Vibrations from rear when braking

[Jave]

I'm experiencing what feels like vibrating from the rear on my 99 4runner when braking. I don't really feel it in the brake pedal but more like in the seat and it seems to be coming from the rear of the car.

I'm pretty sure this started after I was adjusting the rear drums.
They were too loose so I tightened them but did it too much so the rear brakes were dragging. I drove like this for maybe 40 kms before I adjusted them to stop dragging (stupid, I know.)

Could this have caused the problems I'm experiencing now or is it likely something else and just a strange coincidence (I'd be very surprised if that was the case.) If it was from driving with the brakes dragging, what has likely happened exactly?

 

[kennyb3030]

im having the same problem, but my vibration is there while i drive, mostly feel it at highway speeds, say 50 mph and above, i think my rear passenger side brake is locking up for some reason. what could be causing this ?

 

[Jave]

im having the same problem, but my vibration is there while i drive, mostly feel it at highway speeds, say 50 mph and above, i think my rear passenger side brake is locking up for some reason. what could be causing this ?

I still have this problem and haven't had the time to look into it. Something is definitely going on with my rears since they're now out of adjustment again, after only a few weeks as the handbrake no longer works very well and the car is nosediving a lot on braking.

What makes you think your rear passenger side brake is locking up? How can you tell it's that specific side?

 

[TheDurk]

I'm experiencing what feels like vibrating from the rear on my 99 4runner when braking. I don't really feel it in the brake pedal but more like in the seat and it seems to be coming from the rear of the car.

I'm pretty sure this started after I was adjusting the rear drums.
They were too loose so I tightened them but did it too much so the rear brakes were dragging. I drove like this for maybe 40 kms before I adjusted them to stop dragging (stupid, I know.)

Could this have caused the problems I'm experiencing now or is it likely something else and just a strange coincidence (I'd be very surprised if that was the case.) If it was from driving with the brakes dragging, what has likely happened exactly?

Jr. passed his road test in the 4Runner in 2000. On the way home I let him drive, and I did not notice he had the e-brake on until just about 40kms from the test center I saw the red light and freaked. After the smell went away, there were the same symptoms you describe. Drums were burnt/warped whatever. New ones fixed it. Take yours off and look. Shoes may be glazed, too.

 

[Jave]

Jr. passed his road test in the 4Runner in 2000. On the way home I let him drive, and I did not notice he had the e-brake on until just about 40kms from the test center I saw the red light and freaked. After the smell went away, there were the same symptoms you describe. Drums were burnt/warped whatever. New ones fixed it. Take yours off and look. Shoes may be glazed, too.

Thanks! I'm guessing this is probably it.

I know what glazed shoes look like but what would I look for on the drum to see if it's bad/warped? Anything that would be obvious?

 

[TheDurk]

Thanks! I'm guessing this is probably it.

I know what glazed shoes look like but what would I look for on the drum to see if it's bad/warped? Anything that would be obvious?

Mine sure was. There were burnt looking stripes that were probably deposited brake shoe material about 5 inches wide.

 

[Jave]

Just an update for anyone with the same problem. Turned out to be warped drums. Mechanic machined them and all is good again.

 

[Tomsriv]

Jave, make sure you adjust the brakes properly, you mentioned you backed them off till they no longer touched and then you had problems with them locking up. BRAKES NEED TO DRAG A LITTLE BIT. If they don't drag they will jerk and cause a skid.

Think of it this way: Imagine I tied a rope around your waist and told you to run. Knowing I was going to pull that rope to make you stop at some point would you rather I keep some tension on the rope or just let it be loose?
If I left it loose you would double over when I pulled the rope (brake). If I kept tension on it the whole time you would stop slowly.

So to properly adjust brakes you should be able to spin the tire with your hand and have it stop within one turn. That is the correct amount of drag.

 

[Tomsriv]

im having the same problem, but my vibration is there while i drive, mostly feel it at highway speeds, say 50 mph and above, i think my rear passenger side brake is locking up for some reason. what could be causing this ?

Sounds like a tire issue. To check if its the rear brakes slowly pull the ebrake with the button pressed down and see if you feel the vibrations. If it is not the brakes try rotating tires and see if the problem moves to the front wheels.

 

[Jave]

Jave, make sure you adjust the brakes properly, you mentioned you backed them off till they no longer touched and then you had problems with them locking up. BRAKES NEED TO DRAG A LITTLE BIT. If they don't drag they will jerk and cause a skid.

Think of it this way: Imagine I tied a rope around your waist and told you to run. Knowing I was going to pull that rope to make you stop at some point would you rather I keep some tension on the rope or just let it be loose?
If I left it loose you would double over when I pulled the rope (brake). If I kept tension on it the whole time you would stop slowly.

So to properly adjust brakes you should be able to spin the tire with your hand and have it stop within one turn. That is the correct amount of drag.

Thanks, I did have the mechanic adjust them now so they should be good. Ebrake feels a lot better now too.

I did read about the method of spinning the tire with your hand and have it stop within one turn. Although I was doing this, I could never get the brakes to work properly even though it seemed like I had done everything right. Mechanic said you apparently need to put everything in neutral (shifter and 4wd) or there's a drag that makes it seem like you have adjusted the brakes properly but really they need to be closer. I'm probably explaining that wrong but you get the idea.

 

[Jave]

Sounds like a tire issue. To check if its the rear brakes slowly pull the ebrake with the button pressed down and see if you feel the vibrations. If it is not the brakes try rotating tires and see if the problem moves to the front wheels.

I tried to test this with my issue and actually did not have any vibrations when pulling on the ebrake which made me a little confused as I was pretty sure the problem was the rear brakes. I don't think I could pull the handle hard enough to cause vibrations though (only when they were hydraulically engaged.) So even though you don't get vibrations with this test, I wouldn't say it rules out the rear brakes. This could've been because my brakes were too out of adjustment though.

 

[mr280zxt]

Just had this done today

I had extreme vibration started yesterday...It was coming from the rear of the T4R ...I usually go to discount tire store for balancing, but they were closed already...But, Pep Boys were open...They lift the SUV on the rack and balanced all the tires....and charged me 50 bucks...By the time I left the shop, they were closing already...
I finally got on the freeway, and here comes my vibration again...I made it home in one piece...So, I took my Dodge truck to work today but I called discount tire store in the morning...They told me to bring the SUV and checked it out...They didn't like the balancing job Pep Boys did and rebalanced my tires....here I am thinking all is well now.....I go and get on the freeway and here comes my vibration again...and getting worse by the minute...
I drove back to discount tire....They were puzzeld just as much as I was...So I told them go ahead and get me 4 new tires....(current tires only had 10K miles on them and they looked brand new) I ended up getting 4 new tires (same as old tires),,here I am thinking againm "Ok I have brand new tires now and I should be set"....wrong.....as soon as I made it to freeway, same vibration is back....At this point I am totally freaking out...
So, I drove the car to mechanic friend of mine....He found the issue as soon as he lift the SUV....Totally loose drive shaft bolts...He tightened them and grease the fitting, i was as good as new after that....I went back to Discount tire store and got my old tires back...They have at least another 30K miles life left on them ...so I have a full set of spares...

Pep Boys, never again...Those guys were under the SUV for 1.5 hours and missed the totally loose 4 bolts...

 

[Tomsriv]

...Totally loose drive shaft bolts...He tightened them and grease the fitting, i was as good as new after that....I went back to Discount tire store and got my old tires back...They have at least another 30K miles life left on them ...so I have a full set of spares...

Pep Boys, never again...Those guys were under the SUV for 1.5 hours and missed the totally loose 4 bolts...

Thats something that people often forget to check. I forgot to mention that one too. To check driveshaft vibrations shift into neutral on the freeway and see if the vibration changes. The shaft will still spin but it won't be driven by the trans and may change the pitch of the vibration. This will tell you if you have a CV joint issue in the driveshaft.