front end shakes under braking

Originally posted by PhearCVBz:
Mine does the same thing

Hope you find the solution.

-Josh

Mine does the same thing and I'm starting to think it's the ball joints.

Mine does it, and both ball joints are relatively new. I replaced the rotors a year or so ago, and the problem went away for a few months, and then came back.

Originally posted by HITMANinMI:
My car shakes to when braking still havent found the problem though.

Yes, and did you do what I suggested when you originally posted ?

mine does it and every thing on my car is new pads, rotors,balljoints,controlarms,busshings,springs,struts,every thing, aaaaagggggggggrrrrrrrhhhhhhhh

Originally posted by MarkO:

Originally posted by HITMANinMI:
My car shakes to when braking still havent found the problem though.

Yes, and did you do what I suggested when you originally posted ?

Yes, didnt you say to lube the slide pins again, did that, got them torqued to 21 foot pounds. Also replaced drums last week, with NAPA ones.

Originally posted by RyeLou:
I posted about it a while ago and people said brakes, so I replaced my front pads and rotors. I'm still getting the same thing though. It seemed like it wasn't as bad right after I got the new brakes on, but now it's just as bad as before. When slowing down, espicially at higher speeds (expressway), the front end shakes real bad. When you push the brake harder though nothing happens. Any ideas?

I have the same problem. It started doing it after I had my wheel bearing replaced on the driver's side. I am thinking it could be alignment or the tires??

No. I suggested hand torquing (using a torque wrench though) the wheels. Also, I suggest not tightening to the 85ft/lbs ..... try 70.

any body think about putting a camera under there to record what is happening down there during braking just like Nascar racing.

Ok guys, if you have tried all other solutions (suspension parts, etc.) and you are still getting warped rotors (actual cause of brake shake), then take it to the Ford dealer and have him turn the rotors on the car. They have a tool to do this and it helps to compensate for any misalignment between the rotor and the caliper. I had a problem with frequent warping rotors on my 95 Windstar, and this was the solution that fixed it permanantly. It's been a few years, but it cost me $100 for both front wheels.

Originally posted by Ed98.5SVT:

I have the same problem. It started doing it after I had my wheel bearing replaced on the driver's side. I am thinking it could be alignment or the tires??

Mine is doing the same thing and also started doing it after BOTH my wheel bearings were replaced....wierd. I had an alignment but I know one of my wheels is wearing thin.

My '95 was doing this and I replaced the rotors. While doing this I cleaned a lot of corrosion off the hub where the rotor butts up against it. On my car it was so bad I had to knock out the wheel studs and use an air sander on the hub. (yankee car, road salt damage).
Anyway, if you have ANY corrosion, rust, dirt etc. on the hub face between it and the rotor it can cause the rotor to "wobble" and cause a vibration while braking.

Originally posted by MarkO:
No. I suggested hand torquing (using a torque wrench though) the wheels. Also, I suggest not tightening to the 85ft/lbs ..... try 70.

Hand tightened them to 80 the one time and to 65 the other, no difference either way.

thanks for your suggestion

Originally posted by MarkO:
No. I suggested hand torquing (using a torque wrench though) the wheels. Also, I suggest not tightening to the 85ft/lbs ..... try 70.

I have been torqueing mine to 95. Why, I don't know...just seemed like a good thing to do at the time. After reading this, I went out and retorqued both front wheels to 70, and today I drove it about 200 miles. It may just be coincidence, but the vibration when I brake seems to be much less noticeable. Also, there seems to be less vibration when I'm cruising.

Notice that I said "seems to be", because there have been times before today when it would cruise as smoothly as could be, but most of the time I had a slight vibration at highway speeds, and a very noticeable vibration when I applied the brakes. I'll keep watch for a few days and see what happens. So far, I'm pleased with the results.

I don't think everyones is the same here, however getting the rotor to fit the hub is very critical.
I went with Stazzie's brake over a year ago, everything was fine until emergency high speed braking. It might just have been uneven pad material transfer. Normal braking smooth.
Has anyone tried replacing the slider pin bushings. (polymer/plastic) I guess I need to do a search, several years ago one of the brake gurus gave us a heads up on this.
Yes lubing the slider pins the high-temp lube made just for this purpose is mandatory. also apply a dab to points of the pads backing plate that contacts the "anchor plate". (the part that holds the caplier and bolts to the hub.)
Bendix supplied shims for the outer pads and called them (????? name) as if to elimate the need for that blue anti-squeak compound. I'm thinking maybe of removing the capliers again and applying this to both sides of shim.
Then I'll try replacing the slider pin bushings. However I've been wanting to do this for over a year now and haven't time.
And since my 1000 mile trip back in March the vibrations under hard braking diminished????? PFM as we use to say at the phone company!

1/1000th's of movement can cause vibrations!!!!!
Paul
98 Mystique LS (07/97)

I just had my front end fixed up....new struts, springs, ball joints, stabilizer links, bearings and topped off with an alignment. Before this repair I had some shake and shimmy there as well when braking. I would brake heavy or light and it would shake but sometimes I would get no shake under "very hard" braking????wierd??!!??, but all is very nice now. So have a good look at your front end. I believe this car is fussy when it comes to the front end of the vehicle. Also.....don't use cheap rotors...they WILL warp!!

I had my front end checked when it was in for the bearings and they said everything looked good and tight....

alignment
tie rod ends (made my Camry behave better)

I'd have it looked at by a competent alignment shop.

DB

Originally posted by bentleywarren:

I have been torqueing mine to 95. Why, I don't know...just seemed like a good thing to do at the time. After reading this, I went out and retorqued both front wheels to 70, and today I drove it about 200 miles. It may just be coincidence, but the vibration when I brake seems to be much less noticeable. Also, there seems to be less vibration when I'm cruising.

Notice that I said "seems to be", because there have been times before today when it would cruise as smoothly as could be, but most of the time I had a slight vibration at highway speeds, and a very noticeable vibration when I applied the brakes. I'll keep watch for a few days and see what happens. So far, I'm pleased with the results.

Well, I may have talked to soon. I checked the Ford shop manual, and it recommended torqueing to 62. This morning I torqued all four wheels to 65, and the vibration started again. I drove about 40 miles, and it vibrated all the way. I can't believe 5 psi could make a difference, but I'll take them back to 70, and see what happens.

Quote:

Well, I may have talked to soon. I checked the Ford shop manual, and it recommended torqueing to 62. This morning I torqued all four wheels to 65, and the vibration started again. I drove about 40 miles, and it vibrated all the way. I can't believe 5 psi could make a difference, but I'll take them back to 70, and see what happens.

I was reading the forum, trolling for posts of problems that are similar to mine and this is it. I have the same problem with my '96 Mystique. It started happening only 6 months ago so I will dispute some older, similar threads in this forum where posters said "they all do that". I am not willing to live with any vibration in my front end and I have resolved to get to the bottom of this.

I think I can offer a clue here. In January I hit a pothole at 100km/h hard enough to bend a rim, crease the steel belt in my tire and break the wheelcover...all on the front passenger side tire. It was only after this that I noticed the vibration.

I have recently had a 4-wheel alignment performed + 4 new, (and balanced) Dunlop SP Sport 205-60/15 tires and a new driver's side ball joint which was clearly worn. The problem (slight judder...almost feels like a bit of a hop at 60+ mph highway speeds and a juddering under braking) is still there.

I am going to have the tie rods looked at and strongly suspect that is the problem. After all the tie rods are a major player in keeping the major rotating bits under control. I will keep this forum posted.

Thanks for sharing!

/Eric

Originally posted by Mystic:
<snippage>
Quote:

Well, I may have talked to soon. I checked the Ford shop manual, and it recommended torqueing to 62. This morning I torqued all four wheels to 65, and the vibration started again. I drove about 40 miles, and it vibrated all the way. I can't believe 5 psi could make a difference, but I'll take them back to 70, and see what happens.

I was reading the forum, trolling for posts of problems that are similar to mine and this is it. I have the same problem with my '96 Mystique. It started happening only 6 months ago so I will dispute some older, similar threads in this forum where posters said "they all do that". I am not willing to live with any vibration in my front end and I have resolved to get to the bottom of this.

I think I can offer a clue here. In January I hit a pothole at 100km/h hard enough to bend a rim, crease the steel belt in my tire and break the wheelcover...all on the front passenger side tire. It was only after this that I noticed the vibration.

I have recently had a 4-wheel alignment performed + 4 new, (and balanced) Dunlop SP Sport 205-60/15 tires and a new driver's side ball joint which was clearly worn. The problem (slight judder...almost feels like a bit of a hop at 60+ mph highway speeds and a juddering under braking) is still there.

I am going to have the tie rods looked at and strongly suspect that is the problem. After all the tie rods are a major player in keeping the major rotating bits under control. I will keep this forum posted.

Thanks for sharing!

/Eric

My right rear shock was broken and peeing all over the place. It's been replaced with a quality piece instead of the garbage Gabriel shock that was there.

The front end "flutter" at highway speeds has gone. It felt for all the world like it was a tie rod or something similar but I guess the shock was hopping so badly in the back that it transmitted itself to the front wheels.

I am a happy guy....and surprised.