Brakes Pulsing And Steering Wheel Shaking Options

[78kitty]

I need some help because when I hit the brakes on my '97 Camry on the highway the pedal pulsates and the steering wheel shakes badly. I just put on new front pads, greased the caliper slide pins, and inspected / adjusted the rear drums.

At first I thought it was just warped rotors, but the car only does this when you press the brakes at highway speeds. If you even barely touch the brakes at highway speeds (65mph +) it shakes the steering wheel and pulsates. If you do it at 50 mph or less it doesn't really do it at all, even if you press on them aggressively. The car pulls hard to the left (if you let off the wheel it will be over the line to the next lane in about 2-3 seconds). I dropped it off to have it aligned tonight, but could that be what's causing the pulsating / steering wheel shake when braking at highway speed?

[Littlebookworm]

There are a couple of possibilities, starting with warped rotors. You might have a sticky caliper, which is not braking properly. You might also have worn bushings in the front end which, tied with one or the other possibilities, sends everything vibrating. Any decent alignment shop will check the front end before the alignment is done and will let you know if you need some front end work first. Good luck. Hy

[78kitty]

Thanks Littlebookworm. The rotors were warped. I also found that when compressing the calipers the left (drivers side) caliper was MUCH harder to compress. It was sticking (which explains it pulling to the left) and that probably warped the rotor. I ended up just replacing both rotors because they were $12 to have turned and new ones were only $23 with a 1 year warranty. Then I got a rebuilt caliper with lifetime warranty for $34. Now it rides and drives great!

[Littlebookworm]

Glad it all worked out for you, and thanks for posting the results of the physical examination of the brakes. It's nice to know that people follow up on suggestions; and even nicer when my advice turns out to be right! Safe driving. Hy

[nctrevor24]

im having the same exact problem i replaced the breakpads in the front the rotors looked fine how would i be able to tell if my rotors are warped just by looking or feeling them and if i find out one is warped is it worth replacing the caliber i mean is that the only thing that would cause them to be warped and where could i buy the rebuilt calibers from any mechanic i have an 00 solara

thanks in advance

[Littlebookworm]

Somehow my reply got lost in my typing. I must have hit the wrong key. Anyway, the only way you can tell if a rotor is warped is to place it on a lathe and listen to, and watch, the cutting bit. If it cuts evenly, the rotor's just worn. If it seems to skip spots, the rotor's warped. Today's rotors are made of much thinner metal than those of years ago, so warping is more common. In addition, rotors sometimes can not be resurfaced because their thickness is below minimum specifications for safety. That can only be checked with a micrometer and the specifications chart for your car. Coincidentally, I plan on doing a 4-wheel brake job on my car within the next few weeks. Even though there's no vibration while braking, I'll have the rotors resurfaced, or possibly replaced, because the car has about 75000 miles on it. This will be it's second brake job. Good luck. Hy