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Pulsing Brake Pedal

IslanderOffRoad

IslanderOffRoad

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Houston, Tx
94 Cherokee, no ABS, rear disc swap (Ford 8.8)

I noticed today that whenever I push the brake pedal for the first couple inches I get a pulsing in the pedal, so much so that if I look at my foot I can see the pedal moving up and down against it. Only happens while driving, not when stopped. Once it gets past a certain point it stops.

No brake work has been done recently, but the oil change monkeys opened the cap to inspect the MC 2 weeks ago, and I rotated the tires on thursday, and hit the brakes with some brake cleaner at the time to get dirt/mud off.

What could this be? Air bubble in the line, or something much worse?
 
jack it up and spin each tire while somebody lightly depresses the pedal see if you can feel it "grabbing" intermittantly i would think that would narrow it down for ya
 
X2 on warped rotors....
 
XJs are notorious for warped rotors, mine were warped really bad when I bought it so I got new pads/rotors and they were warped again about a month later (not as bad though), I know a few other people with XJs and all have at least some degree of rotor warpage
 
I have the pulsing pedal as well, guess my rotors are a little warped. Is this a big deal besides a bit of annoying pedal pulsing? It's not really noticable unless I'm coming down a really steep hill.
 
clunk said:
I have the pulsing pedal as well, guess my rotors are a little warped. Is this a big deal besides a bit of annoying pedal pulsing? It's not really noticable unless I'm coming down a really steep hill.
Click to expand...

It is not a huge deal, however it does decrease your stopping power and sometimes inches matter alot in avoiding an accident.

I would also recommend changing pads when replacing rotors to ensure proper contact on the entire pad.
 
Okay, I'll probably do the rotors and pads this winter while I have it in the shop. Jeezus, I gotta lotta work to do--new suspension, new brakes, probably do the timing chain..pull the carpet and rhino line the floor to end the leaking drain plugs once and for all.
 
Don't buy AutoZone "Duralast" pads either, they are gone in 6 months. Just put some on in late May and they are already basically gone today. Ugh. And these were my second set.....lifetime warranty. Yeah, you'll need it.
 
FYI......overtorquing lugnuts can lead to rotor warpage due to heat transfer.
Always use a torque wrench for the final tightening on the lugnuts.
 
Lodi Jim said:
FYI......overtorquing lugnuts can lead to rotor warpage due to heat transfer.
Always use a torque wrench for the final tightening on the lugnuts.
Click to expand...

Half marks - heat transfer (which is correct) and uneven clamping forces (which you'd omitted.)

But yeah, not torquing your lugs properly can lead to assorted problems.
 
Ended up that the tire shop didn't torque my lugs down all the way, lt rear wheel was wobbling. I caught it, and nobody died.
 
5-90 said:
And people wonder why I take in loose wheels when I need tyres...
Click to expand...

funny thing is it was in there because last time they overtorqued/cross-threaded a lug and I snapped a stud rotating my tires.

I just can't win. At least they didn't charge me to replace the stud and a couple others.
 
Blaine B. said:
Don't buy AutoZone "Duralast" pads either, they are gone in 6 months. Just put some on in late May and they are already basically gone today. Ugh. And these were my second set.....lifetime warranty. Yeah, you'll need it.
Click to expand...

mine have ~15k miles on 'em and still look new, they are pretty crappy pads tho and I won't be getting any more, I only got them because I needed brakes asap and had no money :D can't complain too much for a $10 set of pads and $25/ea rotors :spin1:
 
IslanderOffRoad said:
funny thing is it was in there because last time they overtorqued/cross-threaded a lug and I snapped a stud rotating my tires.

I just can't win. At least they didn't charge me to replace the stud and a couple others.
Click to expand...

That happened twice or three times to my dad's old Caveliar. Not sure why, only vehicle I've ever seen that happen to. I'm going to guess they didn't screw on the lugs by hand first and just forced them on with the impact?
 
at least you caught it....i had the same pulsing on my 89 then one morning i decided id through it on the hoist at work and on the way to work it got worse and then pedal hit the floor comin to a stop doin 80KM/H wound up bein a cooked wheel bearing that finally gave out......that was interestly scary mornin:shiver:
 
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