Steering wheel vibration, brakes acting strange, other issues

[PashRoot]

I'm looking into solving a few issues with my truck hopefully sometime very soon, some of which appears to have gotten dramatically worse after having to pump hard on the brakes a few days ago. I'm hoping they're all tied to the same problem but here goes:

- Steering wheel vibrates/shakes at nearly any driving speed, vibrates more violently as my speed increases and at 60+ mph vibrates enough to make my hands slightly numb after a while. It also shakes a lot more when I'm going over bumpy roads. I feel everything.

- The truck was pulling slightly to the left in the past but now pulls even harder to the left regardless of the speed I'm traveling; I can't let go of the wheel for a split second.

- Maybe it's a placebo effect going on but I think ever since that incident occurred I feel as if I have to push a lot harder on the throttle to get the vehicle up to speed now. Could one of my brakes be dragging?

- Braking hard now often makes the steering wheel vibrate like crazy as well as the brake pedal itself. I also hear a strange groaning noise when this happens.

If time and schedule permit hopefully I can take a look at what's going on tomorrow.

What do you guys think?

 

[Dave 1955]

Could be the pads are toast..rotors warped..bad tie rods,or all of the above.
Really you should have been looking at things way sooner then this.

 

[RickOTR]

Your caliper is sticking. I would go ahead and replace both right and left sides along with new pads. The groan could be your power steering pump working over-time when trying to steer. Some other things to check are inner/outer tie rods, and ball joints and control arm bushings for signs of cracking. I would seriously not drive it away where till you have it looked at

 

[PashRoot]

I'll do what I can; this truck has eaten my $400-$500 month salary alive replacing things like the windshield and such (part-time job; it's all I can find) just to get it street legal. It's imperative that I get to work... already took one day off for sick-leave.

It hasn't been pleasant but I bought the truck very much on the cheap. It's almost never taken more than 5-6 miles per day round trip. At the very least I'm jacking it up to see what the damage is; I almost bought a new rotor yesterday thinking that'd fix it but I have a bad habit of buying parts I just don't need until things are checked out.

The steering wheel has always slightly groaned though; seems to be a common trait in a lot of cars I've been in?

Just don't scold me guys, I'm losing sleep over these issues >.> Trying my best here. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[Dave 1955]

I'll do what I can; this truck has eaten my $400-$500 month salary alive replacing things like the windshield and such (part-time job; it's all I can find) just to get it street legal. It's imperative that I get to work... already took one day off for sick-leave.

It hasn't been pleasant but I bought the truck very much on the cheap. It's almost never taken more than 5-6 miles per day round trip. At the very least I'm jacking it up to see what the damage is; I almost bought a new rotor yesterday thinking that'd fix it but I have a bad habit of buying parts I just don't need until things are checked out.

The steering wheel has always slightly groaned though; seems to be a common trait in a lot of cars I've been in?

Just don't scold me guys, I'm losing sleep over these issues >.> Trying my best here. I'll keep you guys posted.

Well it don't sound safe.
You say 5 or 6 miles a day,well ride a bicycle till you fix it.
Jack it up and try and turn the wheels to see if one turns extra hard. Of course check the pads while you are there.
When turning the wheels you might feel a high spot from a warped rotor.
If the wheel does not want to turn at all or is very hard to turn you could have a hung up caliber.
Also grab the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and shake it while watching the tie rods.

 

[PashRoot]

Well it don't sound safe.
You say 5 or 6 miles a day,well ride a bicycle till you fix it.
Jack it up and try and turn the wheels to see if one turns extra hard. Of course check the pads while you are there.
When turning the wheels you might feel a high spot from a warped rotor.
If the wheel does not want to turn at all or is very hard to turn you could have a hung up caliber.
Also grab the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock and shake it while watching the tie rods.

Wish I still had my bike; I think I've had about 3 or 4 stolen over the years or broken into.. bad neighborhood. I may just walk or try to carpool tomorrow for work if possible, heh.

I noticed when I was turning onto the highway yesterday I was greeted to a somewhat loud squeaking noise from the front although it could have been coming from a nearby vehicle.

You pretty much listed what I'm gonna check out though. Check the wheels, shake the wheel a bit and look for anything shaking or unusual going on and check the steering. I've got a friend coming by to help me out.

If worse comes to worse I'll swallow the bill and see a mechanic next weekend.

 

[RickOTR]

Squeaking noise = Rotors...

Do the work yourself, it's not that difficult...

Here's some video's on how to check things. Good luck...

Bad inner tie rod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsv-lfV14dA

Inner/Outer tie rods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MJOtr-vj6M

Bad outer tie rod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SjmW3S2e2A

Bad Rotors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbjKugxocMs

Hope this helps

 

[PashRoot]

The weather got really bad so I didn't get to check out a lot but here's what I've discovered so far around the front left tire:

- Wheel appears to rotate freely; pushing up & down, left & right etc.. no movement. Nothing feels loose from what I can tell.

- Tire has sufficient air pressure

- Turned the rotor itself to listen for suspicious noises. The front brake pad is slightly rubbing against the rotor; tried pushing the pistons all the way back but it still happens? Are the brake pads supposed to always make slight contact with the rotor? Then I saw this..

The metal tab appears to be warped/bent. The metal shield also appears to be coming off the brakepad itself. One of the reps at Advance Auto told me this wouldn't cause a problem and that the caliper is probably at fault.

For reference, here are other photos of the pad; the rep said it looked brand new (Pardon my idiocy.. I'm terrible with automotive stuff)

http://i40.tinypic.com/xej1ug.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/9qbsdd.jpg

 

[Bobmbx]

Maybe its just the photo, but is the pad material the same thickness, or is it tapered?

It should be the same thickness from side to side.

 

[obie]

Disk brake pads will always have a slight drag against the rotor. If you can spin the tire with one hand easily, and the tire stops spinning when you let go, that's normal operation.

I'm wondering if you threw a wheel weight or several somehow. They may have been attached very weakly and sudden hard brake force may have thrown them? But an imbalanced wheel wouldn't cause your truck to have a massive pull force. I would say take it to a shop. It's very hard to diagnose things over the internet, and brakes are the single most important thing on any vehicle. Lots of shops provide free brake inspections, call a few and see what they can do for you.

 

[RickOTR]

The pistons inside the calipers are sticking. There should not be that much wear between the pads. I found it's best to replace the whole caliper instead of trying to rebuild them. The pad in the third photo has signs of over heating.

 

[PashRoot]

Went outside again after the rain calmed down and tried moving the slide pins on the caliper a bit. The bottom one doesn't move as smoothly as I'd expect and the upper pin is actually kinda hard to move; it goes into a vibrating-like motion when I move it to the other side. Felt a lot like the vibration I feel through the brake pedal when I brake hard while driving. Both should travel smoothly instead of these rough motions right?

Lack of lubrication or corrosion perhaps?

 

[RickOTR]

You can try and clean them up with some fine sand paper and lubricate them with dialectic grease. Don't use anything else on the slide pins. The rubber boots are probably worn out so you may have to replace them.

 

[jremington59]

By any chance are you turning the steering wheel back and forth with the engine off? If you are it lets air into the power steering lines and that will cause shaking and shuddering but usually works its way out in a short period. Have you checked the level of fluid in the power steering pump?

The symptoms you describe would cause an awful smell if you had a brake sticking.

 

[PashRoot]

You can try and clean them up with some fine sand paper and lubricate them with dialectic grease. Don't use anything else on the slide pins. The rubber boots are probably worn out so you may have to replace them.

I heard you had to use a special type of silicone or brake grease to lubricate them; something that won't eat away the rubber. I suspect one of them may be open or 'leaking' because when I push them back and forth, the upper pin sprays brown dust, probably rusting from the inside. They move more freely now but I'm either going to grease the pins or replace the whole caliper at this point.

I'm curious if anything's going on with the right front wheel but I won't know anything for a few more days. The issue is that the vehicle has always had a slight left pull and wobble since I got it but braking hard since the incident actually makes the vehicle pull in the opposite direction to the point I can't control the wheel.

I'll rotate the tires as well. I'd be a happy camper if the slight left pull and wobble was only due to a bad tire..

By any chance are you turning the steering wheel back and forth with the engine off? If you are it lets air into the power steering lines and that will cause shaking and shuddering but usually works its way out in a short period. Have you checked the level of fluid in the power steering pump?

The symptoms you describe would cause an awful smell if you had a brake sticking.

I did this once about 2 months ago but I didn't notice any irregularities other than the usual wobble. The fluid level is also good. Brake fluid is also good; no obvious leaks from what I can tell and it's still at the same level from when I first got it a few months ago.

About the only strange smell I notice is burning oil when I floor the gas or release the throttle at higher speeds; seems to be a bit of a common issue on some explorers but that's another story (I do check my oil regularly). That and the exhaust smells a bit like gas but it's something I'll have to fix later; I want this thing to be road safe first.

And yeah, not driving it anywhere until this is all fixed. A friend let me borrow his '94 Camry so I could get to work by alternate means.

 

[jremington59]

OK, get your manual and find out what fuse under the hood is for the ABS system and pull that fuse. You'll know if it's the right one because your ABS light will illuminate on the dash.Then take it for a ride and see how it feels when you use the brakes.

Did you rotate the tires like you were going to?

 

[PashRoot]

OK, get your manual and find out what fuse under the hood is for the ABS system and pull that fuse. You'll know if it's the right one because your ABS light will illuminate on the dash.Then take it for a ride and see how it feels when you use the brakes.

Did you rotate the tires like you were going to?

Haven't yet; it's still jacked up. I'm missing a lot of tools so the job's still unfinished; my friend has a better tool set so it'll be another day or two.

In the mean time I bought some brake grease and pulled the pins; they're pretty rusted up and dry but not in terrible shape. Just need to grab a wire brush to them. The boots are in good shape. I'm pretty confident the scary braking was due to the somewhat sticking upper slider pin but if the issue continues I'll pull the ABS fuse.

I also inspected the tire. Nothing really out of the ordinary except a few really small 'sinking' areas on the inner sidewall.. I'd say about 3-4 of them; would this be enough to cause wobble and pulling?

 

[PashRoot]

Checked out the right tire; caliper appeared to be sticking even harder than the left side. I had to pull very hard (to the point of getting a hammer) to get it out. Both screws were as rusty as the others. Brake pads have plenty of life left on them like the others. Odd.

Even if they weren't really sticking that much I felt the need to take the pins out, clean 'em and lubricate them. Putting it back together either later tonight or tomorrow.. I'm beat.

 

[PashRoot]

Just another update; got everything put back together and drove the truck around the block.

Both front tires have been switched. Vehicle now wobbles and pulls to the right instead of the left during driving. Just need a new tire!

But even after lubricating all the front brake pins and reinserting the brake pads, I still get vibration through the brake pedal during braking. Acceleration seems quicker. It also seems to brake better though if that makes any sense; much more responsive. I'll test it out a bit more tomorrow, might have someone listen for where that vibration sound is coming from too. I'm absolutely exhausted as all hell and covered in oil.

 

[jremington59]

It doesn't take a lot of energy to pull the fuse for the ABS and see if that stops the vibration in the pedal, which I might add is a common ABS symptom.