Cracked Caliper Piston / Steering Drags to right after new rotors/pads

[TrueBurner]

Hey y'all
I went to replace front pads and rotors. This is the first time I'm servicing the front pads and rotors myself on this truck. When taking it all off there was an extreme amount of uneven wear between left and right side. Passenger side the pads were basically shot with heavy deep grooves in the rotor. Drivers side pads and rotor were relatively still functional with half pad remaining. On the passenger caliper there was a crack/chip in the piston. I had to use my truck the next day so I just put the new pads and rotor on without messing with the caliper.

Now driving it there is a slight but noticeable drag in the steering towards the right side when before I could let go of the wheel and it would continue straight.

Questions: Why was there such an uneven wear in the first place? Did I always have a hanging caliper but for some reason now its causing the drag? Do I just need new calipers or replace piston?

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Old calipers aside, your problem is still there so let's assume (no matter what the saying is) that the old caliper on that side wasn't the problem. How old are the rubber brake lines on the front of your truck? If they're fairly old, some of the material inside one, or both, can come loose in a way that it doesn't allow the brake fluid to return to the master cylinder after the brake pedal is pushed. That leaves pressure on the caliper, which makes the piston(s) stay out and keep pressure on your brake pads. My next step would be to replace those rubber brake lines. The bad news is that you'll have to bleed the brakes again. The good news is that the new rubber lines aren't very expensive.

 

[TrueBurner]

Thank you! Pretty sure the hoses are original. The only thing I didn't replace when I switched over to hydro boost. Ill give it a go and see if that fixes everything

 

[TrueBurner]

So when I went to replace the hoses the front right wheel was basically seized when trying to spin it once it was jacked. Replaced the hoses, bled the brakes, went to spin the wheel again to test it and wasn't seized but was still not smooth. Drove it around a little bit and while it wasn't nearly as bad as before it seemed, the brake pad burn smell was still there. Didn't seem to fix the root issue which I am assuming now was the caliper pistons not being able to fully retract on their own.

Is it worth it to fix the piston or just replace the entire caliper? It seems there are only third party calipers on the market, any recommendations if so?

 

[Old Goat]

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1993 FORD F-350 7.3L V8 DIESEL Caliper | RockAuto

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