My steering wheels a shakin!!

hardflip · Aug 14, 2004

Why does my steering wheel shake when braking?

HISSIN50 · Aug 15, 2004

warped rotors are a leading cause. if it shakes at all times, could be wheel imbalance, etc.

good luck.

UMDSmith · Aug 15, 2004

Does it pull to any particular side?? If its just vibration it could be tire imbalance, but the likely culprit would be warped rotors, either from wear or from too much heat (often caused by high speed braking.)

Pull off your front tires and rotate your front rotors, when looking at them from the front, you can see signs of warpage pretty easy.

90mustangGT · Aug 15, 2004

Warped rotors. Also check for hot spots (dark spots in the contact area). But why did your rotors warp or get hot spots? Are the rear drums properly adjusted, check that there isn't any leaking fluids on the rear shoes. Check the wheel cylinders and axel seals. Also have the rotors mic'd to check for proper thickness. I don't recomend ceramic pads because they transfer too much heat on the rotors. Also check to see it the caliper slides are working properly, and also that the pads are wearing the same from one side to the other. It is normal for the inner pad (piston side) to wear a little faster, and the right front pads tend to wear a little faster than the left. I work at a shop and deal with this on a daily basis. If everything is correct, and your still getting this problem, maby it's time to be more gentle on the brakes, or upgrade them. I did my brakes about 50K ago and still have pleny of pad left. No squeeks, no vibration, and I drive pretty gentle normally, but I've maxxed out the brakes plenty of times.

HISSIN50 · Aug 15, 2004

an overlooked reason for rotor warpage is incorrect wheel (lug nut) torquing.

90mustangGT · Aug 15, 2004

HISSIN50 said:
an overlooked reason for rotor warpage is incorrect wheel (lug nut) torquing.

Good point. 80-100lbs is more than enough, and make sure you do it evenly in the correct pattern.

UMDSmith · Aug 15, 2004

hah, I completely forgot about that one as well, good advice

89MustangGX · Aug 15, 2004

90mustangGT said:
I don't recomend ceramic pads because they transfer too much heat on the rotors.

I just put a set on my truck -- hoping for better stopping while towing, which I seem to have gotten. Will I destroy my brand new rotors now? More info please...

90mustangGT · Aug 15, 2004

89MustangGX said:
I just put a set on my truck -- hoping for better stopping while towing, which I seem to have gotten. Will I destroy my brand new rotors now? More info please...

Not all the time nessasarrly. Ceramic reflects heat, it is not an insulator. That is why NASA uses it on the bottom of the space shuttle so durring re-entry the shuttle does not get hot. Heat has to go someplace, and in the case of brakes, in the rotors. Working in a shop in a location with nothing but stop and go traffic, warping rotors due to heat is a serious issue. We've noticed that organic pads handle it better, ususally handles the problem, just makes more brake dust.

89MustangGX · Aug 15, 2004

90mustangGT said:
Not all the time nessasarrly. Ceramic reflects heat, it is not an insulator. That is why NASA uses it on the bottom of the space shuttle so durring re-entry the shuttle does not get hot. Heat has to go someplace, and in the case of brakes, in the rotors. Working in a shop in a location with nothing but stop and go traffic, warping rotors due to heat is a serious issue. We've noticed that organic pads handle it better, ususally handles the problem, just makes more brake dust.

So you're not opposed to ceramic indefinitely, you just prefer organic in a mostly stop-and-go type situation it sounds like. Is that what you're saying?

Would you think I'd be better off changing pads to an organic pad with my truck for 50/50 split if highway and city with occasional towing?

HISSIN50 · Aug 15, 2004

this is pretty interesting. if no one has mentioned it, carbon metallic pads seem to work pretty well. i did a little research on them before biting (trying them) and i havent noticed any extra rotor wear and they stop pretty well.

just another option (i hate organic pads - i run the CM's and before those it was semi metallics).

just more info.

90mustangGT · Aug 15, 2004

89MustangGX said:
So you're not opposed to ceramic indefinitely, you just prefer organic in a mostly stop-and-go type situation it sounds like. Is that what you're saying?

Would you think I'd be better off changing pads to an organic pad with my truck for 50/50 split if highway and city with occasional towing?

No, they do reduce on brake dust and tend to last longer. I forgot to add that another problem with brake pads is that they can crack, and this will lead to noise on top of other problems. This is also caused by heat. However I have not noticed cracking problems any more or less in ceramics. Regular semi-metalics tend to be hard on rotors. What I am trying to say is that there are pro's and con's of both. Just because they say "premium" and cost the most don't mean they are the best.

I don't think you need to go changing the front pads. If your brakes are working properly and your using them properly I really doubt you will have problems. If you start having problems with warped rotors and hot spots, then you should be able to warranty the pads and they should swap you for something else.

Oh yeah, a brand I recomend for your pads is Wagner. When we get nothing but bad luck with bendix and raybestos and everything else is correct, we put Wagner brake parts on there that has always solved the problem.

I don't know much about carbon-metalic. I know that my clutch is heavy duty and uses carbon and kevlar. Never really looked into it and we don't sell them at our shop.

If your racing and using your brakes hard, maby you should go for some Hawk or other racing based pads.

89MustangGX · Aug 16, 2004

Thanks for info -- will keep it in mind.

PM sent for another brake question.

My steering wheels a shakin!!

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