car drifting to the right

[Higgins56]

Hi again,

I am slowly getting my car on the street...

I noticed when braking hard the car drifts to the right.

I bleeded the front brakes but it did not help.

THole braking system is new assembled some 7 years ago but the car has never been driven on the street except now.

The steering was just adjusted ( camber, caster and toe in).

There is also whining coming from the front wheels ( when driving streight ahead ) most of the time when I made a couple of miles test drive. Sound is little like when cornering and tyres loosing slowly grip....

Any idea what these symptons could tell and what to check next.

 

[72HCODE]

car going to the right means problem with the left side.

can be a stuck or sticking front caliper, if the caliper is very rusty usually the piston is also very rusty and it sticks and doesn't engage as fast as the right side caliper.

inspect the rear left drum, for any issues.

if nothing is found then adjust the star wheel 2 clicks to tighten up the drums on the left side and go for another drive see if there is improvement.

sometimes you have to re bed the drum brake by tightening up the star wheel so the shoe is dragging a little then you go do some heavy stops and let it cool and drive the car a few times and see if things improve.

the shoe changes shape slightly to better match the inside of the drum so you can ride the shoe closer to the drum surface. when you put in new drum shoes you have to go through this because the shoe shape doesn't match the inside of the drum diameter and you have to bed the break shoe (wear it down a little) until it matches better and allows you to tighten the star adjuster more.

a rear Sway bar will also majorly improve the brakes and keep the car straighter during heavy braking.

the whine from the front end could be a wheel bearing going or the caliper dragging on the disc.

now another thing is how old your brake lines are, because the rubber lines can degrade and collapse internally and cause weak brakes with restricted flow.

again since the car is going right, that means the right side brakes are stronger then the left side so the problem is on the left side of the car.

 

[caspianwendell]

72HCODE hit a lot of points and generally correct. the lines can collapse and cause the drifting on either side...if the right side collapses, fluid cant return causing the brake to drag, and engage quicker than the left.

Jack the front of the car up and have someone depress brakes and release while you turn the wheel...take note of how quick each side releases, and how much drag there is (should just be a very slight rub with no drag)

When a wheel bearing goes out...you can usually feel and hear a grinding noise.

 

[Higgins56]

car going to the right means problem with the left side.

can be a stuck or sticking front caliper, if the caliper is very rusty usually the piston is also very rusty and it sticks and doesn't engage as fast as the right side caliper.

inspect the rear left drum, for any issues.

if nothing is found then adjust the star wheel 2 clicks to tighten up the drums on the left side and go for another drive see if there is improvement.

sometimes you have to re bed the drum brake by tightening up the star wheel so the shoe is dragging a little then you go do some heavy stops and let it cool and drive the car a few times and see if things improve.

the shoe changes shape slightly to better match the inside of the drum so you can ride the shoe closer to the drum surface. when you put in new drum shoes you have to go through this because the shoe shape doesn't match the inside of the drum diameter and you have to bed the break shoe (wear it down a little) until it matches better and allows you to tighten the star adjuster more.

a rear Sway bar will also majorly improve the brakes and keep the car straighter during heavy braking.

the whine from the front end could be a wheel bearing going or the caliper dragging on the disc.

now another thing is how old your brake lines are, because the rubber lines can degrade and collapse internally and cause weak brakes with restricted flow.

again since the car is going right, that means the right side brakes are stronger then the left side so the problem is on the left side of the car.

Thanks for your comment.

I bought the car two years ago as a half finished project. The whole body was done separately and every item taken off. the previous owner had already installed the engine,drivetrain, breaks, steering .

The front discs and pads as the whole piping is new as well as the rear drum brakes inside. The work was probably done ab. five to seven years ago. As the car has not been driven for years and never with these new parts, there seems to be adjusting to be done as you say...

 

[Higgins56]

72HCODE hit a lot of points and generally correct. the lines can collapse and cause the drifting on either side...if the right side collapses, fluid cant return causing the brake to drag, and engage quicker than the left.

Jack the front of the car up and have someone depress brakes and release while you turn the wheel...take note of how quick each side releases, and how much drag there is (should just be a very slight rub with no drag)

When a wheel bearing goes out...you can usually feel and hear a grinding noise.

Hi,

the case may have been solved now.

The car was in inspection and the inspector found out that

a) all brakes are even but the rear brakes have only have the performance - needs to be checked if the new parts have ever been adjusted

b) the front left side lower wishbone bolt moved which means that it has not been tightened or the bushing is inferior. This will be checked soon. The bolt is behind hooker headers, so it is some work to get it out...

 

[72HCODE]

a) if they are engaging then adjustment should be easy with the star wheel setting the shoe distance from the drum face.

b) that will effect many things. if the lower suspension arm cam was loose then most likely the car will need an alignment(camber) and have the strut rods adjusted(caster) as well as the Toe-in set.

if the header is in the way you may need to remove it for the alignment. headers usually can be removed easy. original cast iron manifolds are much larger and will require major dis-assembly of the drivers side steering system to get one in from underneath the car.

 

[caspianwendell]

Rear brakes are supposed to have less pressure then the front...keeps them from locking up too soon and causing uncontrolled braking

 

[Higgins56]

a) if they are engaging then adjustment should be easy with the star wheel setting the shoe distance from the drum face.

b) that will effect many things. if the lower suspension arm cam was loose then most likely the car will need an alignment(camber) and have the strut rods adjusted(caster) as well as the Toe-in set.

if the header is in the way you may need to remove it for the alignment. headers usually can be removed easy. original cast iron manifolds are much larger and will require major dis-assembly of the drivers side steering system to get one in from underneath the car.

THanks again of your support !

Can you answer also another thing:

My car originally was a 302/3sp manual and now 429 / sp manual.

The inspector wants some reference of the differences between the main chassis related things ( that affect driving) to be sure that the changes made are correct.

I know that many components were identical but what were these main differences between these two models ? What source would you use to convince him ?

 

[72HCODE]

the chassis is the same, the only difference would be if the car had competition rear suspension which does not effect the front end.

on older mustangs they required a shock tower reinforcement. but for 71-73 mustangs they designed the car chassis to support the 429 directly so there was no need for any changes to the front end other then motor mounts.

the 429 would bolt right in.

i don't know of any material in a tech manual that covers it directly. in the usual tech manuals it just talks about the car being able to have a 429 engine option.

again structurally on the front end 71-72 are all the same from the Inline 6 to the big blocks. the 73 is slightly different because they have more re-enforcement for the 5mph front crash bumpers.

there is no export plate under the cars either that was present on earlier mustangs.

the only different is the cross trans cross member that is a bolt in is slightly different depending on the transmission used.

try Pming Kit sullivan

http://www.7173mustangs.com/user-kit-sullivan

he may have some information that can help you.

 

[Higgins56]

the chassis is the same, the only difference would be if the car had competition rear suspension which does not effect the front end.

on older mustangs they required a shock tower reinforcement. but for 71-73 mustangs they designed the car chassis to support the 429 directly so there was no need for any changes to the front end other then motor mounts.

the 429 would bolt right in.

i don't know of any material in a tech manual that covers it directly. in the usual tech manuals it just talks about the car being able to have a 429 engine option.

again structurally on the front end 71-72 are all the same from the Inline 6 to the big blocks. the 73 is slightly different because they have more re-enforcement for the 5mph front crash bumpers.

there is no export plate under the cars either that was present on earlier mustangs.

the only different is the cross trans cross member that is a bolt in is slightly different depending on the transmission used.

try Pming Kit sullivan

http://www.7173mustangs.com/user-kit-sullivan

he may have some information that can help you.

Thanks of the hint.

I got the necessary information from Kit.

Concerning the other issues - the left front lower wishbone really had a loose bolt - so I hope that was it ( drifting to the right issue)

What would you say of putting shims between the bell housing and gearbox to prevent hydraulic clutch slipping ? Will the drive shaft joints eliminate the dimensional error in the drivre train ( 3 mm in this case) ?

 

[droptop73]

The pulling under braking can be a symptom of a few different things. If your strut rod bushings are bad or loose, braking will cause a caster change in the front suspension which will in turn cause the toe setting to change. These alignment changes will make the car pull and feel "darty" under braking. A front end that is out of alignment can make the car feel unpredictable during braking. Everything works together as a package, brakes, suspension and steering to create a car that is enjoyable to drive.