Wheel Shake when braking

[JMG73072]

Been round and round with discount trying to balance my bfg's with about 25K on the to solve this problem. Only when braking does the wheel shimmy. Past experience for me has been bad balancing. Could it be my toe or camber out? Vehicle tracks straight still which leads me back to the tires. Any suggestions before I go for an alignment to verify or buy new tires?

 

[simple]

If it shakes when its driving, I think that's bad balancing. Shaking during braking I think is warped rotors. Did you have recent work on your wheels? Maybe the lugs were overtorqued?

 

[Jeremy556]

'warped' rotors. Not really warped, but uneven pad material distribution.

Replace them and try to avoid holding the vehicle still after stops from high speed, like freeway exit ramp to a stop light. Put it in neutral or creep forward with the brakes.

 

[JMG73072]

'warped' rotors. Not really warped, but uneven pad material distribution.

Replace them and try to avoid holding the vehicle still after stops from high speed, like freeway exit ramp to a stop light. Put it in neutral or creep forward with the brakes.

Had the brakes done by the dealer about 10K ago and they turned them. Still replace with new? 68K odo

 

[SKP-4R]

'warped' rotors. Not really warped, but uneven pad material distribution.

Replace them and try to avoid holding the vehicle still after stops from high speed, like freeway exit ramp to a stop light. Put it in neutral or creep forward with the brakes.

If the steering wheel shakes, it's the front rotors. If the whole car starts to shake, its the rear rotors. If you feel the car pull to one side regardless of braking, you have an alignment issue. If the car starts to shake at a certain speed without braking, you have a balancing issue

 

[JMG73072]

If the steering wheel shakes, it's the front rotors. If the whole car starts to shake, its the rear rotors. If you feel the car pull to one side regardless of braking, you have an alignment issue. If the car starts to shake at a certain speed without braking, you have a balancing issue

Would you guys go OEM or aftermarket on the rotors?

 

[SKP-4R]

Would you guys go OEM or aftermarket on the rotors?

I can't see OEM having that issue. That being said, EBC makes a good upgrade that will fit the stock rim size. TotalAutomotive has these disks for a good price:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/total...r-all-ebc-brake-parts-heavily-discounted.html

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Would you guys go OEM or aftermarket on the rotors?

Disk Brakes Australia (DBA). They are beautiful rotors and vented. I had them on my 2002. Search for them at advanceauto.com

They ain't cheap, but they are excellent.

 

[Jeremy556]

Had the brakes done by the dealer about 10K ago and they turned them. Still replace with new? 68K odo

Yes. Turning rotors is a waste of time/money, IMHO. Removing material from what is a wear item, that requires mass to absorb and dissipate heat.

Go with OEM or top of the line parts store rotors, the cheap ones are vastly inferior and will give you problems in short order.

 

[ThorInc]

Brembo

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Yes. Turning rotors is a waste of time/money, IMHO. Removing material from what is a wear item, that requires mass to absorb and dissipate heat.

Go with OEM or top of the line parts store rotors, the cheap ones are vastly inferior and will give you problems in short order.

I don't know if I entirely agree with that... I mean if the Rotors are brand new at 25mm, and you get them at 24.7mm and then turn them to 24.4mm I don't see that significantly affecting the heat distribution when the engineers have spec'd 23mm as minimum turn-to (which I would assume is derived from many factors, one of which is heat distribution/soaking effects.)

We use a ProCut on-car brake lathe at work and it does a great job on the rotors. I'm not saying don't get new rotors if you want with every brake job (hell, most of them are not that expensive and it saves time if you're doing it in the garage/backyard just that turning rotors isn't a bad thing if it's done right and you can easily do it.

 

[philsey]

...
just that turning rotors isn't a bad thing if it's done right....

...and there you have it: IF it's done right - and how does the avg Joe like me have a clue if it's been "done right"?

I'm having some of the described symptoms too, and pondering what to do. I'm <60,000 and have already had a brake/rotor turning.

 

[Lester Lugnut]

We use a ProCut on-car brake lathe at work and it does a great job on the rotors. I'm not saying don't get new rotors if you want with every brake job (hell, most of them are not that expensive and it saves time if you're doing it in the garage/backyard just that turning rotors isn't a bad thing if it's done right and you can easily do it.

Local indy repair shop has been turning rotors for me for over 30 years. No problems whatsoever.

 

[1engineer]

I don't know if I entirely agree with that... I mean if the Rotors are brand new at 25mm, and you get them at 24.7mm and then turn them to 24.4mm I don't see that significantly affecting the heat distribution when the engineers have spec'd 23mm as minimum turn-to (which I would assume is derived from many factors, one of which is heat distribution/soaking effects.)

We use a ProCut on-car brake lathe at work and it does a great job on the rotors. I'm not saying don't get new rotors if you want with every brake job (hell, most of them are not that expensive and it saves time if you're doing it in the garage/backyard just that turning rotors isn't a bad thing if it's done right and you can easily do it.

...and there you have it: IF it's done right - and how does the avg Joe like me have a clue if it's been "done right"?

I'm having some of the described symptoms too, and pondering what to do. I'm <60,000 and have already had a brake/rotor turning.

Preface: Hot goes to cold; cold does not go to hot. Ever.

Think of it like this:
Q: What do rotors actually do?
A. They simply absorb the heat generated from reducing the vehicle's momentum. Nothing else.

Removing mass from the rotors means less capacity to absorb the kinetic energy that is converted to heat during braking. It might be fine 90% of the time but Murphy's law dictates you will run in the 10% as soon as your rotors are turned and alas, your rotors warp.

Fight Murphy, get new rotors. I do because Murphy. Here's a link to help you understand conservation of energy https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/thermo1f.html it has algebra and more algebra though.

 

[JMG73072]

I ordered front rotors this morning (oem - 59.99 ea) for the fronts and starting from there.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Preface: Hot goes to cold; cold does not go to hot. Ever.

Think of it like this:
Q: What do rotors actually do?
A. They simply absorb the heat generated from reducing the vehicle's momentum. Nothing else.

Removing mass from the rotors means less capacity to absorb the kinetic energy that is converted to heat during braking. It might be fine 90% of the time but Murphy's law dictates you will run in the 10% as soon as your rotors are turned and alas, your rotors warp.

Fight Murphy, get new rotors. I do because Murphy. Here's a link to help you understand conservation of energy https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/thermo1f.html it has algebra and more algebra though.

I understand that, but isn't that why there's turn to specifications? To cut to the minimum thickness before heat soaking goes beyond engineered tolerances?

 

[1engineer]

I understand that, but isn't that why there's turn to specifications? To cut to the minimum thickness before heat soaking goes beyond engineered tolerances?

Sure. Turning them removes capacity though. Think about it: If the rotors could be thinner for all applications why wouldn't they just start at that thickness new?

 

[Mistaken]

I ordered front rotors this morning (oem - 59.99 ea) for the fronts and starting from there.

Nice to see the OEM's lasted 68k miles. :thumb:

 

[JayceeP]

I get the wheel shake a little bit. 46,000km/28,500mi. Still had brake life at my last oil change. Little bit surprised at how fast they have worn.

 

[guitarsail]

You'll be happy with the new rotors. I had another vehicle do the nasty shimmy in the steering wheel on braking, new rotors, done. ROtors aren't very expensive or difficult to change, best to just get new ones.