Steering wheel and seat shimmy

[steve54]

So I put new calipers, rotors and pads on the front last night. Brakes stop great now, but now I am noticing a shimmy in the steering wheel and a vibration in the seat at highway speeds from 55-65mph. There is no shimmy while breaking however. I did not have this problem prior to doing this work. Could I have got a bad new rotor? If so would I not feel a vibration while breaking? They are all Autozone Duralast parts. I am pretty sure I have the correct rotor becuase I purchased both the cast and the composite replacement to see which one fit properly since I am in the split year where they used both. Also I notice my lug nuts and wheel are pretty hot after driving for a while. Help please!

99 XJ
Stock
4wd
4.0L
Automatic

 

[Tim_MN]

A shimmy and vibration at 50-65 mph is most commonly a tire balance issue.

Make sure you put the rims on straight and torqued the lug nuts properly.

If the problem started right after your did something or changed something, go back over you work.

 

[DrShaggford]

I agree with Tim, it sounds like a tire balance problem. I would check all your wheels to see if you still have your balance weights. If you got a crappy weight like I did it doesn't take much to knock it off the bracket that holds it to the wheel. I believe mine got knocked off from rolling the tire out of my working area and dropping to the ground. Even if it appears that you have all your weights it's not very expensive ($5 per tire is pretty normal) to get your wheels balanced.

 

[Matthew Currie]

If your wheel is heating up I think there's something wrong there, and you'd better go back over your work. Unless you're working the brakes pretty hard or something is dragging, things should stay pretty cool.

By the way, there's been a good deal of virtual ink spilled here over Duralast pads. Hope you have better luck than some of us.

I wonder if you have a caliper that's reluctant to push back all the way. XJ calipers of that vintage with plastic pistons are usually pretty well behaved, but if you have one that's partially stuck it could drag. It would be a good idea at least to jack up each wheel and see if there's too much resistance.

 

[stockli]

Did you make sure and change and lubricate your brake slides?

If they bind up the brakes could drag

 

[DrShaggford]

I think it is quite normal for wheels an lugs to get a bit hot. Think about it. You're stopping several thousand pounds with just a few inches of surface area, that's A LOT of friction which causes A LOT of heat. Your rotors are metal which conduct heat quite well and are in direct contact with your lugs and wheels. Personally I don't trust Duralast anything, especially after I had half of a Duralast pad crack off and wedge itself between the remaining pad and the rotor locking the wheel and destroying the tire. Duralast offered to replace the pads but refused to pay for the rotor or tire their pads destroyed.

 

[steve54]

Thanks for the input you all have given so far. When I drove into work today I paid close attention to the shimmy. It is not a back and forth shake of the steering wheel. It is more of an up and down motion. 80% in my seat and 20% in the steering wheel. It really does feel like a balance issue. I do wonder about my knuckles though. The little flat area that your pads rest on has some worn groves. I am suspicious that this preventing the free motion of the pad and caliper. Is this a common problem with these. I have never seen a vehicle wear out where the pads rest?

 

[Matthew Currie]

Thanks for the input you all have given so far. When I drove into work today I paid close attention to the shimmy. It is not a back and forth shake of the steering wheel. It is more of an up and down motion. 80% in my seat and 20% in the steering wheel. It really does feel like a balance issue. I do wonder about my knuckles though. The little flat area that your pads rest on has some worn groves. I am suspicious that this preventing the free motion of the pad and caliper. Is this a common problem with these. I have never seen a vehicle wear out where the pads rest?

That is a common problem, and becoming more common as more cars use a floating caliper with the pads doing all the work of stopping rotation. A little wear won't hurt and may just make your brakes click or rattle on application. A deep pocket can hang up. It's possible to build it back up with welding if it gets bad enough. I've seen some pads with a little extra clip that is supposed to compensate for this as well, but never used them.

YOur brakes will, of course, get pretty warm with normal use. But if one is getting really hot, or heating up more than the other, there's a problem.

Don't discount the possibility that you just got a defective rotor. It's not unheard of.

 

[QUABOAG]

Did you make sure and change and lubricate your brake slides?

If they bind up the brakes could drag

x2. this is an important part of brake caliper maintenance. could cause a pad to ride a bit on a rotor and cause heat buildup and noticible vibration. press out the slides, use graphite or silicone lube on them.

 

[hubs97xj]

^That's exactly what happened to me a couple of years ago. Not a big deal until I had to make a panic stop on the interstate. Definitely get under there and get things squared away.

I'm not going to go so far as to recommend the AZ pads, but their ceramic and severe duty pads come with clips of a couple of thicknesses if the knuckle is notched. They probably sell those separately if you dig around a bit.

edit- Doesn't sound like that's your problem according to your description of the shimmy in the follow up post, but it doesn't cost anything to double check.