Car shaking/vibrating Issue

[Got_Z]

Greetings.

For the past year or so I've an issue with the Z. The steering wheel shakes/vibrates when braking. Issue started around 10k miles so I had my rotors resurfaced which helped up until 14k miles it was back. At the point I decided Im not paying for resurfacing over and over again.

At 24k miles the shaking/vibrating got too much to handle so I replaced my brakes and rotors (stoptech street and stoptech slotted) as well as got SS brake lines and some DOT 4 fluid.

Now after 2k miles the slight shaking is back. I have taken the car to the dealership on Friday with this issue. I got a call this morning from them stating they worked on it all day and have been unsuccessful identifying where exactly the problem is. They told me they're calling Nissan Corporate and will let me know what is going on by Monday.. (not sure what that means)

Any ideas as to what else it could be?

***Side Note: Tires are in good condition with proper amount of air and alignment.***

[fzgood]

How do you drive? It doesn't take a lot for the rotors to get warped. If you're doing a lot of hard driving and hard braking that might be it?

[JARblue]

Try better braking habits

Don't ride the brake. And try to avoid sitting on the brakes while they are hot and you are stopped. If the brakes are hot from a recent heavy braking session, the hot pad will deposit excess material in one place on the rotor - this is often what causes the vibration and commonly and incorrectly referred to as "warped rotors".

[BGTV8]

There was a problem with Australian Fords several years ago and the problem was eventually traced to one of 2 root causes:
1. "DTV" - Disk Thickness Variation or
2. Residual line pressure as a consequence of the pedal to booster rod being adjust too long (over extended)

Cause 1 is explained here:
FORD EA to EL Falcon

Cause 2 was eventually traced to a small number of assembly line workers who were installing the brake booster over-adjusted such that with no pedal pressure, the residual line pressure was keeping the pads in contact with the rotors and simply overheating them.

When the car is parked, pad deposits are left on the rotor as differential cooling occurs (the rotor under the pad remains hotter than the rest of the rotor and the area under the pad gets a deposit).

The fix was to remove the booster and adjust the rod from the brake pedal to permit around 2-3mm free play in normal driving so that with the brake pedal at the top of its stroke, there was zero residual line pressure as the pads were permitted to retract by a fraction of a mm and all was well with the world.

Cause 1 may not be your problem as Nissan wheel bearings are a cassette unit and sealed from the factory ............ I do not have a Ford Australia reference but any competent technician or senior service rep should comprehend the Cause 2 theory. Worst case, seek help from google

[SouthArk370Z]

JARblue is probably right. Search for "brake bedding" or "warped rotor" to find out how to fix it and more tips on how to lessen the chances of it happening again.

[Got_Z]

Okay. Thanks for the responses guys. I've been pretty careful with my brakes. I don't even wash my car when it's hot.


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[Evil 370Z]

I had the same issue and I took it to the dealership. They ended up replacing the rotors for new "upgraded rotors." The shaking has since stopped but it's only been 2 weeks and I only drive my Z on the weekends.

[JDubya]

I agree with Jarblue, great post!

On another note..damnit people stop saying warped rotors!

-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

[SouthArk370Z]

Originally Posted by JDubya

On another note..damnit people stop saying warped rotors!
-Warped- Brake Disc and Other Myths

As long as mechanics keep telling people their rotors are warped and need to be replaced before they die in a horrible accident, the myth will persist.

All one can do is try try to educate people. That's a great link for doing so.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by BGTV8

There was a problem with Australian Fords several years ago and the problem was eventually traced to one of 2 root causes:
1. "DTV" - Disk Thickness Variation or
2. Residual line pressure as a consequence of the pedal to booster rod being adjust too long (over extended)

Cause 1 is explained here:
FORD EA to EL Falcon

Cause 2 was eventually traced to a small number of assembly line workers who were installing the brake booster over-adjusted such that with no pedal pressure, the residual line pressure was keeping the pads in contact with the rotors and simply overheating them.

When the car is parked, pad deposits are left on the rotor as differential cooling occurs (the rotor under the pad remains hotter than the rest of the rotor and the area under the pad gets a deposit).

The fix was to remove the booster and adjust the rod from the brake pedal to permit around 2-3mm free play in normal driving so that with the brake pedal at the top of its stroke, there was zero residual line pressure as the pads were permitted to retract by a fraction of a mm and all was well with the world.

Cause 1 may not be your problem as Nissan wheel bearings are a cassette unit and sealed from the factory ............ I do not have a Ford Australia reference but any competent technician or senior service rep should comprehend the Cause 2 theory. Worst case, seek help from google

Chevy had the same problem with the brake rods on the Chevettes when them made them. Had to fix a few of them. The factory fix was to install a 1/16"~1/8" shim between the firewall and booster.

[lhinojos]

I had the same problem but when I upgraded to sport brakes the problem persisted. I went for my yearly alignment, and they found that a bushing that connects the spindle and the lower control arm had some play in it. Unfortunately I dont have the tools or expertise to replace the bushing so I swapped out the whole lower control arm for a new one and the vibration has been gone since.