c 2500 suburban brake up grade?

[blumpkin]

my 99 burban diesel 2 wd, has such bad brakes! It pulls to 1 side a little (left) and brake pedal feels like they are air brakes! i have bled the abs module, and all 4 corners, that made a little difference.
All the brake upgrades are geared to 4x4 trucks.
Is there a tried and true setup for C trucks?
will deleting that monstrous abs module help?

thanks.

 

[ak diesel driver]

couple of ?s is the burb 1/2 or 3/4 ton. also what method did you use to bleed

 

[ak diesel driver]

ahh I see 3/4 ton in the title. If it's pulling to one side chances are the sliders need lubed or the caliper is sticking

 

[smokymtn65]

Brake hoses will collapse internally as well if they are old.

 

[WarWagon]

Bleed the brakes again and look up the procedure to bleed the ABS unit. Rent a shop (labor) with the tools if you don't have them as it's cheaper than running someone over from air in the brakes not working. I would suspect if the brakes do not have air in them that the master cylinder could be failing, however, air in the system is not something you can assume you got all of it out esp. with an ABS unit. Don't delete the ABS as you are adding problems not solving them.

Keep in mind that the rear brakes are part of the system and a blown wheel seal oiling up the shoes can cause a pull. Further out of adjustment rear shoes can cause lots of pedal travel. Do you nearly lock the front wheels up in reverse often to get the stubborn auto adjusters to actually move? One adjuster may have locked up and the other works. If you slam brakes in reverse to unload a pickup... Otherwise adjust the rear drums every other oil change. The expensive shoes (Wagner Raybestos) make a difference in stopping power over the cheapest garbage most parts stores stock because cheapskates buy them and ask if there is anything cheaper. Brakes are not something to go cheap on. Sure go disc, but, just saying there are some things to improve the obsolete drums and the frictions on the shoes make a difference on a well adjusted rear drum.

Check the rag joint on top of the steering box going to the steering wheel for being sloppy. Check everything in the front end for looseness. Check rim width. (Seriously I had one rim wider than the others on a used pickup.) Rotate the tires looking for a radial pull. Last alignment?

I have had trouble with different sized slider bolts on a 1993 1/2 ton causing a pull requiring replacing all 4 caliper bolt and slider tubes. Aftermarket was off just enough in diameter to bind them up.

 

[blumpkin]

thanks for all the suggestions,.
i bled the abs with the screw driver mod under the rubber cap,. we thought we got a bubble
I then adjusted the back shoes up which made a difference to pedal height of course and improved braking,. both fron calipers and slides are good.
I dug a little deeper and came up with a TSB that addresses this problem,. it involves putting on an upgraded gm proportioning valve that puts more pressure to the rears, the suburbans only, came with a pv that is not correctly matched. The TSB also advises to use better durastop linings,.
If the rear shoes are too far from drums when jump on the brakes, it blows right thru the rear stroke of the mc and the left front brake with the shortest line gets pressurised first resulting in a quick pull.
Had anyone here done the later model MC upgrade?
http://oursuv.com/oldsubforum/Forum/suvsuburban0201/messages/930.html

 

[WarWagon]

I and others have done the TSB proportioning valve and it helped. @Big T for one and then he went 4 wheel disc. Yes the rear shoe having better frictions makes a difference. But, as you have noticed, you have to adjust them often.

Details of the MC upgrade?

 

[blumpkin]

I and others have done the TSB proportioning valve and it helped. @Big T for one and then he went 4 wheel disc. Yes the rear shoe having better frictions makes a difference. But, as you have noticed, you have to adjust them often.

Details of the MC upgrade?

i read the next gen truck master cylinder with 1 adapter fitting makes a big improvement

 

[MrMarty51]

I do not believe that there are any valves or such between the front right and the front left, in the brake piping, it should be applying equal pressure to both sides. Same with the back brakes, unless there would be a failed internally brake hose.

 

[dangerousdave]

My $.02 of experience.
Brake lines: blocked or collapsed , caused front left to press piston but not release. Disc glowing red hot at bottom of hill.
Hard to find braided Teflon lines so I got all 3 OEM style@ Napa. I rebuilt both calipers, replaced discs&pads. Checked the rears, Massive drums weigh a lot.
Flush the fluid every year..

 

[blumpkin]

update, i put new shoes with bigger wheel cyliders,. new front hubs with bigger piston calipers,.
it made a difference but still squishy pedal,. so i removed the KH abs unit,.
Now i have proper brakes,. and no more ridiculous low speed abs on the icy road,
save your breath about ABS speeches please.
Happy new year!

 

[FellowTraveler]

update, i put new shoes with bigger wheel cyliders,. new front hubs with bigger piston calipers,.
it made a difference but still squishy pedal,. so i removed the KH abs unit,.
Now i have proper brakes,. and no more ridiculous low speed abs on the icy road,
save your breath about ABS speeches please.
Happy new year!

I have installed a dash switch for ABS on/off because of powder snow, ice, sugar sand and gravel. However; I calibrated the ABS controller for tire diameter to ABS because when tire sizes change the ABS come out of claibration...I do not know if this claibration was available on all ABS equipped Chevy/GMC trucks.