Vibration when braking after getting new calipers, rotors, and stripped lug replaced

Hello! I've lurked these forums for a long time and have gotten a lot of useful info. I haven't been able to find any posts with my specific situation, so I'm hoping to get some ideas of what could be causing my newest mystery problem.

My truck: 1997 3.4L V6 4x4 extra cab; 216k miles. All stock.

The problem: When braking, I'm getting a vibration that feels like it's coming from the back. The bed visibly vibrates to someone driving behind me. It only occurs when the pedal is mostly depressed, coming to a stop (doesn't occur with a light press at higher speeds).

Origin: The problem began after having one (passenger front) caliper replaced and a stripped lug replaced (driver rear). I was not having any brake problem symptoms before replacing the caliper. I replaced it because the tire shop and the Toyota dealer both told me that the calipers were seized up (the passenger side was much worse than the driver side). After those replacements, the vibration occurred during any braking, but got worse the further I pressed the pedal.

Attempts to fix: I went back to the shop and they replaced both front rotors. I got some improvement, but the vibration still occurred when coming to a stop.

I went back again and got the other (driver front) caliper replaced. The vibration is about the same or slightly better and only occurs when the brake pedal is mostly depressed, coming to a stop.

The shop says the rear brakes look fine. Although, I do feel like the vibration is coming more from the rear than the front.

So, the front has new rotors and calipers; the back brakes haven't been worked on. The only change to the back since the vibration started is the stripped lug being replaced.

I'm perplexed that replacing the front calipers/rotors would cause a vibration that feels like it's coming from the back. Not sure if having that lug replaced had any effect.

Recent work: A week or two before this braking problem began, I got 2 new tires and had all of them balanced and aligned. I was having violent vibration at highway speeds, but the tire balancing has improved that to be a much lighter vibration at 65 mph. I did not notice any braking vibration at that time (it only started after replacing the caliper). However, I'm not sure if the braking vibration could be related to the high-speed vibration in some way (joints, rods, bearings, etc.). I also replaced the u-joints on the driveshaft and had it balanced the beginning of this year.

Any ideas of what could be causing the braking vibration that occurred after having one caliper and lug replaced, and persists after replacing the rotors and other caliper?

 

Sadly, if your calipers were seized, you wouldn't have been able to make it to there shop and I have yet to own a rig that seized both at the same time and was able to make it down the road any distance. Seized in my book means completely stuck,,unmovable. You would have super hot smoking rotors and a brake shoe burning stench,,if they were ALMOST seized completely up.

Did these guys put new front brake shoes on?,,or reuse the old ones?

 

^^^^ agreed

you my friend have been lied to and ripped off.

even partially seized calipers would not have been giving you much stopping power if at all from the pads being glazed with not friction left or the truck would not want to roll, and the brake pads have to be replaced with new rotors so I assume (and hope) they did.

that said if they used performance or aggressive brake pads they may be digging into the new rotors making this sensation but I doubt it.

go to a different regular mechanic shop that you trust or ask around from others for one that can be trusted and tell them what happened and ask them to recheck all the work done to fix whatever it is they did wrong.

it could be anything related to what they worked on but just guessing, if your asking what in the rear could be causing this, I think they might have adjusted the rear brake too tight or reassembled it wrong and it could be dragging and digging in and grabbing on the drum.

 

Any vibration from the front end will be felt through the steering wheel, not your butt.

 

If they replaced a rear lug and checked the rear brakes, they had to remove the drums and they may be out of adjustment now. If one rear brake is adjusted well and not the other, it may result in a vibration like that.

You can try driving in reverse and braking several times to get them to adjust. It doesn't sound like the problem is in the front.

 

I just got new tires at Costco awhile back and had a vibration at 60+ on the highway. Knowing tire jocks, I checked the torque and the pressure. All four tires had a different pressure. Three lugs in the back I had to stand on and kick to get them loose. Most were way over torqued. I re-torqued every wheel and reset the pressure, problem solved.
You say you got two new tires. Are you running two tires of one style, and two of another? That can cause grief. I agree with Mod on the calipers. I had one 'sieze' on my daughters car once, and that was that. the car wouldn't move unless I wanted to do real damage. It had to be towed back to the shop. I'd get online and surf the best rated shop in your area, or look for a AAA approved rated shop. They're generally a little better than most.

 

That's why I'm glad I have tire rack. The waiting room is a window to the shop and they told me after changing my tires they set the front to 30 psi back to 31psi and torqued them to 81 ft lbs. They even asked if I would lIke them to continue on a stuck lug nut and said it will likely break, I said give it hell so I'm stuck with 5 on one side until my brakes come in tomorrow.

They do sometimes randomly sieze. Went to change my cousins brakes once and had trouble getting calipers pushed in. Used a C clamp and a breaker bar and broke the C clamp, just randomly seized on him.

 

Thank you everyone for the responses.

I'm afraid I may have used the wrong term when I said "seizing." What they showed me at the tire shop was that when the truck was up on the lift, and they manually spun the passenger wheel, it pretty much stopped spinning right after he let go, while the driver side spun a lot better. They said that indicated a problem with the caliper on that side. I didn't replace the caliper at that time, just the tires.

About a week later, when I was at the dealership, they told me that both calipers needed replacing. Since I had two different places tell me that at least one was bad, I went to the tire place to fix the passenger one because they were cheaper than the dealer and they offered to fix that stripped lug for free if I came back in. I decided to only do the passenger side because that was the one that was visibly bad (wheel not spinning after letting go), and the only one the tire shop had recommended originally.

Before changing the caliper and lug, I did not have any braking issues. The problem didn't occur after getting the 2 new tires, so I doubt it's the tires causing it. It only began after having the caliper and lug replaced (which was done a week or so after the tires).

After having that caliper and lug done, the shaking started, so I went back in and they figured that the rotor was warped from the old, bad caliper, so they offered to replace the rotor for free since they were the last ones to touch the truck and it was fine before they did any work on it. They ended up replacing both front rotors for free.

When I drove off after they replaced the rotors, I still had the vibration. They said that it could be the driver caliper causing it. Since the dealer had already told me that one was bad too, I decided to replace it too (and paid for it). They said that it is supposed to pinch in from both sides, but only one side was moving.

Today, I went back and told them I'm still having the vibration. They test drove it and agreed it is vibrating. They did not replace the pads with the rotors, but they say lack of new shoes would not cause such a strong vibration. Plus, I feel like it's coming from the back and not the front. They also say that they removed and inspected the rear brakes again, and so if it was that they were put back together incorrectly, then this recent inspection should have fixed that problem.

They say they think it's my driveshaft. I got a new driveshaft and u-joints at the beginning of the year. However, I haven't had any vibration-while-braking problems until after I had the caliper/lug done, so I think it's unlikely that it's the driveshaft. It's been fine for 10 months, why would it suddenly become defective or improperly installed (as they claimed)? They told me to get a 2nd opinion because they think that they didn't cause the problem. So now the truck is at the Toyota dealer getting that 2nd opinion. If there is a problem with the driveshaft, that dealer is the one who put it on.

I'm trying to logic out now if it's a coincidence that I'd get this vibration right after having them work on the truck, or if they are the ones that caused the problem, and what could they have done to cause the problem. Could they have done something to the driveshaft while working on the other parts of the car? Or did they just pick that as an easy target because it appeared to be recently replaced and they were trying to shuffle the blame to someone else? Hopefully, I'll have more ideas after Toyota gives me their opinion of what's causing the problem tomorrow.

 

Sounds like you might have needed 1 caliper,,and that was it for the front.

After that, they started tossing money to fix it, hence the new free rotors. New brake pads should have gone on with new rotors no matter what the condition of your old pads. That's the proper way to do that.

Adding parts as you go(on there part) to fix it, is like a cat chasing it's tail and you never know what caused the problem.

Did they even suggest for you drive easy for 500+ miles,,to allow the old brake shoes to TRY to seat to the new rotors?. Sometimes it takes 1000 miles or more for that to happen when you combine the two. Sometimes the brakes skreech then, like when you step on kitty's tail by accident. And you start over again with new shoes and turned rotors,,to remove that problem.

As a guess, they flubbed the rear brake adjustment initially, and you ran with both front and 1 rear brake working overtime from being over adjusted after the wheel stud fix. The other rear brake working 1/2 as less than the other side they over adjusted. One side takes the load and builds more heat making it easier to warp,,since it is used already.

Another guess is that they hammered on that brake drum super hard,,trying to knock it past the inside wear ridge to get it off. That warps USED rear drums with ease after 3-7 heavy swings of the hammer. The brake drum itself where the shoes touch on it,,is really thick and heavy duty,,where as the machined plate part of it, that allows it to slide onto the axle, is much thinner. Hammering on the heavy outside,,bends the thinner plate. Warpage occures then. There is a proper procedure for removing that USED drum,,and they might have tried to speed the process, with the big hammer or some other caveman procedure.

In there defense, these guys sound like they knew what they were doing,,but some stuff that went down is shady, and they cut a few critical checks and procedures that they knew they should have followed in the effort of getting you back on the road quickly and happily without fail.


The driveline suggestion sounds like a desperation move. Trying to give you a quick answer at the end of the day when they want to clock out and go home. I wouldn't completely disregard that,,but it's a shady spot there by the sounds of it. Looks like you spotted that also.

Stick with it. Talk to the dealership general manager and explain your plight. Have them mount the rear drums on a brake lathe and see if one or both are out of round to the point of pedal movement. You might have to replace the rear brakes to remove this problem,,,now. It's not all doom and gloom,,it might be a easy fix. Always have faith.

 

Thank you, Mod, for that very detailed reply.

I called the tire place to ask if they'd mount the drums on a lathe to check if they were out of round, as you recommended, and they said that they'd go ahead and just replace the rear drums/shoes to eliminate that variable.

They did that and I'm happy to say that the severe vibration while braking is gone. So, they must have damaged a drum as you suggested when they removed it to change the lug.

I will give them credit for correcting the mistake. I'm glad they took care of it, but not too happy that it happened in the first place.

 

Your welcome, and it's not all me, It's the power of Tacoma World. .

Sounds like they dove right on the replacement idea,,after you mentioned brake Lathe. lol. Guilty bastards!,,all day long!.

Give them another chance later on with something super simple, althought I can't really think of anything more mundane than what should have happened.

They did correct it and made it good to this point and you now have good brakes. Listen to the fronts,,if they start making noise real soon, like next week,,you know what to tell them. Drive it easy for 500 or more, to let those rear shoes take there place on the drum during break in. No hard stomps on the pedal, if you can avoid it.

And smile!, it's fixed.

 

I give them the benefit that its just one mechanic made a mistake and that's all it was.

since they took care of it without questioning or arguing then I would go back to them in the future mainly because they did stand behind their work which is rare today.

 

remove driveshaft-easy-check u joints. had same problem. got a seized rear joint.

 

This is my problem exactly! I just bought my truck certified used, and the dealership had replaced the front rotors and pads, and also replaced the park brake cables. After reading through this thread I am thinking that when they removed the rear drums to work on the park brake, they must have damaged one or both. Just wanted to say thank you to the OP and also TW for giving me some idea what to tell the service dept to check when I take it in to have it looked at.