Hi,

I have a strange problem. When I'm braking, I get strange vibrations, when driving over 70 km/h. Today I replaced front brake discs + brake plates. It cost me 80 €, but the new parts didn't solve the problem. So what else could still cause this ? It's a bit better now with new parts, but when I slightly push the peddal I get feedback on the pedal (like with ABS, but I don't have it ) and vibrations on entire car. If I push it little harder (heavy braking), I don't get vibrations nor feedback. Could rear brake drums caouse this ?

Thanks,
Cheers

Drums are more likely to be the cause than discs, but it depends how long you've had the problem?
Is the car new to you or did the the fault start recently?
A quick test would be to apply the handbrake gently while the car is at speed to see if you can reproduce the fault.
If that doesn't cause vibration, I'd check all the suspension parts for signs of wear in joints and bushes.
I'm taking for granted that the wheels are balanced and the tracking is correctly set?

SFB said:

Drums are more likely to be the cause than discs, but it depends how long you've had the problem?
Is the car new to you or did the the fault start recently?
A quick test would be to apply the handbrake gently while the car is at speed to see if you can reproduce the fault.
If that doesn't cause vibration, I'd check all the suspension parts for signs of wear in joints and bushes.
I'm taking for granted that the wheels are balanced and the tracking is correctly set?

Click to expand...

I own this car for 7 years. The fault started aprox. 6 months ago. Wheels are balanced, and the problem only apears, when I press brake pedal with medium force. I had rear brakes replaced 1 year ago and the question is, if they are new (mechanic said there is much work and I could not superwise the repair) . What are "bushes" ? I'll try the trick with handbrake.

Cheers

Bushes are rubber mounting/dampening pieces on the wishbone located where the wishbone attaches to the car, located on the two points of the "V" of the wishbone.

This brings me to thinking about a balljoint, which is an integral part of the wishbone, located on the third point of the "V" and which, possibly, can create similar effect as well (although, in my experience, worn lower balljoint typically causes the "wandering" feeling while turning, similar to that when one drives on the road with longitudinal grooves made by trucks). However, checking the rubber covers of the balljoints for cracking cannot hurt.

Could may well be a track rod end too......

i get this effect but i've got a buckled wheel!!!! have u driven through any pot holes recently????

Swap wheels front to back to see if this improves as you may well have an oval wheel or the tyre has gone out of shape.
Sometimes when replacing front Discs, the hub is not cleaned, and the Disc does not sit true. I would look at the front brakes again. Your symptoms are classic warped Disc. Could also be a collapsing Hub bearing.
If it was suspension, it would clonk and bang over rough surfaces.

Andy.

SFB said:

Drums are more likely to be the cause than discs, but it depends how long you've had the problem?
Is the car new to you or did the the fault start recently?
A quick test would be to apply the handbrake gently while the car is at speed to see if you can reproduce the fault.
If that doesn't cause vibration, I'd check all the suspension parts for signs of wear in joints and bushes.
I'm taking for granted that the wheels are balanced and the tracking is correctly set?

Click to expand...

I tried that handbrake test and rear drums are responsible for vibrations. What could be the problem ? Obviusely the haven't been replaced 1 year ago and I was ripped for my money. Should I go back to him and tell him what he deserves or just forget the whole thing ?

Well you cant exactly go back a year later and complain, he will just come up with a million and one excuses unless the drums are still under guarantee as all parts should come with a 12 month manufacturer's guarantee best would be to dig out your receipts and and check the dates. Chances are he just skimmed the drums.

death_paladin9 said:

I tried that handbrake test and rear drums are responsible for vibrations. What could be the problem ? Obviusely the haven't been replaced 1 year ago and I was ripped for my money. Should I go back to him and tell him what he deserves or just forget the whole thing ?

Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply!

Sounds as though it's a bit late to complain.

Have them checked and skimmed if necessary or replace them.

My advice for the future is to not leave any car with handbrake applied unless absolutely necessary. I always leave cars in first or reverse gear when parked and only apply the handbrake when parking on a steep incline.

Might well be an offence to park a car on the public highway without applying the handbrake in the UK it is certainly a legal requirement to have a working handbrake so likewise suspect it must be used when parked. I do suspect death_paladin9 probably isn't from the Uk as he mentioned euros.

As for skimming the drums again, probably not economically viable for anyone in the UK, new costs about £45 a set and that is less than 1 hours labour at most garages and suspect there are few with the skills to actually do the work here these days.

Unless if is being stored for extended periods off-road then please do apply the handbrake. Drums are specifically designed to be very good at being applied with a hand operated brake. They offer a much better hold than a disc, and have much longer operating life.

Might be worth cracking them open and having a look at what's going on inside. They can be a pain but if I can get them working then pretty much anyone can.

I will check the drums today. If I buy new drums.. I supose I just take down the cover od old drum and put the newone on and that's it ? Do I need to worry about anything else ?

thepottleflump said:

Might well be an offence to park a car on the public highway without applying the handbrake in the UK it is certainly a legal requirement to have a working handbrake so likewise suspect it must be used when parked. I do suspect death_paladin9 probably isn't from the Uk as he mentioned euros.

As for skimming the drums again, probably not economically viable for anyone in the UK, new costs about £45 a set and that is less than 1 hours labour at most garages and suspect there are few with the skills to actually do the work here these days.

Click to expand...

It may well be an offence to park w/o handbrake applied, but the chances of being prosecuted for not applying it are slim to impossible, unless the UK fuzz now spend their time peering through windows of parked cars these days?
I only suggested skimming, it's up to the owner to compare prices. Here I'd phone round the breakers yards first, buy guaranteed s/hand parts, but new replacements only as a last resort.

Hello to everyone! I just found this topic, and decided to post here as I'm having the same problem with my rear drum brakes on Bravo '96. So the story from the beginning:

After I bought the car, I realized that my hand brake is not holding the wheels very well, sometimes drum brakes stick, blocking the wheels. One day, after heavy driving in the mountains my hand brake just stopped working. At the garage they changed both wheels' drum pads, and one cylinder, as it was leaking. After that, handbrake started to work, but then i noticed a vibration of pedal during breaking from higher speeds. Somehow I didn't understand that it could be a problem with drum brakes, besides, at the garage they told me that it's front brakes problem. So, I bought totally new front brake disks and pads. However, this didn't help - breaking at higher speeds, I had annoying vibration. One day, I came up with idea, that it could be rear drum brakes problem, and decided to check it while driving at higher speed by pulling the hand brake. Yes! I got the same annoying vibration! After that, I went to a mechanic, who replaced my old drum disks and put totally new brake pads again. The breaking quality really increased, but to my surprise, changing the drum brakes didn't help! Still, when breaking at higher speed, I get vibration, moreover the the vibration became even stronger than it was (probably because of the better braking functionality)...

What I thought first, was that maybe my wheels or tyres are the problem, however I have the same vibration effect on both steel wheels with winter tyres and aluminum wheels with summer tyres, which are perfectly fine.

I simply do not know what else could I do to fix this issue. Maybe you have encountered something similar or have any ideas?

Eddie~