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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
I replaced all 4 break pads on my 99 maxima about a year ago (ceramic
pads). Recently, I noticed when I am breaking on highway to slow down, my steering wheel vibrates. It does not vibrate when I am driving, even at high speeds. At lower speeds, it is less noticeable. My car does not have ABS. What could be the cause of this vibration? The rotor or break pads not even? How severe is this problem? Can I wait till my next maintenance (2-3 months?) to fix it? Thanks! Raymond |
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#2
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
Most likely is you have some residual drag at one front wheel that is creating excessive heat and distorting one rotor... Try driving it down a road where you don't have to use the brakes at all...then coast to a stop using only the emergency brake, and get out and feel the temp of the front wheels...if one is signifigantly hotter than the other, you've found your troublemaker...more often than not this gets misdiagnosed as a bad caliper, when in reality the condition of the sliding surfaces and hardware are to blame..the pins and sleeves need to move very easily and independant of each other, and the caliper when mounted up and the piston retracted should glide easily back and forth on them... -- jeffcoslacker ------------------------------------------------------------------------ jeffcoslacker's Profile: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...?userid=219638 View this thread: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=615865 http://www.automotiveforums.com |
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
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#5
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
if your 99 maxima is stock, it will have abs!
and a rotor is the problem. |
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
187 Wrote: > if your 99 maxima is stock, it will have abs! > and a rotor is the problem. Rotors don't just warp for no reason...all you guys telling them it's a rotor are not providing anything useful...replace it without finding the cause, and you just have another warped rotor shortly.... -- jeffcoslacker ------------------------------------------------------------------------ jeffcoslacker's Profile: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...?userid=219638 View this thread: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=615865 http://www.automotiveforums.com |
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
"jeffcoslacker" > wrote in message ... > > 187 Wrote: >> if your 99 maxima is stock, it will have abs! >> and a rotor is the problem. > > Rotors don't just warp for no reason...all you guys telling them it's a > rotor are not providing anything useful...replace it without finding the > cause, and you just have another warped rotor shortly.... >>snip<< Hey Jeff, I've come to the conclusion that warped rotors are par for the course. So often it shows it's just a matter of time before the metallurgy in the rotors is altered by constantly heating up and cooling down, just from driving and then sitting, as well as driving them hot thru cooler rain and water in the streets. I've watched my own driving thru strict glasses; watched those from older generations who do very little taking off fast or stopping quickly; watched those driving mostly longer distances and compared them to those who drive mostly stop-and-go. The only difference I've really determined is that with some, it merely takes a little longer. I'm sure we can hurry the process by not torquing the lugs properly; riding the brake pedal & creating undue heat; using cheaper brake pads; using rotors 'made in China'; and not keeping even and proper pressure in our tires. But again, sooner or later, it's gonna happen. Some people even may not notice it as much as others, or they would speak more of it than meets our eye. I like disc brakes. They are much more effective than drum brakes, hence safer too. They seem to fade much less than drums. I've seen them so hot that were they drums, they would've quit stopping long, long before. But we still have some questions that need answers. Until then, I'm gonna continue enjoying their superior personalities and just overlook their lesser characteristics. Whoever finds the ultimate solution deserves a Nobel Prize! And if that turns out to be you, please remember that you once kinda knew me--I'll surely be bragging that WE used to discuss these issues s |
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
jeffcoslacker > wrote:
> > if your 99 maxima is stock, it will have abs! > > and a rotor is the problem. I bought it in 99 from the dealer. It is the SE, and does NOT have ABS. > Rotors don't just warp for no reason...all you guys telling them it's a > rotor are not providing anything useful...replace it without finding the > cause, and you just have another warped rotor shortly.... (Long replies below) Thanks everyone for the replies. I took it to a shop today. The owner and I took it out for a drive on the highway to test it out. We feel the shake in the steering wheel and the brake at 50+ mph speed (but I guess it is not too severe after talking with the owner). The brake pads themselves are pretty new and have lots of life left, and he visually inspected the rotors and said the left front and rear have some heat marks, the right side seems better. But in general the rotors themselves looks to be in reasonable condition. I discussed with him briefly the options and what he recommends, and asked him if this can wait till the next maintenance. He said they generally replace the rotor and the break pads at the same time, and they match the pads and the rotor (so one is not significantly harder than the other?). I get the impression that he doesn't think this is very severe, and since the pads have a long way to go, I could drive with this a bit more until the pads ware down a bit, and replace both the front rotor and pads if this gets too annoying or I feel I don't have good breaking power anymore... The place is fairly reputable and my impression with the owner is fairly positive. Didn't try to convince me that it's a big problem and I need to replace it now, which I might have, so I left without paying anything. The place is in pretty upscale neighborhood where I work, so I got the feeling they are not that interested in resurface the existing rotor to fix it, which he said he doesn't feel the labor money is worth it. My personal take on this is, when I replaced my break pads a year ago, I bought the pads from Kragen (their expensive ceramic pads), and just had someone replaced it, without sanding the rotors. The new pads and old rotors may have caused this warping effect to accelerate, and after about a year of use it becomes apparent. Perhaps the new pads also didn't match my rotor? (I have the original rotors and the car have 100k on it. The OEM break pads were replaced at 80k mile). The owner said they usually put German made rotor and Japanese made ceramic break pads, and said replacing the front would be about $400+. So my options are - keep driving until the problem becomes too annoying, and replace the whole front set. - find another shop that will re-surface the front rotor? Is it worth spending the money on a rotor that already have 100k mile on it? - find a shop that will try to find the cause of the wrapped rotor? I am guessing that since there's not a lot of money being made here, many shops won't go this route. Anyone have recommendations for San Jose, CA area? Thanks! Raymond |
#9
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
I would suspect uneven torque on the front wheel lug nuts as the cause
of the rotor warp and shake. If you carefully retorque the nuts with a torque wrench, you might pull it back straight or at least stop it from getting worse. Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) wrote: > > jeffcoslacker > wrote: > > > > if your 99 maxima is stock, it will have abs! > > > and a rotor is the problem. > > I bought it in 99 from the dealer. It is the SE, and does NOT have ABS. > > > Rotors don't just warp for no reason...all you guys telling them it's a > > rotor are not providing anything useful...replace it without finding the > > cause, and you just have another warped rotor shortly.... > > (Long replies below) > > Thanks everyone for the replies. I took it to a shop today. The owner > and I took it out for a drive on the highway to test it out. We feel > the shake in the steering wheel and the brake at 50+ mph speed (but I > guess it is not too severe after talking with the owner). > > The brake pads themselves are pretty new and have lots of life left, > and he visually inspected the rotors and said the left front and rear > have some heat marks, the right side seems better. But in general the > rotors themselves looks to be in reasonable condition. > > I discussed with him briefly the options and what he recommends, and > asked him if this can wait till the next maintenance. He said they > generally replace the rotor and the break pads at the same time, and > they match the pads and the rotor (so one is not significantly harder > than the other?). I get the impression that he doesn't think this is > very severe, and since the pads have a long way to go, I could drive > with this a bit more until the pads ware down a bit, and replace both > the front rotor and pads if this gets too annoying or I feel I don't > have good breaking power anymore... > > The place is fairly reputable and my impression with the owner is > fairly positive. Didn't try to convince me that it's a big problem and > I need to replace it now, which I might have, so I left without paying > anything. The place is in pretty upscale neighborhood where I work, so > I got the feeling they are not that interested in resurface the > existing rotor to fix it, which he said he doesn't feel the labor > money is worth it. > > My personal take on this is, when I replaced my break pads a year ago, > I bought the pads from Kragen (their expensive ceramic pads), and just > had someone replaced it, without sanding the rotors. The new pads and > old rotors may have caused this warping effect to accelerate, and > after about a year of use it becomes apparent. Perhaps the new pads > also didn't match my rotor? (I have the original rotors and the car > have 100k on it. The OEM break pads were replaced at 80k mile). > > The owner said they usually put German made rotor and Japanese made > ceramic break pads, and said replacing the front would be about $400+. > > So my options are > > - keep driving until the problem becomes too annoying, and replace the > whole front set. > > - find another shop that will re-surface the front rotor? Is it worth > spending the money on a rotor that already have 100k mile on it? > > - find a shop that will try to find the cause of the wrapped rotor? I > am guessing that since there's not a lot of money being made here, > many shops won't go this route. Anyone have recommendations for San > Jose, CA area? > > Thanks! > > Raymond |
#10
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Steering wheel vibration during breaking?
Mike Romain > wrote:
> I would suspect uneven torque on the front wheel lug nuts as the cause > of the rotor warp and shake. If you carefully retorque the nuts with a > torque wrench, you might pull it back straight or at least stop it from > getting worse. Won't this cause the shaking to occur during driving as well? I don't have a torque wrench, so I might just get my tires rotated again... Thanks. Raymond |
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