Death Wobble gone!

[mendozer]

Also, I just realized my brake wobble isn't gone now. I even cleaned the rotors. I guess I bedded them while my bad tires were on there. Crap. Any ideas on how to rid it? To be clear it only wobbles when braking over 40, so I know it's the brakes.

 

[daniresch]

Also, I just realized my brake wobble isn't gone now. I even cleaned the rotors. I guess I bedded them while my bad tires were on there. Crap. Any ideas on how to rid it? To be clear it only wobbles when braking over 40, so I know it's the brakes.

Have your rotors resurfaced, or buy new ones.

 

[mendozer]

Nothing I can do myself? I literally installed them 2 weeks ago lol

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[BoarderDave]

They are brand new rotors as of two weeks ago and already wobble when braking?

I'm with the above suggestion on resurfacing them. Don't know how they could go bad so quickly.. but I had the brake wobble and once I replaced pads and rotors new; it was all good (aside from the 65+ tire balancing issue, hah). :yo:

 

[octanejunkie]

I agree. My experience is the shop uses the wrong balancing machine adapter for our rims and then the balance ends up being off. I had this experience the last time I took my rig to America's Tires. Immediately after I picked up my rig and got on the freeway, I could tell they screwed up the balancing. When I brought it back, a lead tech told me the tech doing the balancing used the wrong adapter. Since these places probably go through employees very fast, I took a picture of the correct adapter and plan on showing that to them every time I bring my rig back for a rotation and balancing so they don't get it wrong again.

THIS ^^^^

Most shops don't change adapters and put every wheel on the same cone and clamp them down. Maybe they sell more tires that way, who knows.

I've posted my experience with PepBoys in Reno here before so I won't reiterate, but their senior tech spent the time to show me how to properly balance my wheels using the right adapter for Toyota factory rims - which is imperative to getting them balanced right.

 

[octanejunkie]

Have your rotors resurfaced, or buy new ones.

There is so much more to the equation here (than simply resurfacing or replacing) that if overlooked won't matter

Make sure the hub surface is clean and the rotor mounts flush
Tighten your lug nuts down in a star pattern in 3 steps, going tighter to final torque each time

If you have the tools, time and wherewithal, measure your mounted rotors, sans tire, with a runout gauge. If there is any lateral (side to side) runout over 0.01" you will get a pulsing sensation while braking after about 1,000 miles or so due to uneven wear of both the pads and the disc surfaces. Yes, resurfacing them will help, but only temporarily.

Runout is often due to cheap components, improper installation or a combo of both. Parts stores rotors are not made of the same materials or manufacturing processes as OEM or high quality aftermarket and are very likely the main reason for the pulsing/shaking while braking complaint. Your choice of brake pad is also a huge factor. It's not as easy as choosing the cheapest, what the pimple-faced kid at the parts store recommends or what's on sale; getting the right brake parts makes a difference along with correct installation.

Read this, specifically post(s) by [MENTION=79826]absalom[/MENTION]
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-front-brakes-not-tundra-mod-its-awesome.html

 

[96RedRunner]

The Warped Rotor Myth

To solve your death wobble try this!

Remove rotors, clean using Brake cleaner and 320 grit emory cloth do both sides, clean again.
Install rotors making sure not to get any oil on them not even skin oil.
Use good quality pads (toyota) perform this bed in procedure:
Accel to 35 mph
Moderate brakng to 5-10 mph - repeat 3-4 times.
Accel to 45 mph
Moderate to heavy braking to 10 mph - repeat 3-4 times.
Park let cool 1-2 hrs.

Worked every time for the last 40 yrs for me, Yea I'm 60 what do I know.

 

[Beaumont67]

25 years ago I bought new truck tires, 235x75R/15" for a GMC square body.
- one brand new radial, took an enormous amount of lead weight to zero it out...like 4-5 oz.
- they re-broke the bead, and rotated the problem tire 180 degrees
- again, too much lead weight

^^ So I said, that bad tire is a manufactures quality defect, so put a new one on...which they did.
- it pays to stand by the tire installation, an supervise the work

 

[Skyrider72]

Congrats

great post as I am struggling with the same issue

 

[psraff]

THIS ^^^^

Most shops don't change adapters and put every wheel on the same cone and clamp them down. Maybe they sell more tires that way, who knows.

I've posted my experience with PepBoys in Reno here before so I won't reiterate, but their senior tech spent the time to show me how to properly balance my wheels using the right adapter for Toyota factory rims - which is imperative to getting them balanced right.

Since I have my 35s ordered and will be installed in a week or two, and the shop is about 3 hours away, so have them rebalance them over and over again will be kind of hard.... Can you give me some info on the correct adapter for hug centric wheels? Or is it just a cone?

I guess VS. some universal that they may leave on the machine. I like to be there when they do this, but I've never been to this shop before and even though I've asked questions, what they say on the phone an what they do in person could be two different things.

Also, in anyone's opinion... How much weight in TOO MUCH to try to balance a tire (for a 315/75-16)? I'm going to have them document each wheel when they do it.

 

[96RedRunner]

Since I have my 35s ordered and will be installed in a week or two, and the shop is about 3 hours away, so have them rebalance them over and over again will be kind of hard.... Can you give me some info on the correct adapter for hug centric wheels? Or is it just a cone?


Also, in anyone's opinion... How much weight in TOO MUCH to try to balance a tire (for a 315/75-16)? I'm going to have them document each wheel when they do it.

The adapters depend somewhat on how old their machine is, not all shops have latest and greatest.

Me personally I don't like anything over a 3 ounce weight with hammer type they sling off easy. Sometimes you can static balance, use stick on weights on the inside of rim if installed with good adhesive to go heavier with success.

Might want to book a room overnight!

 

[Scramble]

To solve your death wobble try this!

Remove rotors, clean using Brake cleaner and 320 grit emory cloth do both sides, clean again.
Install rotors making sure not to get any oil on them not even skin oil.
Use good quality pads (toyota) perform this bed in procedure:
Accel to 35 mph
Moderate brakng to 5-10 mph - repeat 3-4 times.
Accel to 45 mph
Moderate to heavy braking to 10 mph - repeat 3-4 times.
Park let cool 1-2 hrs.

Worked every time for the last 40 yrs for me, Yea I'm 60 what do I know.

It's nice to see someone older than me around here! :cheer2:

 

[psraff]

The adapters depend somewhat on how old their machine is, not all shops have latest and greatest.

Me personally I don't like anything over a 3 ounce weight with hammer type they sling off easy. Sometimes you can static balance, use stick on weights on the inside of rim if installed with good adhesive to go heavier with success.

Might want to book a room overnight!

Already planned on booking a room. I've got a list of things to do, so that's a plus. It will give me drive time on the tires.

I have Pro Comp wheels so stick on weights is what I prefer so that's another plus.

 

[96RedRunner]

It's nice to see someone older than me around here! :cheer2:

:rockon: there might be two of us older than you then. The Dirk said he's been wrenching for 50 yrs.

 

[96RedRunner]

Already planned on booking a room. I've got a list of things to do, so that's a plus. It will give me drive time on the tires.

I have Pro Comp wheels so stick on weights is what I prefer so that's another plus.

I've had success with stick on weights as long as their fresh, wheel is clean.
Have yet too lose one in excess of 175 mph.

 

[mendozer]

They are brand new rotors as of two weeks ago and already wobble when braking?

I'm with the above suggestion on resurfacing them. Don't know how they could go bad so quickly.. but I had the brake wobble and once I replaced pads and rotors new; it was all good (aside from the 65+ tire balancing issue, hah). :yo:

I think it's bc I bedded them with imbalanced wheels I guess

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[19963.4lsr5]

I've had success with stick on weights as long as their fresh, wheel is clean.

Have yet too lose one in excess of 175 mph.

The stick on weights were the only wheel weights that would pass the tech safety inspection when I use to race motorcycles.


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[96RedRunner]

Bad guess

 

[JKD]

Only thing that fixed the death wobble for me was new rotors (discs).

It was horrible braking downhill and as I love mountain country that happened a lot in the faster passes....the front end would vibrate and shimmy all over the place.

Doing the brakes was actually the first fix I did on my Runner back in 2015 (not counting oil change) and led me down the rabbit hole...since the next issue I discovered was rear axle oil seal ;-)

Lately I thought it had come back or my steering was lose, got all ready to replace the inner tie rods but when I had new tires, full balancing and alignment....the steering play is no longer an issue, small bit of vibe at 70mph+, no longer loose and she brakes beautifully.

No doubt this is all obvious to those who wrench often, getting more time fixing truck myself now I'm three years into being a shade tree mechanic :-D

 

[willyburgt4r]

I don't get excited about tire shops but listen up!
I've had steering wobble and vibration in the 60mph and up range since I bought my rig 2 years ago. The steering wheel was also always to the left by a good 10 degrees with a rightward pull. I have the lifetime alignment plan at firestone. They've done 4 alignments for me in this time as well as balancing. They've never fixed any of this. I've always gotten the printout showing before and after and one guy said my rear end has a thrust angle of -.1 degree which may be why or my frame could be twisted. Then I took it to les schwab for the same issue. They found that I was running 28 psi (factory spec) and since it was their tires on there they said 33 is best. That fixed a good deal of the right pull but not the wobbles. They also checked balance and it was fine. This summer I bought 4 new AT tires with discount tires summer sale. I waited until now to put them on since it wasn't needed. I explained to the guy in Auburn that I wanted a mounting and balancing. From my research my rig required lug centric balancing and not the more common hub centric. He assured me that "we have many cone adapters so that's not an issue" and I thought 'great another jagoff that's disregarding me'. I also asked for them to check my steering bushings because I was planning to replace those at home but wanted confirmation as it's hard for one person to check it themselves. I had about 2 inches of steering play (meaning when driving straight my hand could wiggle an inch in both directions without turning the car). This is often a steering rack issue. After all this I get in my rig after they're done and I start driving....ok...speed up....ok it's going straight!.....hit 65 on the freeway....O...M....G! Those guys fixed it...everything!!! 5 different visits to two other shops with various techs working on it and finally DT does the job. I don't know if it was the better dynamic balancing they do or maybe the crummy les schwab tires I had on there or what. I felt so relieved driving I literally felt warm and fuzzy inside like I wanted to shed tears of joy. It's like finally getting the Christmas present you always wanted. The whole drive home, about 20 minutes, I was waiting for it to act up. I thought it was too good to be true. I even installed new rotors and calipers bigger than my OEM size and I was getting vibration from 40mph and up braking, like BAD. Even that's barey noticeable. It's truly another issue I'm gonna fix today (didn't clean rotors before installing), but the balancing issue was amplified with that. In a world of shit customer service and lackluster effort with people regarding their job, I can actually say I'm a huge fan of these guys. Idk if it was this location or the tech himself, but DT just made me a LIFETIME CUSTOMER!

Just coming here to say - this FIXED my problem as well. Took it to Mavis Discount Tire in Bayonne, got new tires and had them balance and aligned. Went from crazy wobble to completely gone.

If you’re having the wobbles, cannot emphasize enough that you should start with the tires, balancing, and alignment. Hard to overstate how excited I am that the problem is fixed. Was considering a whole suspension replacement, etc. Stoked that I no longer have to!