sudden violent front end shake when braking

vetterdog · Jul 4, 2018

1999 3.0 4x4. changed brake pads two weeks ago, no problems. Drove home from work Monday night, no problem. Driving to work Tuesday morning, first red light I came to, front end shaking very badly when braking. Happened at second red light so I turned around and went home, taking another vehicle to work. Tuesday night pulled front wheels off and inspected, found nothing, everything looks to be as it should. Figured it could be warped rotor even though I doubt that would happen overnight, but replaced rotors this morning (sooo humid out) but no change. In the past year I have installed new front hubs (Moog), new sway bar links, front shocks, and as mentioned pads and rotors. There is no issue when driving down the road until brakes are applied, then I can feel it in the steering wheel and the pedal. Currently at a loss for what to look at next, this is daily driver and truck isn't driveable as is. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dave

rangerenthiusiast · Jul 4, 2018

Does it have ABS up front? If so, are there any ABS warning lights/codes and do the wheel sensors and ABS rings look clean or full of brake dust?

Also, does the vibration feel like it’s coming from one side more than another or is it equal? Is the truck pulling to one side or the other?

Fordblue213 · Jul 4, 2018

Jack it up so the front tires are off the ground, then get a pry bar under each tire and start trying to move the suspension around to see if anything is obviously loose. My lower ball joints were SHOT. Luckily I noticed it before it ate the inner edges of my front tires beyond use. All I noticed was the truck feeling like the one shock was bad.

If it all seems tight with the wheels going just up and down, get someone to turn the wheel back and forth with the truck on the ground and look at all the tie rod ends and bushings to see if anything has wear.

If that doesn't show anything, then get a helper to rock the truck back and forth and look at all the suspension.

It could be possible a rotor had a defect and cracked that soon. Stranger things have happened.

RonD · Jul 4, 2018

Try turning the steering wheel while braking and see if the shaking stops, if it does then most likely ball joints

Maybe caliper piston is sticking, but you would tend to get "pulling" to one side with that

vetterdog · Jul 5, 2018

I got it solved. The rear brake shoes on the passenger side had disintegrated. Of course after replacing them plus all the hardware with new, I found a wheel cylinder leaking which obviously happened during this job. Fun! Thanks for the input!

RonD · Jul 5, 2018

Thanks for the update and fix

sudden violent front end shake when braking

vetterdog

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