Shudder

I have an intermittent shudder/shake.
Getting off the interstate today was the worst it’s been so far. Coming down from 79mph I apply normal braking and it starts to shudder, then I remove my foot and it stops. Getting off the interstate again later in the day, and the braking is smooth like butter, how it usually is/was. I have also noticed a very slight wheel shake when driving (not braking), at around 60mph-ish. I can feel it in my hands but don’t see the wheel move unless I take my hands off.
Warped rotors would shake all the time right?
Is it a bushing maybe?

 

Adjust your rear brakes. I used to get that all the time from the front brakes overheating but not necessarily warping.

 

Would they overheat after 1 exit ramp slowdown? It shook as soon as I pressed them and hadn’t touched them for 30 minutes prior.

 

They could. It isn’t hard to adjust your rears to see how much it improves and it should be done anyway. These trucks are made to utilize the rotors AND drums when braking.

 

I will try it and report back

 

Still haven’t gotten around to it yet, been pulling long shifts at work. Will take a look this weekend. Have driven at least 40 miles a day since I posted and the problem has not yet reoccured.

 

Where do you feel the shake? In your steering wheel? In the brake pedal? In your seat?

have you done other higher speed slow downs? That’s normally when you’ll feel brake shudder unless they’re really bad and you’ll feel it all the time

 

Mostly in the steering wheel and it feels like it’s coming from the front end.
Tuesday was the only time I’ve been on the interstate this week.
It’s done this 2-3 times when slowing down from 45/50 before that, but it’s nowhere near as bad. The exit ramp was the worst it’s been. Plus the slight slight wheel shake at about 60 seems to be consistent. I’ll be on and off the interstate tomorrow so I’ll have a chance to recreate the scenario.

 

If you don’t drive the truck often, it’s quite potentially flat spots in the tires.

 

Your front rotors are warped

 

But that wouldn’t happen only when braking at interstate speeds

 

I drive it 5-6 days a week
Put 25,000 miles on it in the last 12 months

 

It doesn’t only happen at interstate speed.
And If they are warped then what’s causing the wheel shimmy when not braking?

 

Could be multiple things.

60mph could be a wheel balance, flatspot, internal tread delamination/bubble, aftermarket wheels or wheel spacers that aren't hub centric.

79mph when braking getting bad shake could be bushings, tie rods, warped rotors/drums or a combination there of.

 

Sorry I didn’t see that, if wheels are out of balance they normally add a little shimmy to the wheel around 60 mph; also check your tie rods just to be sure

 

To clarify, when the slight shimmy happens its any patch of road at 60 mph? Not only when you’re merging onto the interstate

just saying this cause I’ll get a shimmy at 60, but it’s only one bad patch of road

 

Could even be the lug nuts are overtorqued. And also tire cupping. Both would cause similar symptoms.

 

Most noticeable on a fairly smooth main road I ride up and down every day, usually I’ll have the cruise set on 61

 

Just torqued to 84lb-ft a few weeks ago when I rotated them.
Front to back on the same side like the manual says

 

Out of curiosity how would the lug nuts being over torqued cause wheel shake?

 

I have the same issue. Same conditions too. Interstate off ramps. Front rotors, I'm guessing, it's really evident in the steering wheel. A temperature change issue? Cold rotors getting warm in a short span.

 

I still think it’s a hot spotting issue for the braking and that if it still exists after adjusting the rears and obviously checking for worn out suspension components, a dial indicator should be used to check the rotor runout.

 

2000 Tundra had the same problem (no towing or heavy loads). Toyota repeatedly installed new rotors and pads under warranty. Brake shudder would normally begin after 5k miles. Finally gave up and just lived with it for nearly 20 years. During an oil change my mechanic said I needed new front brakes. Advised I needed one new caliper, new rotors and pads. All aftermarket parts. Brakes have works perfectly for over 50k miles. Probably time for new pads or whatever.

Over the years I have stopped by this forum and read countless reports of the same brake shudder issue. Some folks recommended larger brake parts from other model Toyotas and different remedies. In my case, the solution was non-Toyota dealer and non-OEM brake parts. I cannot overstate how much my Toyota dealer installed OEM brakes sucked, nor how wonderfully the non-Toyota dealer and non-OEM brakes work.

Good luck.

 

Have used Toyota rotors and pads fine on multiple vehicles and found the OE rotors actually to be most true. Rear adjustments are key. And maybe the variable here was the caliper?

 

All I can tell ya is that Toyota mechanics worked on my truck over the years with OEM brake parts. It sucked for nearly 20 years. Whether it was all defective Toyota dealer mechanics or defective OEM parts or whatever.... I don't know. Two things I know for a fact. It has been a greatly reported problem here over the years, and my truck chronically suffered until the above.

 

I've been chasing the shimmies for about a year now but I have to admit that I've been dealing with medical issues and haven't been taking care of the truck over the last few years. Much of whats been said is true, there's a whole bunch of crap that can cause the shakes and shimmies. I've had a shake at 70mph and that one was a rear wheel bearing. Front shake was the inner tie rod. But the front pads also gave me a shimmy due to wear. I have to agree with @ChattanoogaPhil and I prefer to use powerstop cross drilled and slotted rotors over OEM. The fronts take a lot of abuse and heat will warp them easily

 

My most recent brake job with OEM parts that spec'd out indexed better than 3 sets of aftermarket.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/new-front-brakes-and-rotors.135966/#post-3452524

Still noticed shimmies even at 30mph break in. Knew it shouldn't be brakes since they specd out fine. At same time traced rear wheel bearing needed replaced. After the bearing swap the shudder was gone.

There are so many causes for shudders and shimmies. Regarding the one starting this thread it is interesting no pedal pulse is reported and also wobbly (back and forth) feeling in steering wheel is reported without braking. Pedal pulse seems to usually go along with warped or improperly bedded or hotspot rotors. Wheel shimmy back and forth at speed can be tires or alignment as others noted. The up and down dash shimmy is different and can also be things like out of balance or flat spot tires, and what was stopped with rear wheel bearing swap.

 

You would think/expect a pulse in the pedal from a warped rotor or uneven pads but oddly enough my trucks pedal never gave that kinda feedback. Odd

 

Sounds just like the symptoms (no pedal pulse just dash shimmy) that were apparently resolved like yours with rear wheel bearing. Think it might be the uneven rotation of the wheel bearing transferring though the rig on the slowdown.

 

I have to remind myself every so often, as great as these trucks are they are now 20+ years old now. There's a lot of stuff that normally you don't think of on newer vehicles but on this thing ohhh yeah. I only have 136k on it and still I've invested quite a bit recently just to get things going straight and smooth. I have to get on the road today and try and get it up to 80mph to see how it's doing since I got it back from the shop yesterday.