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Old 09-28-2009, 05:25 PM   #1
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BREAK PULL, DEALER MADE WORSE, SALEM KROGER FIXED IT

At 10,500 miles, my SMB started pulling to the left when I applied the breaks. I took it to Theodore Robins Ford in Costa Mesa. After 2 days I pick it up. They said: cause was break fluid leaking (I had seen no evidence) and the correction was to bleed the breaks. The break lining remaining was 8mm-12mm determined as part of their multipoint inspection. The warranty on the breaks is up @ 12000 mi.

A side problem: The next day I noticed a lug nut was missing. I took it back and they would not replace it. They said they never took the rear tires off. When I reminded them about their inspection they said they made a mistake but they never removed the rear tires.

The breaks did not pull to the left, but, on the freeway the van wandered. I checked the air in the tires. Ford had lowered the pressure from 80# to 60#. I put 80# back in and took off for Northern CA Via Salem Kroger to have on board air added by them.

When going over the grape vine, a large truck passed me and I had to fight to keep the SMB in the lane. I pulled off to see if anything looked loose and all looked OK to me. So, I drove very carefully.

Salem Kroger discovered that the washer on the right connecting steering tie rod had been removed. They replaced it and the SMB now pulled hard to the left when applying the breaks. They blew out a lot of (Moab) dust, did a lot of trouble shooting and the van now pulled intermittedly the left when the breaks were applied.

Since Salem Kroger had originally installed the breaks during the 4X4 insulation, they were able to get a left front break caliper under warranty. (mileage was still under 12000 mi) They installed the caliper under warranty and all is well for now.

Angel

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Old 09-28-2009, 05:32 PM   #2
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Re: BREAK PULL, DEALER MADE WORSE, SALEM KROGER FIXED IT

Trust no one.
It is a real shame that companies and people try so hard NOT to do things right instead of living up to a quality standard.

Glad you got it all fixed and really glad you were able not to get in a wreck.
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Old 09-28-2009, 07:51 PM   #3
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Re: BREAK PULL, DEALER MADE WORSE, SALEM KROGER FIXED IT

Glad to hear you were able to get things safe again.

Amazing that ANY shop would let you out the door with a missing lug nut regardless of who was at fault.

I'm no mechanic by any means, but I don't see how leaking brake fluid could cause a pull to one side or another.

Angel, are you sure about the 80lbs air pressure? Is that the max load on the tires, or is that the recommended tire pressure on the SMB suppplied door jamb sticker? It sounds high to me.

Interesting that a caliper would go bad.


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Old 09-28-2009, 08:02 PM   #4
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Re: BREAK PULL, DEALER MADE WORSE, SALEM KROGER FIXED IT

Quote:
Originally Posted by DisabledExplorers
Trust no one.
It is a real shame that companies and people try so hard NOT to do things right instead of living up to a quality standard.

Glad you got it all fixed and really glad you were able not to get in a wreck.
Trust no one is right. My boss wonders why I use my regular expense acount to buy break pads on the company car when I could get them "professionally done" with our GE fleet service. No way is some monkey touching my breaks even if it's free. Sad thing is that most break maintinece is simple.
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Old 09-28-2009, 09:00 PM   #5
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Re: BREAK PULL, DEALER MADE WORSE, SALEM KROGER FIXED IT

The LT 285/70R17E Toyo Open Country A/T tires that I have are load rated @3750# @ 80 psi. (max /cold) The recommended pressure on the stickers on the door still show 16 in tires, and 60psi for front and 80psi for rear. I think the SMB handles better with 70 to 80 all around.

Angel
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2008 SMB E350 EB V10 White with Cruiser Top; EB-17 modified floor plan; Salem Kroger 4X4;
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2000 Isuzu Rodeo V6 4WD
2006 Chalet LTW 15ft. Folding Travel Trailer 14 in. tires
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Old 09-29-2009, 11:53 PM   #6
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Re: BREAK PULL, DEALER MADE WORSE, SALEM KROGER FIXED IT

When ever I let anyone do anything that requires a wheel to be removed I usually re-torque the lug nuts and i try to recheck it after a hundred miles or so. I had a couple break off on my pickup when a geek that didn't know what he was doing at a tire shop used the incorrect torque years ago. But don't forget the jerks who try to steal your rims. Sometimes they give up and and leave your vehicle missing a few...almost killed me one time.

As far as pull, I've had brake pull because bleeding was necessary. Dropping into low altitude caused problems. Hard braking can cause some problems I've been told but I'm a dummy when it comes to suspension and brakes. What I've read is about brake line swelling and the need for braided brake lines. Could be bull, idk.
Glad nothing bad happened to ya.
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