HELP! steering wheel wobble when brakes applied

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 3:53 pm

i noticed that issue today... when the brakes are applied on speeds as 100Km\h or higher the steering wheel wobbls a bit with a mild deep shudder sound, the sounds pulsates and its frequency get lower as the car speed decreases... what in the hell is that?

is my tie rod ends bad or is it a brakes issue? or is it another suspension component causing this?... help needed here guys.

MMamdouh

Audacity Racing · Post by **Audacity Racing** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 4:40 pm

sounds like a warped rotor.

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 4:45 pm

Brakes...

I have gone through my share of suspension problems and none that I know cause this. I have had bad shocks, tie rod, wheel bearing, etc.

Since your brakes are fairly new, it could be that either the rotor retaining screw is loose or maybe you didn't torque the wheel lugs correctly all the way around. This could cause the issue because of uneven pressure on the rotor causing it to not spin vertically.

The serious thing could be that if you didn't give enough time for the rotors to bed in and you could already be a victim of warped rotors because the rotors didn't have enough time to go through the heat up and cool processes down properly. High speed stops during bedding in usually cause this. If it isn't serious, it is a good idea to get your rotors resurfaced so it doesn't get worse, if it is a bad shudder, it could already be too late.

At any rate, take off your wheels and inspect the rotor retaining screws. Make sure they are nice and tight and that your rotor doesn't wobble, then return your wheels and make sure you use a torqe wrench to torque down all of the lugs evenly. If the problem goes away, good, if not, time to resurface them or replace them.

Good luck!

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 9:21 pm

thanks for the help man... i did push the rotors a bit during bedding and i am scared that they might be wrapped.

i also have 33500Kms on my tires and the front left one is not that good, it has some kinda bubble at the inner side so can this be the problem??

i just noticed that today and it doesn't feel as bad as my old rotors, i will check up all my braking componets and probably will but that busted tire at the back and go for a test drive... will keep you posted.

MMamdouh

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 3:56 am

The faulty tire could be causing the issue, but if you want to check without replacing it, just rotate it to the back and it shouldn't pose a problem, if the shudder is really light then there is a good chance that the tire is causing it.

Audacity Racing · Post by **Audacity Racing** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 4:58 am

that or just take it to somewhere that does tires and see if it's balanced...

but the fact that you only notice it during braking really points to a warped rotar...

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:24 pm

it is very mild indeed... nothing compared to the old shudder i got with my old wrapped rotors.

also i didn't balace my wheels since i got my tires... that was some 2 years ago and 33,500 Kms so they could be out of balance not to mention the bad tire on the front.

i hate to think i got a wrapped rotor... i just replaced them and got brembo rotors and those got some 2,000 Kms on them so i don't think i wrapped them in such short distance... also BosnianLanos did experiance some smoke during the bedding period so i guess that was normal.

anyways i won't jump into conclusions till i check my tires.

MMamdouh

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:32 am

replaced the busted tire with a brand new one... wobble stil exists during braking

more checking in the near future.

MMamduh

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:40 am

Then I'm gonna go with warped rotors, get them resurfaced before the problem escalates into something expensive. And this time let them bed in for 200 miles!

LoL, car problems suck but its the only reason I got into cars.

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:50 am

have i really wrapped my new brembo rotors???

i just got them for some 4000 Kms now

MMamdouh

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 1:56 am

Tire change didn't help, taking the wheel off and returning it didn't help, balance/alignment wouldn't do much for wheel wobble.

Your only other option is to tighten the retaining screw and see if it helps, check your pads to see if they are irregularly worn or not seating correctly, worst case scenario you may have something wrong with the master cylinder but I highly, highly doubt that is the case.

So, check the other things I have mentioned and if it doesn't work, then the rotors have warped, probabally from a beating during the bedding in period. The cost isn't terrible, I can get mine resurfaced for $7 a rotor at my mechanic's, but the main problem is the mental cost...you just get something new when you immedietley have to fix it again.

I know it sucks, but thats the way it goes

.

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 2:09 am

something doesn't smell right in my left front wheel... it used to have uneven worn pads with the old rotrs and it is the one that smaked when i pushed my brakes with the new rotors.

i also had a broken wheel bt at that whee and the guy that tok it ff had to remove the rotor to get the rest of the stranded bolt off... maybe something went wrong at the hub surface or some thing... i don't know , this sucks big time.

can i really wrap a rotor in just 4000 kms of usage???

MMamdouh

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 2:43 pm

It is possible to warp a rotor in 4000 kms, if you don't allow them to bed in properly, the pads don't get a good seat on the rotors and create irregular heat (smoking from rotors), which can easily bend the steel rotors out of position. If you did some high speed stops before 340 kms of the new brakes, there is a good chance that your rotors have bent (warped) and need to be resurfaced. I noticed smoking too when my Brembo/Bendix system was bedding in, and apart from being super frightening, there was no issue, I just simply drove like an old lady for the next week and now it brakes like a beast with no wobble or pull to any side.

daewooluvr · Post by **daewooluvr** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:36 pm

... or if you put the lug bolts on too tight... or drive off without torquing the lug bolts (yes I've done this more than a few times

)

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 5:51 pm

daewooluvr wrote:... or if you put the lug bolts on too tight... or drive off without torquing the lug bolts (yes I've done this more than a few times )

I've never actually torqued them down to specifications, I've always eyeballed it. I know it is terrible not to torque it down correctly, but its been 7 years and no problems.