shaking when i brake

[Hylander24]

Hi. I have a 98 eclipse, non-tubo 2.0... I did see a similar post to this but didn't quite get an answer from it so i apologize if its a bit redundent. For the past few month when i brake, particularly if its hard braking like getting off an exit on the highway for example, but also slow braking as well.. my car shakes pretty hard. My original guess was bad pads and/or rotors so i replaced all the breaks being that i needed to anyway and after a few days it started happening again and seemed to get progressively worse, so i again replaced them all again because of the incredible annoyance and bought better rotors and brakes this time but its still happening... only other thing i can think of is something with the tie rods maybe or need to bleed the brake lines, maybe there is air in them... any thought? thanks

 

[buhay6]

I'd say tie rods or maybe even ball joints. My truck did it to and it turned out to be ball joints.......which were original from 78! jack the car up and give the wheels a tug and shake see how much play you got.

Assassin3117 also has a good one, tires can cause that as well. Look and see if your counter weights are still on them.

 

[TSIturbo91]

I'd say tie rods or maybe even ball joints. My truck did it to and it turned out to be ball joints.......which were original from 78! jack the car up and give the wheels a tug and shake see how much play you got.

Assassin3117 also has a good one, tires can cause that as well. Look and see if your counter weights are still on them.

When my ball joint went bad it would shake when not under power and braking as well. Braking was a lot worse though.

 

[elterror]

Thanks for the info. having the same problem will look into it more.

 

[toppertopper]

Jack the car up try to wiggle or move the tire inwards up (12 o clock ), then down inwards (6 o clock), left inwards (9 o clock) , right inwards (3 o clock) ..Check the cv boots ..Do your tires have wear on the outside or inside?

 

[Hylander24]

I'm going to check the tie rods next day or two when i get a chance... forgive me if its the wrong termonology, but the "boot" of one of them was cracked. and i thought that may be a possible issue. however they are relatively new so i thought that may not be it... What should i look for with the tires? uneven wear? if the tires are bad wouldn't it be shaking all the time not just when i brake... I have also replaced the caliper pins recently and made sure to greese them when i put them in.. also saw a comment or two arguing if the rotor could warp and some1 said its probably an issue with how it sits, i thought that too. and made sure it was sitting correct when i put it on, which is what I'm assuming topper is talking about when checking the tires... going to do it all tom hopefully. I've been busy and out of town so i haven't even been able to check the forum, but thanks for all the help thus far!

 

[TUR3O]

i dont think its your brakes, you should check all of youe ball joints.

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

Have you lifted the car off the ground checked for any play in your wheels? Also, have you checked your wheel bearings?

 

[Mach1TaloN]

Be sure to check All bushings, suspension, tie rods and bearings for ANY play on ALL 4 corners. Checking tire wear will give you some clues if its alignment issues. But i think if it only happens from braking hard or from high speeds, its going to be a little more difficult to detect. When you push the brake pedal, the cars weight is shifting forwards, keep that in mind. Use a prybar where you can. And get a buddy to watch for shifting parts as you shake it, a freash set of eyes are useful when looking for loose parts.

 

[96 420a-t]

I would bet my life that it is the brakes. OP said he replaced them and a few days LATER it STARTED again. Meaning it was fixed. Then it is his driving habits that caused them to warp again. The brakes or suspension are not the cause of this the driver is. I ran the cheapy AZ rotors for years with out any issues. Including to the point where the pads were smoking they were that hot. Until you fix the cause of the problem it will keep happening.

 

[bryanwheat]

IT the rotors were replaced and it stopped doing it and started doing it again than it would have to be brake related. It wouldn't magically stop doing it for a week after the brakes were replaced and then start doing it again. What kind of driving do you do in this car? Do you do a lot of high speed fast braking?

 

[99gst214]

Ok, this is def NOT and Alignment issue. So stop suggesting that he waste ~$70 at a shop for them to do that. If the suspension is tight, balljoints, tie rods, ect. then its your brakes. You either need to buy better quality parts, or make sure they are installed correctly. How did the hub surface look? The space around the wheel studs. This is the mating surface for the back-side of the rotor. Make sure there is no rust/corrosion built up here. This can simulate a warped rotor.

Just another thought, are you sure that this is coming from the front? A vibration felt in the steering wheel or at your feet will indicate the front. Anything felt in your seat is the rear.

 

[jtmcinder]

I would bet my life that it is the brakes. OP said he replaced them and a few days LATER it STARTED again. Meaning it was fixed. Then it is his driving habits that caused them to warp again.

You can bet anything you wish, but the odds of this being warped rotors is just about zero. For the last time (in this thread), what most people think of as warped rotors is almost always improper bedding, instead.

If this does turn out to be related to the brakes, which I still doubt, it will be something silly like a seized slider.

My main suggestion is that everyone just stop posting until the guy with the problem comes back and says that he has checked his suspension and wheel bearings for excessive play.

 

[bryanwheat]

You can bet anything you wish, but the odds of this being warped rotors is just about zero. For the last time (in this thread), what most people think of as warped rotors is almost always improper bedding, instead.

If this does turn out to be related to the brakes, which I still doubt, it will be something silly like a seized slider.

My main suggestion is that everyone just stop posting until the guy with the problem comes back and says that he has checked his suspension and wheel bearings for excessive play.

He did say that the problem went away for a week after he installed the new rotors and came back . If the brakes were never the problem than it wouldn't of changed with new rotors installed. Back when i worked at oreilly's about ten years ago i warrantied out so many rotors that were not installed for very long, it was common for the cheap rotors to warp after seeing a little heat.