Didnt want to hijack other guys thread on brakes so I let me ask you guys this. When my wife stops (me also) it feels like the rotors are warped like no tomorrow. I took everything off today and all seems fine to me. Brakes look good. Pins are good. Rotors dont seem out of round from turning them with or without the brakes in. I was judging by the caliper and rotor turning inside of it. Rotors are 2-3 years old.

So my question is can the rear brakes being out of round (drums) make it feel like the fronts? Ive had this apart a month ago for same reason (I pulled the e brake cables too as they were stuck and I dont need em) and I know I broke a damn drum weight off but it was vibrating like that before I broke it off. I know I will need new drums for the weight but is this all possible due to rear drums and not fronts? Thanks.

 

Not really the most accurate way to check for warped rotors. The best way is to use a dial indicator. A good way to tell is if the steering wheel shakes, if so then it's the front. If it doesn't shake then get up to good speed and SLOWLY apply the park brake handle. If the vehicle feels like it's bunny hopping the it's a good indicator that the drums are out of round. Not exactly the "proper way" but enough to help you out.

 

Lol. I dont have an e brake anymore. It was rubbing and stuck so I took out the cables inside the drums. I do feel a bit in steering wheel but I will check more tomorrow.

 

I would put lots of money on that it is your front brakes! I did the tundra upgrade and it was night and day difference.

 

X's 2 unfortunately I've got 15" wheels and paid too much money for my new tires to upgrade to 16"

 

I disagree. It could give you a similar feeling, this feeling would not be as much in the steering wheel but would be a heightened stop then loss of!
It is different however it could feel similar how much do you feel it in the steering wheel?

If you feel it a lot in the steering wheel and not as much in the pedal, then I would agree it is the front!

 

could be the steering damper, could be the tires, could be the rotors, could be the steering hub.

 

All very good points!!!

 

You do know that on Toyotas with drum brakes that the e-brake keeps the back brakes adjusted up .

I can`t live without a e-brake on my vehicles.

 

Excellent point you can not adjust these brakes at all with out the e-brake!!!

!!!!!This point being your front will have to do all of the work and this alone could cause warping of the rotors!!!!!!!!!!!

I completely spaced that when reading the thread!!

 

So that cable I removed is what keeps them adjusted? Weird. Guess I need to put that back in then huh.

 

Yes by pulling and releasing the E-brake you will find that it stops pulling out soo far and thus adjusting the rear brakes!!

the little adjuster on the bottom side of the shoes is turned by this action and pushed farther out to place the shoes where they will make contact!

 

ya you can adjust them by hand w/o e-brake. stick a screwdriver in
the back of the drum and click the adjuster

it isn't fun, but it is doable

 

Yea thats what I always thought. I cant imagine this is the culprit though. Hell I think Im just going to replace everything in rear as far as brakes go just to get it done....it needs it anyways Im sure...shoes didnt look too bad though.

I drove it a bit today and I can really tell if its in the steering wheel or not to be honest. Its just feels like a pulsating when gradual brake is applied.

 

had that done a while ago. all brake parts in back, ripped out replaced with new inc... drums, pivots....the works.

(I mud a bit, but do not maintain....stuff will rot when you do this)

 

seems like the sensation you are describing reminds me of when my front rotors wear too thin. After they have a bunch of miles on them and they have been turned before. Honestly, if it were me, i would replace the front rotors first, drums suck, not to mention you only have to replace the rotor, and your front pads will wear out WAY faster then the rear drums.
I have had this issue on a few cars i have owned, front shimmy under braking, new rotors fixed it every time. It could be a hub as mentioned above, but usually you will hear, feel, notice the hub at different speeds first, before it gets really bad.

 

I have a 93' pickup and i had those exact same symptoms. When i would apply the brakes to get off an exit or come to a stop the brakes would vibrate and shake my steering wheel to hell. I felt like i was going to die. I had done the brakes three years before, but what happened was a piston in the caliper had frozen, and the rotor had warped. You might not be able to tell just by looking at them, but they are probably warped.. I suggest trying to get them cut, or replaced. But thats just me

 

last time I had to do it this way was on my sisters Vdub Bug FUN!!

 

my ifs idler arm being 24 yrs. old with 160k miles causes the rest of the truck to shake pretty much all the time it spends rolling along. If your torsion is jacked way up then, your idler arm may be loose. Kev