Brake Shudder

[jbrink]

Car Was Fine. Sat For A Few Weeks Now It Shudders Like Crazy. Checked The Front Pads They Are Fine. Rear Brakes Were A Little Grabby But They Seem Fine Now. Tried Driving Fast And Slamming Them On To Try To Get Rid Of Any Rust. Any Ideas What To Check Or Do?

[Donjordan]

There are a couple of possibilities here. If you feel the shudder in the steering wheel, you're dealing with the front brakes. In that case I would suggest that some sort of contamination got on the rotors. If that is the case, you may have to replace them. Or, you might take some sandpaper and try to manually resurface both sides. Do the same with the pads. Then see if that made any difference in the shudder. The rotors, one or both, could also just be warped. In that case they would have to be machined true again, or replaced.

If its' the rear brakes grabbing, and I've had that on my 99 Escort, you might try sanding the drums and shoes back there as well. I suspect though that it's the front brakes giving you all the trouble. Rear brakes don't normally "shudder", they just grab most of the time.

Good luck, and be sure to let us know what you found.

Don J.

[jbrink]

i don't feel the shudder in the steering wheel. it's all in the brake pedal.

[Donjordan]

What year, make and model vehicle are we talking about here? If you've got a real bad shudder in the brake pedal, you might have an Anti-lock Brake System problem. Does your brake pedal actually move up and down a bit (pulse) when this happens? But front rotors might still be a possibility.

Don