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-   -   pulsing brakes and steering wheel shake + pull (http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=34400)

hotmilk400 09-29-2011 04:53 AM

pulsing brakes and steering wheel shake + pull
 
i read a few forums on here, and saw a few possibilities, but before i went ahead and started replacing everything, i wanted to ask to see if i can save a few $$'s since i am stumped.

my personal car has some shaking/shimming in the steering wheel, and now the pedal + the steering wheel Pulse.

for the last, oh, i do not know... 2 years the car had minor shaking in the wheel at speeds over 50mph.. no problem with braking. i ignored it since my mechanic told me to.. haha.

then about 6 months ago, the car started to pull to the left or right while i was braking. (not often) most of the time it depended on the road i was on. figured it was maybe ICE or the road was wet and figured it was no problem. when i say it pulled to the left or right while braking, it would somewhat shake while coming to a stop, then the wheel would SHARPLY turn to the left OR right (totally random) if i did not hold the wheel, i would literately go into the car next to me. it was bad, but i ignored it.

then i left the car sit for 3 months (left the country) and when i came back, the brake pedal + steering wheel would pulse while braking. (hell, the entire car would pulse, my friends refused to use my car to do anything in) i assumed it was just rust or build up on the brakes. i could FEEL where it was pulsing and could predict the next pulse. this told me it was probably a build up of junk on the rotors somewhere due to sitting so long.

Now, after about 1 1/2 - 2 months, the car still has the same amount os pulsing in the brakes as before. . the shaking does not bother me to much, but the intense pulsing scares me. it does not seem to do it at all speeds and depends on the speed / force of braking. if i am at high speeds and barely touch the pedal, i might feel it, but at low speeds i have to push harder to feel the pulsing, sometimes at low speeds i never feel it if it is like 25mph or less when i start to brake. if i start to brake at like 50 then i will feel it until i come to a stop. it is strange.

now for the shaking and pulling. the car does NOT pull to the left or right anymore. i assume it still could have been the road or maybe the tire was low or something. not sure. but the car shakes like crazy while braking and the car still shakes at high speeds.

i had the control arms + 1 tie rod replaced about 1 year ago when i got my clutch installed. it did not change any of the shaking even after all the new parts. the mechanic says he is not sure and to ignore it if it does not become dangerous.
to top it off, i re-did the suspension about 8 months ago, and nothing changed.

any possible things to start replacing without going crazy? do you think the rotors are warped since the pulsing did not go away? rotors might be old since i installed in racing pads about 50k miles ago and re-used old rotors since they looked new (might have been close to new), but i do not think it is a wrapped rotor since it only started to pulse AFTER the car sat 3 months. should i sand the rotors to see if that helps first? i already sprayed with a cleaner with no luck.

for the shaking, should i replace the bushings in the control arms again? could it be related to the rear? how would i check? i got an alinement down after all the installs of new control-arms/tie-rods and the car still shakes. mechanic has not looked into detail but was not sure since he knows what i had replaced in the past.

anyone had similar shaking after replacing most of this stuff? anything i am missing? the shaking i can live with but the shaking on top of the pulsing + shaking means INTENSE SHAKING while braking. i mean, the entire car freaking shakes and pluses when you are braking.

spykejones 09-29-2011 01:51 PM

Mine did the same thing. Replaced rotors and brake pads. No more shake.

hotmilk400 09-29-2011 07:51 PM

i am thinking that i might just go ahead and replace the rotors before i do anything else. like i said, i grabbed the pads lightly used (were install brand new on a 318ti that was used for racing) then re-used my old rotors since they only had light wear on them. that was about 50k miles ago. the pads seem okay yea, but i might as well replace the rotors and pads at the same time and see if that helps anything.

I suppose that is what i will be doing next. i enjoy my brakes, so i am thinking i will continue using them. anyone know a a place to get cheap rotors that are also good quality?

thanks alot.

any more info would be awesome.

spidertri 09-29-2011 07:54 PM

Sticky brake caliper maybe? My dad had pulsing issues on his E39 which turned out to be a stuck passenger front caliper.

hotmilk400 09-29-2011 08:00 PM

oh, i never thought about that.

guess this weekend i will just take the entire caliper apart.. clean the rotors and check the pads again. once i get everything back together, i will test drive it. if that fails to help, i suppose i can replace the rotors and pads.

after that, i am out of ideas... and i am not sure what to do about the shaking at high speeds and shaking during braking.. sounds like it should be related to the control arms/tie rods, but no improvement after replacing them.

dguzzardo22 09-29-2011 09:12 PM

sounds like rotors . check to see if you can turn them first before buying new ones , pads second . and calipers third .

jarsdad1 09-29-2011 10:28 PM

The rotors and pad might be the probem, but I recently went through the shakin' brakin' thing and it turned out to be a stuck caliper as was stated above.

Bluebimma 09-29-2011 10:30 PM

Rotors - turn or replace all 4, theyre not that expensive to replace. That would cure all shakes when braking, as long as your LCABs are in good condition.

Press the pistons back into each caliper, as long as they press in easily, theyre fine. Grab the caliper and push in and out, with the piston pressed in still, this is to check the slides. If they seem "stick" or dont slide at all, remove the guide pins, take a grinder wheel and clean then grease them. Recheck for sliding.

Vibration while driving, could be wheels out of balance or tire starting to seperate, You can visually check for seperation by lifting the car and spinning the wheel to check for hops, low spots, high spots, excessive tire cracks, and lumps in the sidewalls. To check balance, obviously go to a shop and have the wheels balanced, hopefully theyre using some of the newer tire balancing machines that can measure roadforce and accurate tell the operator where to place the weights.

cooljess76 09-29-2011 10:32 PM

Never mix and match used pads and rotors. You can use NEW pads with your old rotors IF the rotors still have life left, but if you replace the rotors you should always replace the pads. Pads pick up deposits from the rotors, so if you take pads off of another car and use them on yours, they'll contaminate your rotors with the other cars deposits. You'll get sqeaks, shakes and all sorts of problems.

hotmilk400 09-29-2011 10:52 PM

thanks for the info guys. i will do it this weekend.

as for the brakes, i will def replace with new rotors and new pads. no point in spending the money on the one without replacing the other.

tiFreak 09-29-2011 11:50 PM

bimmerworld has OEM front rotors for $20 for the pair

http://store.bimmerworld.com/blowout...ors-p1076.aspx

hotmilk400 09-30-2011 02:31 AM

thanks man, but my front rotors are Vented. would i need to downgrade to the non-vented calipers to be able to use the non-vented rotors, right? i actually have an almost new set of non-vented rotors/pads and calipers (from my parts car) .. rotors are even scorn and drilled and look nice. pads look new. i doubt i can just use the rotors and pads without switching the calipers, correct?

any chance you know an amazing website for new vented rotors and an amazing price along with pads that have near zero dust?

i will never buy pads unless they are non-dust..... they are sooo much nicer.. i have not cleaned my rims for like 5 months and they look clean.

hotmilk400 10-01-2011 02:21 AM

Update::
rear caliper just looks shot / seized / and heavly rusted... .just all around in crap shape. the middle part does not even push out correclty anymore. i might try to clean it up and buy time to remove the ones i have from my parts car and swap them. i have to take them to a shop though, i do not trust bleeding them.. not sure how to on a 98. ------------
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OLD MESSAGE>> --

as an update, it seems like i have no shaking (or barly any) at 80mph ... at 25 - 70 there is alot of shakin in the wheel. and during braking there is alot of braking.

front rotors look good, but the rears look messed up. particularly the rear driver side rotor. looks like the entire outer part of the rotor (about 2/3 of an inch from outside to the inside) is not even being used by the brakes.. it is very rough and messed up looking. i am pretty scared to see what the pads look like.. i will post a picture later, but i currently swapping out the rear pads and rotors with a set from an early model 98. they are rough to, but much better then the ones i got.

as for the shaking while driving (not braking) i noticed that the entire car shakes while i drive. it is actually scary now that i noticed it. i recorded with my cell phone as i drove home. you can see the stuff i have in the front seat bouncing around like crazy while i drive a straight one at a steady speed on a soft road.. hmmm.. haha


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