How do I stop the Front brakes pulling to the left

[DaveT]

Over the winter I overhauled the front brakes on my 1935 Ruby. I replaced the bearings, seals, brake linings and cable swivel assembly and the linings were shamphered. 

So far over about 60 miles everything was fine and she stopped in a straight line. 

Now on the last 50 mile run yesterday she's started pulling to the left and having a quick look by putting the hand brake on one ratchet at a time the left wheel starts dragging before the right wheel (front of the car jacked up and wheels spun by hand) Tyre pressures are all OK.

I've also removed the drums and checked the linings rivets etc. and it all look fine and I've also blown out any dust.

So How do I balance the front brakes??

[Peter Naulls]

I've had similar problems intermittently Dave (though I should say mine is on Girling brakes). Just as I think I've found a fault and cured it, the problem returns. 

I'm assuming you have a similar amount of free movement of the lever on each wheel before the shoes make contact.

I wonder if it's something to do with the way the cable sits in the aluminium quadrant. When braking on a tight turn the brake lever on the inside wheel is at an angle to pull whereas the one on the outside isn't; perhaps this alters the angle of the quadrant for a while. That's my latest theory anyway!

[David Stepney]

My RP had a fit of intermittently doing the same thing, only it was to the right!. I did all the usual checks and, almost in desperation, dismantled the quadrant, greased it and the part of the cable that runs through it and reassembled. It works for a while, so greasing the quadrant is now part of the servicing procedure.

[Malcolm Parker]

I think the problem lies with the aluminium quadrant.  I have often wondered if replacing the quadrant with a pulley arrangement would be worthwhile.  One of my cars used to pull to the left, now it pulls to the right.   I know the reason why, I recently changed the springs that are fitted to return the brake levers to the 'off' position.   The fact that the car pulls to one side (or the other) does demonstrate that the front brakes are working to some extent, a luxury that not all Austin 7 owners are privy to!

[Ian Williams]

Remember that the balance of the rear brakes can make the car pull to one side as well, so it is worth checking them too especially if you cant find an obvious cause at the front.

[Dave Mann]

Does your car have the early radius arms with just a nut securing them to the axle beam? If so check the position of the arms in the axle and the security of their nuts. Sue's RN saloon braked in a straight line until a heavy brake application on the way to Woolaton park changed all that. It took me a while to realize that the NS radius arm had moved in the axle as soon as it was repositioned and the nut tightened the problem was solved. Now you know the reason for the white paint line across the radius arm, nut and axle.    

[Peter Sweeney]

I have found some cables and Quadrants are slightly different diameter and can lock in one place. Have needed to run a small rat tail file round and greased the pair. which helped.

["Slack Alice" Simon]

Some new ball end sockets do not fit the ball properly, unless filed.   So may jam, or not be working through the correct angles.

[DaveT]

Cheers and thanks for the pointers to look for, I'll definitely grease and check the quadrant and check the security of the radius arm nut which is one part I'd never have thought of.
I'll let you know what the outcome is once I've done the work.

[AustinWood]

I agree with Dave Mann.
You probably do not have enough castor on the axle. This is what keeps the car running straight.
Our car has split braking so it is very obvious when the caster is wrong. The car can't decide which way to go and tends to veer from side to side.
Increasing the castor fixes this and also makes the steering better. Self-centering works and the car doesn't wander.