So i have had some shaking in my steering wheel and i think I may feel some in my brake pedal as well when using the brakes over 40 mph. everything Ive read says rotors and what not. I replaced my front rotors and pads and my rear pads less than a year ago and I just replaced my rear rotors so I didnt think that would be the issue. i could be wrong, and please correct me if so. Also, I'm pretty sure I need an alignment. Could that be a factor as well? thanks

 

Quick question, but how are your tires

 

Theyre practically brand new. i did go to 225/45r17 up from the 215/50r17

 

Did you do the job yourself or a shop?
When braking are you being push to either thr left or right side ?
Or when driving do you slowly go off on one side?

It's hard to say right now but this could be a lot of factors like cheap brand pads that wore out unevenly same goes for the rotor. Also you could have a stuck calipers piston. Even missing rotor bolts or loose lug nuts could be a factor also.

 

i did it myself. not being pushed either way while braking. slight drift right while driving. i bought the best pads advance had at that time. lug nuts are all there and there's no bolts on the rotors

 

Proper fluid level in master cylinder? Brake lined, bleed, piston have you examine those? And might need a balance or alignment for that drifting to the right side. Also are you sayin the rotor don't have no.bolts holes or you don't have bolts in them?

Forgot to mention how many miles are on the car and also could use a master cylinder pressure test to make sure

 

i need to double check fluid levels. how do i check the lines? and i think i should probably bleed all of the lines to get new fluid in there. im pretty sure i need an alignment, balance should be good. that was done when i put the tires on. and there's only 2 screws if i remember correctly on the front rotors and there werent any screws in the back rotors.

 

Yeah two screws for each rotor on the front you got that right ? and just exmine the lines for cracks and.such. hopefully you could pinpoint the issue

 

When you first replace the front pads and rotors, did it stop shaking? or it is shaking a year later? I far as I know, front oem rotors can get warpped in less than 15k miles.

 

yes i have both screws on the 2 front. The rotors I got were from advance but, if I remember correctly, they were still shaking when I replaced it

 

All I could think of is either tires like other said or check balljoints.

 

hmm ball joints could cause that as well? i replaced front passenger lower ball joint a few months back but, just havent gotten to the driver's side

 

Hey 412KING, yeah most times it's either the brake rotors, tire balance, or a suspension/steering component problem. Sometimes if the issue is not apparent, it's the process of elimination with an older car showing signs of wear. Do the easy cheap stuff first !

So, all rotors and pads were replaced within the past year......how bad were the old ones ? It could be that the caliper's are hanging up and causing the pads to drag on the rotors. Cleaning and lubing is critical when replacing brake parts. Heat and overtorque of the lug nuts will warp cheap rotors quickly.

Recheck the brakes first, then rotate the tires. Inspect the ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, and other suspension components. If unsure, take it to an alignment shop to check things out up on a rack. They can give ya an estimate for repairs at a nominal cost.

 

the old front rotors werent all that bad. i replaced them mostly because they had grooves in them bc i ended up having to make a 500 mile trip with pads that were shot so they had grooves in them. the back were pretty rusted up and were really wearing right because of the rust.

Bare with me hear when I ask this but, what can and should I be cleaning and lubing up while doing brakes and such. I honestly don't really know. Everything I have done on my car, I have pretty much taught myself. most difficult probably being the T-belt, water pump and other belts replacement. I try to read and research all that I can. Like I said, Ive been teaching myself just about everything with most of the help coming from you guys here.

I have been thinking about taking my car to the Firestone here on base and getting the lifetime alignment bc Firestone's are pretty much everywhere. So they can take a look there and see what's going on right?

 

Hey 412KING, If ya tackled the T-belt sucessfully....then IMO, ya can do anything mechanical on the car ! You're definitely very motivated and brave to attempt a skilled project such as that.

Anyways, attention to detail is what gets some folks in a bind. Replacing the basic brake components can be relatively simple. It's the small stuff that is often overlooked and will get ya at the end of the day. Take your time, use some common sense when dealing with the task at hand. Brakes are subjected to extreme heat, residual dirt and the general environmental elements the car is subjected to.

Ideally for the caliper cylinders to operate the pads towards the rotor.....the contact points should be relatively clean and rustfree. Clean everything with a spray brake cleaner product to remove the dusty residue, then smooth up the surfaces which the pads sit on with a file or emory cloth, use a rust preventative if really bad, coat the contact surfaces with a high temp special brake lube or antiseize, clean the slide pins or replace and lube them also, check the rubber boots for tears, clean up the ss pad retainers and shims.

With over 10 years of abuse and 100+K miles, the brakes need to have a bit more effort to get them back to optimum performance. Consider rebuilding or replacing the calipers, replace the slide pins and hardware, flush and replace the fluid and bleed the entire system clockwise from front driver, front passenger, rear passenger,to rear driver. Buy better quality brand parts.

 

I attempted/completed the brake fluid flush and lubed everything up last night with a minor or possibly major hiccup. while flushing the front left brake line, the front right caliper was off of the mounts and the fluid pressure forced the piston out of the caliper and rubber boot. I cleaned up all of the brake fluid and was able to get the piston back into the caliper. However, I did notice there was a slight tear in the rubber boot. I did not notice any fluid leaking after I got it back in there and I proceeded to bleed the brakes as I normally would after finishing the first caliper. After I was done, I took the car for a test drive and it seemed to stop fine. I also feel like my brake response is much better. I did also notice that it seems like I have more travel in my brake pedal than before. Any comments or opinons would be greatly appreciated.

 

You should replace the boot. And as for more travel, you still have air in the system. Keep rebleeding.

 

Is there a specific way to install the piston back in with the boot? Can I buy the boot at an advance or auto zone or is it something I need to order from Acura? Also, if you were to guess would you say it would be the caliper that had the piston come out that needs more bleeding?

 

Hey 412KING, while ya may already have figured this out, ideally all of the calipers should be installed on the car before attempting to bleed the system.

With the calipers being removed, there's nothing to hold the piston from extending outward. Live and learn ! You'll soon be a pro.

The caliper rebuild parts are normally available at most parts stores. With an older high mileage, cleaning is critical.....but if in doubt, replace the rubber boots, seals and slide pins for best results. Refurbished calipers can be purchased to simply bolt on and bleed. Go through the entire sequence to fully purge any air from the braking system.....but don't let the master cylinder's reservoir go empty during the process.
Take your time, get someone to assist you !

 

Yeah, I realized that as soon as I heard the piston fall and fluid go everywhere. I just rushed myself. I had both of the fronts off and was getting a good cleaning in while waiting for my buddy to finish something on his truck so we could start the process. I was on the passenger front caliper cleaning when he was done and I just rushed into starting the bleeding process on the Driver Front caliper and forgot to reassemble the other caliper. Fortunately we were able to get the piston back in and it's not leaking at all from what I can tell. After driving more today, the brake pedal travel seems like it may actually be about the same, just smoother than before. I haven't been able to get up over 40 yet to test the brakes real well but so far 40 and under seems like the shaking has been greatly reduced.

 

New question relating to this problem... While braking I am slightly pulled to the left. I have noticed that the rear left brake pad isn't making full contact with the rotor and I will soon be replacing the rear brake pads. I also still need to replace the front left lower ball joint. Are either one of these issues a potential cause for the shaking I am experiencing?

 

Yeah, either or !
Do the easy stuff first. It could be that your rear brake calipers are not functioning properly. Once the brakes are ruled out, then check the front suspension for wear.

 

Don't know if your did this but I would check that the calibers can slide freely. There are two pins the calibers slide on when you brake. This allows both pads to contact the rotor with the same amount of pressure as the pads wear.

I had a shaking problem in the steering wheel and the car would pull slightly to the left at times. After looking everything over I found on of the pins that the caliber slides on was junked up really bad and didn't want to slide freely.

I pulled the pin out cleaned it up really well. Used brake cleaner to clean all the crap out of the mounting hole it slides into. Then used brake grease all over the pin and reassembled.

Just something to check if you haven't already.

 

Nice tip comet. I actually am have that exact same issue you described. I'll be checking that out soon