Intermittent Shudder While Braking

[slimatic]

99 5spd vr6

Once in awhile when I'm braking, usually from high speeds, the vehicle shudders. I assumed this meant that I needed new brake pads.

I took a look at the passenger side today. The rear pad still has a lot of life left about a 1/4 inch, no searing, looks normal. Front disc has no scarring, brake pads are thick with a lot of life left, however the inner pad is slightly thicker than the outer. Also the inner side of the caliper looks a lot worse for wear.

I'm no expert, so I had my Dad take a look. He said everything looked good. The only thing he could think of was that the front inner brake pad side of the caliper may have seized up. Which could be the cause of the difference in front brake pad thicknesses.

Is there anything else that could cause the shudder that I should look into? Could it be the caliper?

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Brake rotors.

 

[nissanh]

Buy NEW rotors. Don't go for re-surface.

 

[slimatic]

Brake rotors.

Really? Even if there is no scarring on it at all? Would there be a visual indicator on them or is the shudder a common issue with rotors?

 

[kball]

Try this, find an area where you can speed up to around 50 then stop fast to around 5. Do this about 4 times without stopping completely. Then drive around until they cool. This should rebed the pads/rotors and stop the shudder.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Really? Even if there is no scarring on it at all? Would there be a visual indicator on them or is the shudder a common issue with rotors?

The brakes on these things are so undersized its embarrassing. So the rotors warp very easily. It's a very common issue on these trucks. Do the Tundra brake upgrade and you won't have to worry about it anymore.

 

[slimatic]

The brakes on these things are so undersized its embarrassing. So the rotors warp very easily. It's a very common issue on these trucks. Do the Tundra brake upgrade and you won't have to worry about it anymore.

Oh ya I remember hearing about the Tundra Brake upgrade. Mind providing a link to a guide?

 

[slimatic]

Try this, find an area where you can speed up to around 50 then stop fast to around 5. Do this about 4 times without stopping completely. Then drive around until they cool. This should rebed the pads/rotors and stop the shudder.

Thanks for the pro tip, I'll try this out first.