This coming week is spring break at the college, so I decided to drive the '85 T-Bird home. I'm still having issues with the front of the car shaking when braking. There is no pulsations in the pedal, but the steering wheel shakes pretty bad. Also, there is a squeaking noise coming from the right front brake.
Here's what I've done to the car:
Replaced rotors, pads, rear shoes, struts and shocks. I mounted and balanced new tires on the stock rims. I've inspected the steering rack, tie rods, and ball joints (everything is within specs).
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.
Could be your bearings..
Also, did you wiggle the tire in several directions? It's possible to misdiagnose a bad ball joint as good only by visually inspecting it...usually, when you move the tire in and out at the top and bottom will it be apparent.
Same with tie rods...have someone turn the wheel back and forth, and lay on the ground under the front and watch for excessive play on both sides.
Might be your calipers are binding, or wanting to seize. Anyone close by that's Fox savvy you can have take a quick peek at it?
Now that most of the front end stuff is replaced, I would get a good alignment
Also be sure to get a before and after spec sheet
I had my chassis (steering and suspension) professor inspect everything as well. The ball joints are of the wear indicator type. They still have plenty of life. We checked the tie rods (all good). Wheel bearings are adjusted properly. I've lubricated the caliper slides, and I know the pistons aren't seized (they slid in when I put the new pads on).
Unfortunately, I don't know of any Fox body guys in central Iowa (I'm home for spring break).
I'm planning on getting it aligned this week.
What did the ujoints look like? Swap the tires front to rear, bent driveshaft? Does it go away with speed, or get worse?
I've put the rear of the car up on Jack stands and run it up to 80 MPH (I know, not smart), and there were no vibrations.
It only happens during braking.
What's the run out on the rotors, and they weren't the original bearings either, were they?
Rotors are brand new. Have about 800 miles on them. It did this before I replaced the rotors. I've replaced the inner wheel bearings. The outers were carefully cleaned and inspected. I've properly adjusted them.
Go ahead and check the run-out on the rotors. Sometimes new parts have problems. Also, if the calipers are not sliding properly, stopping will create heat on just one side of the rotor, thus warping them. I see not mention of the rear brakes. Sometimes a vibration can travel and make you think it is coming from the front, when it is really coming from the rear. Have those drums been turned?
I would be sure to check the rotor run-out on the car. With the wheel removed, fasten the rotors down with lug nuts. Attach the base of the tool to something solid on the car. Then, put the gauge part against the rotor. Spin the rotor by hand slowly and see if the needle moves.
Thanks for the input.
I don't have a dial indicator to check runout. The caliper slides are properly greased.
I mentioned earlier that I had the rear end of the car up on jack stands and ran it up to about 80 MPH with no vibrations. The drums are fine.
I'm not entirely sure why the new rotors keep being brought up. This was an issue before I installed the new ones. I put the new rotors on in hope that it would take care of the issue. It did not.
Bearings or ball joints. I'll wager 10 bucks on it. Who wants to hold the money...I've got paypal locked and loaded. ;)
The wear indicators on the ball joints still show that they have plenty of life left. I'm not sure why you think they are bad? The inner wheel bearings have been replace recently and I adjusted them properly.
It really sounds like an alignment problem, excessive toe in or out to be specific.
Either that or the spindle could be scared, why exactly were only the inner bearings changed?
These are just suggestions assuming every other suspension component is in good condition
You need to measure the runout on the front rotors and rear axle s as you could have a bent spindle or axle but I think you would notice it while driving. Then again when you are under braking conditions it does magnify smaller issues. Have you had the tires checked to see if there is an issue with one of them like a broken belt?
Darren
Like I said before, I'd want to wiggle the tire/wheel with that wheel/tire unloaded to see if there's any play. I put little faith in a visible wear indicator...same with bearings. It's easy to over tighten the outer bearings and that's worse than having them too loose.
Might also be bad strut mounts up top...really, it's a guessing game, trying to diagnose it over the internet. If one mechanic has worked on it and said it's good to go, but it obviously still has issues, I'd simply take it to another shop and ask them. Or tell the first guy that he needs to look at it, and you're not satisfied.
Sorry if I seem to be a little short, but it is very possible that someone has half-assed your car repair. That's why I like doing everything I can myself.
If the bearings are originals, they have a plastic lining on the bearings that can induce play after they get wear.
The entire car and rotor sits on the bearings. If your sure tie rods and rotors/calipers check out, the only thing left is bearings.