Contra472

Hi Yotatech, wondering if you guys can help me with a brake shudder. 1991 22re 4x4 pickup

Whenever I brake hard, the truck will shudder/shimmy as I slow down.

First thought is warped front rotors, so I replaced those with brand new ones and pads, also repacked the bearings and set preload fine.

Nope! Shudder is still there.

So I yanked the parking brake hard while going fast.....the truck shook! BINGO!

Replaced drums and shoes. Turns out one of my bell cranks was seized, causing the parking brake to only work on one side, which caused the shake when I pulled it.

Truck still shudders during regular braking. I can feel it in the steering wheel.

Any ideas where to go next? My steering is pretty loose, so I was planning on doing tie rods, idler arm, pitman, and ball joints anyways, but randomly replacing parts is starting to add up for me. Can worn steering components cause shudder only when braking?

Other info: tire wear is even. Pads/shoes wore evenly. I don't believe calipers are sticking.

Thanks guys.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

If your steering is loose and worn it would be my next suspect. I have had shudder when braking in the past and then shudder at certain speeds. I fixed a truck a while back and it was a bad ball joint on the drivers side. While driving down the road, I was able to stick my head out and see the tire wobble.

When I was test driving it to troubleshoot it, at certain speeds it was fine and with a slight increase or decrease in speed, the wobble would start. In my case the steering was in bad and dangerous shape. The owner said it had been doing it for some time. I don't remember if he said if it was worse when braking or not.

Are you sure all 4 pistons on the calipers are operating freely? I have seen one or two pistons freeze in the calipers. I pulled the pistons out of a set of calipers and all kinds of nasty stuff behind the pistons.

Contra472

Thanks for the reply Terry!

I don't believe my calipers were sticking because the truck doesn't pull to one side as I'm braking, and the pads wore evenly. Plus I was able to press them in easily when changing the pads.

I will replace all my steering stuff and report the outcome!

Thanks again.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I would appreciate what you find, it might help the next guy that has a similar issue. Really give your Idler Arm a good look as it is a high failure part. I have seen a lot of original parts on these trucks. With some shopping around on different online stores and parts stores you can get the parts at a reasonable price and it makes a big difference on the front end on these trucks.

I fixed a truck that the front end was so worn and swapped everything out and it felt like I was driving on rails when done. That was one rewarding fix when I got it completed.

89fourrunner

Mine did this when the lower ball joints were shot. Replaced them, shudder gone. Check those ball joints, they can be deceiving.

combatcarl

Try the idler arm bushings. Mine were shot, made a pull to the right, and a pull to either side at random under heavy braking. Had the same steering wobble but no brake "surging" on braking as you do. New bushings were, like $12? at Toyota. Or you can upgrade to bronze bushings/greasable idler arm, or aftermarket idler arm. But new bushings fixed me up. Didn't even need to remove relay/tie rod end. Just unbolted idler from frame, knocked off the cap, pulled it apart, cleaned it up and greased it and replaced bushings. 30 minutes, tops.

combatcarl

Go out to your truck, with wheels straight ahead, and push up and down on the relay/tie rod end of idler. If it moves at all, it's bushing time.