So, my '02 f150 4x4 recently began to pulsate/shake when I would get on the brakes. After a brief inspection, I noticed the inner face of the passenger side front rotor was very rough, all chewed up looking. So I replaced the rotor and pads, and at the same time I replaced a broken sway bar end link, same side. I now notice the truck pulls very slightly to the right as I'm going down the road (If it were any less it would be nonexistent) and will pull slightly more when I hit the brakes, the truck never did this before. Could this behavior be because I only changed the pads and rotor on one side? Could the new end link be the culprit, at least in part?

Thanks!

 

sounds like the alignment is off

 

Might be out of alignment....

Did you grease the new slides for the pads when you put them in?

 

Yes,it COULD be. Same goes for the link.

 

Yeah.... What is the reasoning for only doing one side? Cramped for time, and doing the other side later? Brakes are an item that should always be replaced in pairs. You can do just the front, or just the back..... but both left and right should be done together.

 

Yup. Logical that the fresh rotor and pad on the passenger side will exert more force than the old ones on the driver side.

 

He also mentioned the inner rotor looking chewed up. That occurs when they rust up, - over and over again. That's when everything in the book that can go bad with rotors occurs quickly. If one side is experiencing that..........

 

Good news is that it's an easy fix. No harm driving on it for a few weeks.

 

Thank you for all the replies!

To answer some questions:

I reused the slide pins, they were in good shape, I put on a fresh coating of grease after cleaning them.

This is not a daily driver, I mainly use it in the warmer months to tow a small boat. On the average I drive it about once a week (Throughout the year) so I figured I would just replace the beat up rotor, however, if the new set does experience more friction than the other side, then it does makes sense the truck would drift towards that side.

I have noticed the passenger tire is wearing on the outer edge faster than the inner edge, hmm, the driver side is not doing this. That link has been broken for a while, maybe that is the result of the busted link? I've never had an alignment on this truck but will be getting new tires later this year, may get it aligned at that point.

Not sure what could have caused the rotor to get so messed up, should have taken a pic. The underside of my truck is quite rusty, unfortunately, which bothers the hell out me. I replaced the diff cover two or three years ago, looked like it was brought up from a shipwreck. I could fit my hand up into the rocker panels on each side of the truck as well I bought it soon after Hurricane Sandy and supposedly the truck spent some time in south Jersey but I never looked into it. Letting it sit probably doesn't help either.

Thanks again for the help!

 

Post #7, - If they sit for long periods, even worse. This occurs to inside rotor, specially if they're put away wet or get wet.