wondering if the list has any ideas as
to what they could have done that would cause it to pull to the right so
badly?  What would cause the high-frequency pulsing?

The only other thing they did was to adjust the rear brakes.

Bob Trousdale
'90 Westy