Brakes again

[Jake F]

I asked a dealership mechanic and all he said was to replace the rotors and pads. Something else is going on.

Braking under freeway load is smooth.
Braking around town is a nightmare.

At exactly 25MPH the car shakes the worse when braking from 50mph.
Excessively lubed ball joints and tie rod ends. No difference.
Anti-sway bar is tight in its bushings.
Alignment isn’t an issue.
Tires are well in shape.
Re-torqued caliper bolts to spec.
Threw it into neutral to eliminate gear issues.
Tuned the rear brakes as perfectly as I could get them.
Braking power is wonderful.

Could this be my black, dirty brake fluid?
Is my master cylinder ready to give?
Has anyone experienced pulsating braking around town but feels great braking at high speeds?

I need help because this is driving me mad.
1993 camry with over 300k on the ODO.

Topic

[college man]

If your steering wheel is vibrating when braking your rotors are warped.

[Rick Cropper]

Warpage is largely a myth. The problem is uneven pad material embedded on the rotor surface. Cheap pads or rotor and pad composition incompatible. Also don’t leave your foot on the brake pedal after high speed brakeing. It bakes the pad material to the rotor. Get some high carbon rotors and quality pads. Bed them in properly.

Rick

[Jake F]

Rick, I’m thinking of new pads. I’ve always gone ceramic because they’re cheap and easy. I think my rotor is in good shape (Centric Premium)…would you advise a semi-metallic pad or other? I do drive aggressively but not on the track obviously. Ceramics are dirt cheap. I almost want to try another composite.

[Jake F]

[quote=”college man” post=178831]If your steering wheel is vibrating when braking your rotors are warped.[/quote]

I understand that under faster braking that vibrations would be minimized vs slow braking when vibrations are more apparent. However, It doesn’t happen in all cases soforth, I come to a steady brake and things are smooth. It’s only under pressure where that low speed vibration occurs. I’m asking for an answer elsewhere other than true rotors and or new brake pads. This shit has been going on since I got pads and rotors replaced.

[Its me]

[quote=”creativepotato” post=178837][quote=”college man” post=178831]If your steering wheel is vibrating when braking your rotors are warped.[/quote]
I’m asking for an answer elsewhere other than true rotors and or new brake pads. This shit has been going on since I got pads and rotors replaced.[/quote]

Go back and re-read what you wrote and think about it for a minute…… 🙂

-Karl

[Jake F]

[quote=”ToyotaKarl” post=178852][quote=”creativepotato” post=178837][quote=”college man” post=178831]If your steering wheel is vibrating when braking your rotors are warped.[/quote]
I’m asking for an answer elsewhere other than true rotors and or new brake pads. This shit has been going on since I got pads and rotors replaced.[/quote]

Go back and re-read what you wrote and think about it for a minute…… 🙂

-Karl[/quote]

Buying new rotors and pads will yield the same. exact. results. I don’t understand what’s so hard to understand. The rotors are not the issue so what am I supposed to be thinking about, Karl? Rotors do not warp by the way. Is this myth still circulating around the internet?

[Rick Cropper]

Brembo makes “regular car” pads too. I like their products. See if you can get some for your model.

Akebono makes a lot of the OEM Japanese car brakes. Also excellent.

Finally I like Bosch Quietcast, and the Centric Posi-Quiet stuff.

I pretty much stick to those, not always in that order. I don’t have problems with pulsation combacks.

Rick

[Author]

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