A friend has a 99 SUS sedan 160K on it. It has a pretty good brake shimmy when stopping. Driving is fine and smooth. I checked for the normal things:

- Turned the front rotors and installed new pads

- Changed out the rack as there was a little play in it and I had a low mileage one (35K)

- Checked for loose tie rod ends, wheel bearings, ball joints, they all seem fine.

 

The front inner tire was worn down to the steel cords. I tried a different set of tires and rotating the tires on the car. While all of these efforts reduced the shimmy, none of them corrected it.

 

She needs new tires, struts (not leaking but soft) and an alignment. I'd really like to find the source of the shimmy before new tires are put on.

 

Anything I'm missing?

Maybe a bent road wheel??

Does the steering wheel shake or your butt in the seat? You might have rotors in the rear going bad. My 95 does.

More the steering wheel, but I'll double check the rear brakes.

Thanks

It's the tires, or the balance, IMO.

at 160K, it's worth double checking ball joints, tie rods, steering rack bushings, lower control arm bushings, etc.

 

but the 2 most common causes are, uneven pad deposits (so-called 'warped' rotors) and bad tires. (the worn tire itself may point to a problem with toe/tie rods or ball joint)

 

maybe try (in a safe location) 30 medium-hard stops, from 30mph, with 30 seconds cool-down cruising in between each stop. If that makes things worse, you need new rotors. If it doesn't make things better, and all the other parts/tires are known good, try a more agressive 'bedding-in' procedure (check the technical white papers info at stoptech.com).

 

if a hot brake/panic stop has ever occurred, followed by sitting still with the pads clamped in one spot, rotors can get permanently altered spots in the alloy and turning them will only help for a very short time.

Its possible your "new" rotors are warped too.

Its possible your "new" rotors are warped too.

 

good point.

 

I've also read that flakes of rust or other debris could prevent a rotor from seating flat on the hub.

My 96 also has a similar shimmy. Can hear a "whom-whom-whom-whom" noise on deceleration that seems to be in time with the pedal pulsation and steering wheel wiggle that I have. Haven't gotten a chance to check run out on the front rotors yet, ball joints and bearings look/feel good. Pads are almost new and tires have less than 200 miles on them. Oh and it's a Brighton (rear drum) car.

She took it into one of the larger tire stores, tires, Struts. Got it back and it was worst than before. Turns out they had put the wrong struts on it, so they corrected that and replaced the rotors. A happy Subaru now.