emptypockets

Just spoke with an ASE certified buddy of mine. He said the question to ask is what kind of pads did you put on? Ceramic pads will tend to give the feeling of pulsating just like warped rotors. He want so far as to say that he recommends OEM over ceramic pads. Just a thought.

98runn'n

Really? Wow. In that case I picked up some Axis brand pads off ebay as well. They are ceramic. Has anyone else had this problem w/ ceramic pads. Thank you so much for all your help. I definitly have some options to look at.

98runn'n

I thought Performance Friction pads were ceramic, are they not?

JoseyWales

Hi guys I just joined the forum and I must say thanks for all the great advise! I was having a shaking problem on my 98 taco and could not for the life of me figure out what was wrong until I found this site! I replaced a lot of parts $$$$ only to find out My problem was out of balance tires! I thought how could that be I just had them put on...to make a long story short in order to get rid of that shaking go see a tire shop with a roadforce 9700 and the flange adapter (your wheels are probably lug-centric so that adapter plate is an absolute must)! I went today and for $48 a local tire shop did that for me and it is completely gone! It feels like a whole new truck. Nobody even the dealer would listen to me and thought I was nuts, until I took some of the great advice I got here and went and did it.

Thanks!!!

Mason Dixon

good advice joseywales, thanks for puttin the machine number in this thread, will help alot of folks!

MTL_4runner

No, they are carbon/metallic pads (at least the ones suggested by Gadget).
PF may make a ceramic pad as well for 4runners, I am not sure on that.

To me the biggest clue you gave was this:
"The same day that I had my rotors/brakes done I felt the shake."

So that tells me the same day you replaced the rotors/pads, your truck got the shakes. I'd definately start there first and then eliminate those as a possibility. You may have gotten bad parts to begin with, you never know until you check. You could bring the rotors to a shop and have them check the runout on them to verify if they are warped or not (keep in mind the warp may be more pronounced as the rotors get hot so a little runout may make the pedal shake quite a bit braking from highway speed). It is possible that it is just coincidence that this shake appeared right after you did the work but if it were my truck, that's where I'd start.

98runn'n

Sorry Jaime, I should of specified earlier; my car already had the shakes, which led me to get new rotors. I thought i'd fix the problem, but instead the problem persisted. Thanks for the info on the PFs. Thanks everyone else for all your ideas and experience. I'll report this weekend as I'm going in for a tire balance, rear drum inspection, as well as possible rotor warpage. Thanks again.

Localmotion

I thought slotted/cross drilled rotors could not be turned?

98runn'n

I contacted Les Scwab they said they'd rotate drums, install new shocks/struts, and balance tires for $400 all together. Is this a good deal or not? As far as balancing goes, they said that they use a spin balance technique; they don't use the other machine mentioned earlier. Should I forget about the balacne from Les Schwab all together?

surf4runner

most shops will not do it as it is VERY easy to damage the machine.

98runn'n

Alright, I put new shocks/struts on and asked for my drums to be rotated. About 10 minutes after I left I rec'd a call from Les Schwab stating that one of my drums was just about rusted all the way through. He said it looked like it had been hit with hammer. So I ended up getting two new drums by the end of it. After all this it still shakes. But now it shakes faster and not as intense as it had before. Oh yah, I also had my tires balanced. I'm lost. I cannot stand this shake; especially after I dropped damn near $700.

Midget96

Sounds like you got raped. It's highly unlikely that a rear drum became elliptical, as drums are inherently more bulletproof and resistant to fatigue than disc setups. Given the fact that far less than 40% of your braking comes from the rear furthers the notion that your problem lies in poor installation in the front.

I would agree that improper wheel lug torque on flexy drilled/slotted rotors or improper bedding is the culprit. Supposedly, you can feel less than 0.0005" of imperfection on the rotor through the pedal, which could be a glazed spot or excessive rotor runout. Check the runout on the front, make sure your ball joints are in good shape and then look at both sides of the rotors for bluish streaks.

If you find any problems with the rotors, you could try and have them resurfaced (some high end speed shops may have a rotary carbide resurfacer that is made for drilled rotors) or buy new plain rotors, which give you better performance anyway.

AH64ID

A Friend of mine went thru rotors like pads in his 95 taco.. until he messed his caliper up on a brake job and had to put a new caliper on (replaced them both)... no more warped rotors, his caliper was the culprit.

Midget96

Very true. If you have one piston sticking and not applying pressure to the pad, then you'd definitely get vibration.

JuJew

Hello all...first day as member...very first post.

This front end shake is the problem that lead me to this forum, I will stay a member as long as it is up.

As stated above, I have the same front end shake on my:

99 4Runner...SR5 4X4...140,000 miles, in great condition except this shake.

...3 days ago i changed the rotors with Autozone purchased OEM rotors and Duralast Ceremic brakes.........same shake no change
...2 days ago i changed all 4 tires, now equipped with General Grabbers AT2

I know have a much improved braking and great tread, however still front end shake.

my rear brakes are fine, my shocks are fine....I am dumbfounded

I have an appointment to have a trusted Toyota Dealer to look at it tomorrow, so I will reply with the results of the visit.....however I would like to ask this one question...

Could the front end shake that I am feeling in my steering wheel, only when braking from greater speeds be coming from a steering component? and if so what?

Mason Dixon

I had horrible shake braking which seemed like it was coming from the front end...I also had to change out my rear brakes too because of gear oil soaking everything....I bought both front rotors/pads, and shoes, as well as having the back drums turned.....i did the back brakes last weekend since they were in need of help more.....oddly enough, now after the rear has been done, i have alot less front end shake from the brakes, I'm still pretty sure i've warped the front rotors due to having no braking ability in the back for a year(but not as much as I thought), but for the 30 percent braking power the rears produce, that must be enough to allow the front rotors to stay cool enough not to want to shake like hell

wa4x4

Whaaat? You mean Yotas aren't supposed to shake???

Beartracker

My front end was shaking like it was in an earth quake until yesterday when my mechanic installed my new Brembo rotor blanks and Hawk pads. It stops great and it is so smooth it's like riding on air.
About a week ago I got a grease job and tires rotated and rebalanced but they did a dynamic balance, weights on both sides. I can now step on the brakes with no hands on the wheel and it stays as straight as an arrow with no shake or drift at all.
Now we will see how long it last. Have you checked your bearings and shims on the front? Check the ball joints? What about an alignment? Mike

MotaPsycho

Hi, I had this problem a month ago....went to the Stealership to have them look at my brakes since i was getting the recall done... they shafted me by seeing if cutting the rotors will work.. charging me 2 hours then finding out it didn't work and that new rotors need to be put in..and added more labor for that... that improved the braking 75%.. when braking from the hwy around 70mph to 10mph.. brake started shaking.. brought back to the dealership.. they call me back and told me I needed rotors put in.. of course at this point, i almost lost my head and was bout to rip them a new @sshole.. told them i just had them replaced... guy check the system.. said he'll calll me back in 10mins... .4 hours pass, i called him back.. he said it wasn't the front rotors and that the Rear drums needed to be machined.. .so, if you haven't anything to the rear drums yet.. i would point the cause of the vibration to the rear drums. Good Luck. I have a 2002 4runner fyi. BTW, no more vibration!!! woot woot!!


**EDIT*** i didn't read the note where u replaced the drums.. make sure the drum replaced are not warped either!!!

colsoncj

It is possible. I had a horrible shake in my Burban that was the result of warped drums. Had a similar problem with a Buick too.

I made a shaking/vibrating diagnosing flow chart one time for a buddy, I'll see if I can find it and post it.