80's 110 - Braking pulling to the right in wet conditions

Hi all.

I have a weird problem that the local mechanic, to this day, doesn't believe:

Only in wet conditions it pulls to the right when braking - very concerning at times what with oncoming traffic being over to the right.

I have an '80s ex-MOD 110 with disks front and drums rear. Back in 2018 I put Britpart "Performance Brake Disc" from Paddock spares on, new calipers and pads; they worked great and there was no problem for years.

A couple of years ago this weird pulling to the right in the wet started happening. In the dry the brakes are perfect. When it's wet it'll pull right - I think once I brake a bit it'll be better and behave but after a bit more down the wet road it'll start pulling to the right again.

With this being a brake and a real safety concern of mine I gave it to a local mechanic to check out the brakes. He claimed the brakes were surprisingly even braking on a test machine but, after talking to him for a bit, I found that he just hadn't, or wouldn't, get around to actually taking it out for a drive in heavy rain (I can understand it - he wants to replace parts and get on with it).

The funny thing is he replaced the pads for new ones and the Defender behaved itself for some time in the rain - maybe 1/2 a year or so (I don't drive it that often so hard to be certain) but now, in the rain again, the problem is back.

I don't know where the issue is. I'm probably leaking diff oil into a rear drum (well I top it up anyway) but I think the problem has to up front because the pulling right is very very obvious.

As a last resort I'm considering replacing the discs, calipers and pads again.

Has anyone else had problems like this or any idea what the cause of it is ?

thanks for any info !

Derek

If pads have been changed and that didn't fix it, change the discs next. If the brakes are at fault only in the wet, there may be a difference in friction between left and right sides. So if the brakes are the culprit, it will be the pads or the discs. Assume you have first checked the front tyres - same type, tread depth and equal pressures?

Check your tyres. I had problem with brakes locking up / abs kicking in a ridiculously low speed and only in the wet/damp. After I checked or replaced everything I got a new set of tyres in desperation as I slid across a zebra crossing nearly causing accident, which fixed the problem. Tyres were not that old and tread was over 6mm

Wimblowdriver said:

If pads have been changed and that didn't fix it, change the discs next. If the brakes are at fault only in the wet, there may be a difference in friction between left and right sides. So if the brakes are the culprit, it will be the pads or the discs. Assume you have first checked the front tyres - same type, tread depth and equal pressures?

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The tyres are pretty big BF Goodrich ATs and threads are about the same - I'll have to double-check the pressures now that you mention it. I did check tyre pressures before and I still was having braking problems (on a trip in the Scottish highlands in horrible wet weather last summer - that was what pushed me on to giving it to a mechanic).

If pulling to one side try swapping front tyres left to right and se if it pulls the opposite way. Cheapest way to eliminate if its a front tyre.

PaulJM said:

If pulling to one side try swapping front tyres left to right and se if it pulls the opposite way. Cheapest way to eliminate if its a front tyre.

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Thanks Paul - for sure I'll try this - simple and easy