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Vibrating brake pedal...

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Offline wiretap_MD

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Vibrating brake pedal...
« on: May 26, 2004, 10:46:05 PM »
Guys I need help.  I'm experiencing a mild vibration on my brake pedal only when I press on it.  Happens even on low speeds and is noticeable during high speed braking but not that strong enough so as to get me worried about safety concerns.  I've had my front rotors and rear brake drums refaced and changed my front brake pads and rear brake shoes.  Still the problem persists.  Thinking that it may be a warped front rotor that couldn't be remedied by a refacing job, I replaced it with brand new rotors.  I even repacked my front bearings when I had my outer CV joint boot replaced.  No change in the vibration whatsoever.  Am I missing something?  Enlighten me guys please. Thanks in advance!


'01 Sidekick: OME-Calmini Hybrid Suspension, 1.5-inch spacers, Bilstein 5125 re shocks, 2-inch bodylift, 30x9.5 BFG, Safari Snorkel, ARB bumper, Custom rear bumpe

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Offline Zukipilot

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2004, 11:20:55 PM »
Is your steering wheel shaking when you feet the vibration in the pedal? If so get the balance on your tires checked. If that does not work it could be a slightly out of round tire or a bad belt, so try switching the front and rear tires. If that fixes it yiu have something wrong with one of the tires on the back.

HTH,
Zig
Zukipilot
'92 Liberty Overland Sidekick

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Offline mrfuelish

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2004, 07:23:16 AM »
just jack up each wheel and turn it buy hand and get a friend to press on the brake for you a little bit you will find the one that is giving you the trouble  ;) p.s. most of the time I have someone turn a rotor for me it comes back worse.
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Offline wiretap_MD

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2004, 11:24:38 AM »
Zukipilot:  No steering wheel symptoms whenever I feel the vibration on the brake pedal.  I also had my wheel alignment and wheel balancing checked so as just to rule that out as a cause.  No problems whatsoever.

mrfuelish:  That's a great suggestion.  I'll try that out. Thanks!


'01 Sidekick: OME-Calmini Hybrid Suspension, 1.5-inch spacers, Bilstein 5125 re shocks, 2-inch bodylift, 30x9.5 BFG, Safari Snorkel, ARB bumper, Custom rear bumpe

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mperry

Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2004, 01:43:47 PM »
Your model has anti-lock brakes, right? A bad "brain" or dead sensor can cause this symptom. (It thinks one wheel is sliding & "pumps" the brakes.) A bad master cylinder, air in the brake lines and mismatched tires can also cause the problem, I'm told.

If you don't have anti-lock, I'd look to the rear brakes for out-of-round.

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Offline wiretap_MD

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2004, 02:04:12 PM »
mperry:  Sorry, my Sidekick (called "Vitara" here in the Philippines) does not have ABS.  I ruled out a problem in the master cylinder because I just replaced the entire assembly a few months ago.  Checked my brake lines and all seems well. If there was air in my brake lines, pedal pressure would surely change however I don not feel this.  I've had the rear brake drums refaced already so out-of-round can be ruled out.


'01 Sidekick: OME-Calmini Hybrid Suspension, 1.5-inch spacers, Bilstein 5125 re shocks, 2-inch bodylift, 30x9.5 BFG, Safari Snorkel, ARB bumper, Custom rear bumpe

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Offline pesuazo

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2004, 02:26:27 PM »
Rotor warped.
1994 Geo Tracker 2WD Conv.   145000 Miles
1986 Mercedes Benz 300E        140000 Miles
1998 Mitsubishi Galant               103000 Miles

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Offline steveofrost

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2004, 02:33:14 PM »
Quote
If there was air in my brake lines, pedal pressure would surely change however I don not feel this.
Yeah, if it was air the pedal would probably feel mushy. I'd bleed the break system just to check though. You just might need some minor adjustments to your break pads and shoes. Sounds like there is some sort of uneven wear in the breaking system. I feel for you man!



steveo

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mperry

Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2004, 02:42:21 PM »
Quote
mperry:  Sorry, my Sidekick (called "Vitara" here in the Philippines) does not have ABS.  


Sorry... it looked like a 95 or later. (I thought those all had anti-lock. Maybe on in the US... land of the gullible. <g>)

I look forward to hearing what you find. ALB & warped rotors/pads were all I've heard of. How long has it had this problem?

Oh, yeat, one last test. Jack up each wheel & put a marker between some frame/suspension member & the drum/rotor. Turn each wheel slowly & see if you can see any out of round. I do recall my mechanic friend once finding (something... can't recall what) that caused the drum to wobble.

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mperry

Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2004, 03:24:18 PM »
BTW, immediately after doing rotors and turning the drums, was there any change, even for a short while?

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Offline wiretap_MD

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2004, 03:36:53 PM »
I noticed these problems right after I did some offroading in our mountain ranges here which included about 6 short river crossings.

Here's the sequence on what happened:  Upon noticing the problem, I first had my front rotors refaced.  Problem persisted.  Thinking the rear brake drums might be out-of-round, I had them refaced as well.  No change.  I then changed my front brake pads.  No change.  Then I changed my rear brake shoes.  I noticed that the problem disappeared for about 2-3 days only for it to resurface once more.  During those 2-3 days, all I did was city driving.


'01 Sidekick: OME-Calmini Hybrid Suspension, 1.5-inch spacers, Bilstein 5125 re shocks, 2-inch bodylift, 30x9.5 BFG, Safari Snorkel, ARB bumper, Custom rear bumpe

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Offline jagular7

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2004, 04:42:51 PM »
You can try this and I've seen it work on a large heavy Bronco running 1-ton axles.

Lift the back end off the ground and let it hang off the ground freely. Secure the frame. Run the drivetrain in 2wd and watch the ds to see if it's out of round, see if the tranny mount is secure, see if the rear axle oscillates, feel the axle for vibrations, see if the shocks mounts are secure, see if the coil is secured; apply the brakes easily at first to try to bring the tires down from speed of 35 mph, see if you can see/feel anything. Then secure the rear axle on stands and the frame off the stands to provide a static load. See if you can determine a source in the rear.
Then do the same for the front in 4wd and with the rear ds disconnected (watch out for fluid loss since there is no flange on the t-case output).

It could be a bent wheel, loose wheel cylinder, broken brake return spring, broken/loose brake shoe, bent ds, out of round ds, bad u-joint, out of phase joints, bent axle housing, loose suspension component, loose pinion nut, or a bunch of other things.

On the Bronco, it turned out to be a bunch of things, loose track arm mount on axle, crack on frame, worn tie rods, broken tranny mount, and loose u-bolts of the rear ds on the pinion.
Lenexa, KS

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Offline extremekickin

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2004, 04:50:46 PM »
Sounds like a broken belt to me. ;D
« Last Edit: May 27, 2004, 04:53:23 PM by extremekickin »
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Offline zutefisk

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #13 on: May 27, 2004, 05:56:53 PM »
Snorkel, 6 "short" river crossings, long drive home, rotors not warped, how about bearings?
87 Samurai

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Offline wiretap_MD

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Re: Vibrating brake pedal...
« Reply #14 on: May 27, 2004, 06:28:18 PM »
jagular:  Thanks! I'll follow your suggestions this weekend.

zutefish:  Bearings were checked when I had them repacked with hi-temp lithium grease.  Unremarkable findings.


'01 Sidekick: OME-Calmini Hybrid Suspension, 1.5-inch spacers, Bilstein 5125 re shocks, 2-inch bodylift, 30x9.5 BFG, Safari Snorkel, ARB bumper, Custom rear bumpe