Help with Brakes

[saijoe]

Replaced my front brake pads and rotors by watching some YouTubes.  Got through it pretty easily and they work great.  The only problem is that at highway speeds (~70 MPH) there's a noticeable shimmy.  It's a vibration you feel at the steering wheel.  I'll probably have it looked at, but I wonder if anyone has any ideas.   

[FerrumB5]

Check wheel lugs. Check tires for wear

[Papa Mustache]

I second what FerrumB5 said. Check soon so you don't loose a wheel and crash.

[Hugerat]

If the wheel lugs are snug vibration in the steering wheel is likely caused by wheels that are out of balance. A drift or shimmy is probably alignment. Neither of those will break the bank.

[darknight]

Replaced my front brake pads and rotors by watching some YouTubes.  Got through it pretty easily and they work great.  The only problem is that at highway speeds (~70 MPH) there's a noticeable shimmy.  It's a vibration you feel at the steering wheel.  I'll probably have it looked at, but I wonder if anyone has any ideas.   

Check the rear brakes as well. Warped rotors in either end of the car can cause some vibrations. Yes check the lugs, bolts etc as well. Did you put new rotors or were they "take off" rotors from somewhere?

[saijoe]

Checked the lug nuts...they were pretty darn tight.  New rotors.  Also have a low tire pressure light and the pressure is fine.  Guess I'll take it in. 

[topshot]

Did you break in the new pads properly? Or is this vibration not related to using the brake pedal? I wouldn't think a sticking caliper would cause vibration on a fresh rotor.

[FerrumB5]

Did you have vibration before you replaced the brakes? If no, this is something to do with parts or work.

[sokoloff]

Also, check to be sure the wheels are centered on the rotors. There is typically some kind of centering mechanism (might be on the hub, might be on the lugs) and if you just blindly crank the nuts on, you might be slightly off-center.

To check, jack the tire, loosen each nut slightly, then bang/jiggle the wheel/tire as you finger tighten them back on. What you may find is that you get one finger tight, then jiggle the rim, then the nut is "loose" again. What happened is that you got the tire into the proper alignment, which left more space for the nut.

This is way harder to type/explain than it is to do.

If you have aftermarket wheels without proper centering mechanisms, this can also be the case.

You may find that something is wrong with the brake job as well, like not getting the new rotor completely seated because of rust or a poorly fitting part, but it's worth checking the lug nuts and centering.

[rothwem]

Checked the lug nuts...they were pretty darn tight.  New rotors.  Also have a low tire pressure light and the pressure is fine.  Guess I'll take it in.

Something to check is the torque sequence, did you torque the lugnuts in a star pattern, or did you just go around in the circle? 

[HumanAfterAll]

Is the shimmy with the brakes on or off?  If it's brakes-off, then it could be shocks (unable to keep the tire from bouncing at its resonant frequency, which is pretty fast), or possibly damaged tires, worn wheel bearings, ball joints, or tie rod ends, or alignment.

If it's brakes-on, it could be warped rotors (but they're new), or worn wheel bearings, ball joints, or tie rod ends.  Double check the caliper bolt torque as well.

[saijoe]

All,
Thanks for your inputs.  They were all good.  I bit the bullet and took it in.  Turns out the wheels needed balancing (hopefully I didn't throw a wheel weight during tire removal).  Still got off much cheaper doing my brakes though. 

[sisto]

Glad to hear that's all it was. Good job doing your own brakes.