Author Topic: [HELP] Vibration caused by rear tires (Read 1314 times)

mikron15 · « **on:** July 03, 2005, 02:35:57 pm »

Hi there,
Last friday, i took out all the 4 wheels of my car, sprayed some brake cleaner and applied some lubricant for the disc parts and removed some rust from the rear disk drum. Also, flushed the brake line.
Next day, upon travelling on Hwy 401 at about 125KM/hr, i had to start braking...when my speed dropped below 80KM/hrs, the car started to vibrate..vibrating kept increasing as the speed kept dropping..once it fell below 60 KM/hr, it stopped vibrating. From my observations, the vibrations originates from the rear wheels.

This wasn't happening before i did the brake servicing on Friday.
I attempted the same stunt today, started braking at 140 Km/hr..once the speed fell below 75 KM/hr, vibration started and stopped below 60 km/hr.

Whats funny is, if i do 90-100Km/hr and start the braking process, no vibration occurs all the way down to 30 km/hr.

Some of my friends suggested i need wheel balancing and some said, to get the rear brakes inspected.

I need y'll input/suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

Railton · « **Reply #1 on:** July 03, 2005, 04:30:36 pm »

Rear drums eh...have you reversed yet?
Drums are adjusted once you put the car into reverse and apply brakes. Possibly that, possibly also lug nuts not tight or you got some cleaner or whatever you were using on the shoes and it's glazed them in spots. Does the pedal feel spongy at all when applying the brakes?
Railton

tpl · « **Reply #2 on:** July 03, 2005, 04:38:07 pm »

Did you accidentally lose a balance weight when you had the wheels off?

davidy · « **Reply #3 on:** July 03, 2005, 05:49:30 pm »

Check the lug nuts and make sure that they are properly torqued with a torque wrench. I lost a wheel recently...major vibrations.

Check the balancing too.

Dave

mikron15 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 03, 2005, 10:09:44 pm »

Thanks guys for ur suggestions...

Railton, yes, i usually reverse my way out from the driveway when heading out which includes braking. I *accidently* did spray some of that cleaning stuff into the brake drums. As for the pedal, its much better than before. I believe i had air in the line before which gave inconsistent braking and pedal pressing. That problem is gone after flushing the brake fluid last Fri.

Tpl, i did leave out 1 detail which i thought wasn't important. When i was done flushing the rear wheels. I attempted to jack up the front left wheel.. As soon as the tire was about to lift the ground, the car started to move in reverse. I immediately lowered the jack bringing the wheel down and it stopped. It moved probably by an inch or 2 resulting in a tilted jack about to collapse. Mind yah, i did have my E-brakes up. But the back tires was attempting to move. While it did try to move abit, It kept making a metallic sound ( *tuck *tuck *tack* ). More like the brake is struggling to hold the tire, but tire is pushing it way too much the brake can hold and causing it to slip. So i placed some objects behind both rear vehicles to prevent it rolling back ( car was on the driveway sloped, yah i know how stupid i could be, but i am restricted with space). When the Front left tire was lifted, the from L tire turned ant-clockwise which would indicate the car would move forward, but it moved reverse. Same scenario happened when i tried to lift the fron Right wheel. Anyways, back to ur Q's, yes, the car did slip few inches back and yes the spray did get into the drums ( i wasn't too worried abt it as the can stated, it dries instantly).

Davidy, I am thinking of heading to Cdn Tire and asking them to refit all 4 tires and get it re-torqued. Thanks for the warning abt the wheel coming off. I drive alot on hway back and forth to St Kitty from T.O

Are there any suggestion i can perform at home or i have created enuff mess by myself lol?

davidy · « **Reply #5 on:** July 03, 2005, 11:52:28 pm »

After my lost wheel incident, I bought a 1/2" drive torque wrench with a suitable deep socket for my 19mm lug nuts. The price was reasonable (under $70 including taxes and 8 deep sockets, metric type) at Princess Auto. Planning to check my lug nuts on a monthly basis.

Dave

morty · « **Reply #6 on:** July 04, 2005, 01:35:48 am »

Torque is definitely important. Doesn't sound like a balancing issue. If it were, the problem would show up under acceleration and every time. Not just in certain conditions. If the vibration only occurs under braking it would indicate that there is something wrong with the braking system. If it were a loose wheel I would guess that the vibration would occur under acceleration as well as deceleration. I would definitely get it inspected.

Oh...Dont jack your car up on any surface other than a flat one! Good way to kill yourself.

TireTrends - A Life Less Ordinary!

char · « **Reply #7 on:** July 05, 2005, 11:00:48 am »

Hey Everyone,

I am experiencing similiar problems with my brakes. However, unlike Mikron15 who only experienced problems at certain speeds, mine vibrates when stopping at any speed. The slower I drive though, the less it virbrates.

When I changed my front brakes last year, all was fine. Then I started experiencing this problem for the past couple of months now. Just last weekend I checked the front brakes. I didn't bother taking the brakes apart but everything looked and felt fine. The rotors were still thick and from what I could feel, they were smooth on both sides. Since the rotors were smooth, I assumed the pads were fine. They were still pretty thick as well. As for the rear brakes, the pads were worn down a bit more but was still looking fine. The rotors looked and felt fine as well. A friend of mine suggested it could be the electrical component of the ABS system.

Any input you could provide regarding my troubles I would greatly appreciate.

Many thanks!!!
-Char

mikron15 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 05, 2005, 06:14:55 pm »

Just an update:
Got it checked today by MIDAS, the guy said, my brakes are overheating and hence causing the vibration. So he suggested to get the rear drums machined and serviced. Lots of corrosion was found in it. Also from the brake wear pattern made by the brake shoe..not the entire width of the brake shoe is touching the brake drum.

Overall, machining and servicing it should/might eleminate it. Same thing he suggested for the front one's but told me its not very important, coz i didnt notice any major vibration in the steering wheel.
He told me to get the rear one fixed & serviced and see if it still happens, then if needed get the front one mahcined & serviced too.
Estimated quote : $230 for all 4 wheels ( $115 for rear)

I am trying to get my Dealer involved and see if they will do it for me since i just bought the car 4 weeks ago. I spoke to the sales guy and he said to speak to the GM tommorow and see what he can do about it.
Whats sucks is that Mitsu service department says my brake warranty has expired ( upto 20k km, bought it at 21,500 km and atm 23,880 km) while the Midas guy said most manufacturer brake waranty is upto 30k km

tpl · « **Reply #9 on:** July 05, 2005, 06:41:25 pm »

Front??? Is Midas saying that the front discs need doing as well? Corolla ( from your profile) has rear drums and front disks.

Did you take the drums off when you were doing the job...you said remove some rust...just superficial rust on the outside of the drums?

I wonder if the one of the drums over adjusted when the car slipped with the handbrake on..you said it tried to move backwards.

Did the Midas guy take the rear drums off?

It all sounds suspicious to me.

Reading between the lines, this is a Toyota Corolla CE bought 2nd hand from a Mitsubishi ( "Mitsu service" department...) dealer? if so maybe a Toyota dealer would be better to look at the brakes.

mikron15 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 05, 2005, 08:35:34 pm »

I am sorry for the confussion, i haven't updated my profile. I now own a Lancer ES 04 car ( Corolla was a write off and bought this one then)

Yes, your right, rear is drum and front disks. No i didnt take the drum off , just polished the outter part..
I guess what he meant for front brakes was to polish the front Disc brake rotor? Basically he emphasised on getting it serviced rather than polished. But he stated thats not necessary, and only included in the estimate coz i told him i would be taking it to my Mitsu dealer to get it repaired.

As for the drum over adjusted, i really dunno. What i do know is that today he did take the drums out and showed me all the rust pilled in and also the uneven pattern on the rear brake drum. I watched him do every step. I am not sure which part made you feel suspicious. Anyways, this written estimate will allow me to have my Mitsu dealer to have a look at it again.

I did manage to take the car for a spin at 120+ km/hr ( on a city road :S) and braked, vibration isn't much compared to before..very little now. but then again, i couldn't test on the city roads. ( heavy traffic on city roads and Hway coz of peak hrs and rain)