Vibration When Braking

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KeithJG

Active Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2014
Messages
608
Location
Dover, Kent
Car
Vauxhall Tourer
Having just done 2000mls with no fault with the motor at all apart from a glow plug light on (which happened the day i left for holiday)for 2 minutes after cold start.......... on the last leg home from Amien in France this vibration started when applying brakes after 55mph.

The night before i left for the journey to the ferry i put it in a car wash and my friend who was watching said the wheel wash part was very violent with high pressure jets going into the wheels. The hotel was just 50yds from the wash so i parked it up for the last night with the brakes still wet!

In the morning on the autoroute this vibration started so all i can think is that the weather was very hot maybe 32 degrees so the discs were very hot also when going in the car wash so maybe the cold strong water jets has warped my MB discs which have only done around 8000mls.

The reason i think this is the problem is because i went to MB Medway on Friday to get the glowplug done and while i was there they had enough time to do the MOT advisory for the front Torque arms replacement.

I told them of the vibration and he believes the discs ARE warped as they checked all the front bushes while under it

Well i am booked in next week to have TWR discs and pads replaced on the front together with tracking and wheel balance so we will see what happens this time.

OK, so after all these words i would like to know if anyone else has encountered warp discs linked to a car wash or cold water sprayed on hot discs??.........many can also say don`t go near a car wash but even at a Polski wash they use jets of cold water so what gives?.....The actual car wash i use at home just up the road gave me no problems so was it all the extra heat?





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Have you tried getting the wheels balanced? The car wash may have knocked the weights off the wheel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
It is possible if the discs were hot and the water was cold. However the biggest cause of warped discs is when they are hot and you are stationary with the foot on the brake such as at traffic lights. The discs want to expand with the heat, the pads prevent this in that area of the discs causing them to warp.
 
Could also be a sticky piston in the caliper,
 
Sometimes a couple of hardish stops (60-10mph) cleans them up. Costs nowt worth a try.
 
Just come back from my local friendly garage that do all the non MB repairs and what they are going to do is take off the front discs and remove any rust again between them and the hub...check the calipers for any sticky pistons, balance the front wheels and do the tracking. The motor already had a 4 wheel track when i bought it so won`t need that.

The new front torque arms by MB Medway have reduced the vibration which i did expect as the rubbers were shot and an advisory the front end feels quite taut now.

On the way to the garage i went via my local valley road which is smooth and fast and quiet for traffic and did numerous really heavy stops at different speeds and using the ABS which worked well and also didn`t vibrate when brakes absolutely full on hard.....result was the vibration on braking is still there when applying them moderately from a very fast speed.

So booked in next week for a complete check before i waste any money.

I will report back out of interest for others.
 
I'd be interested in what or if they find another cause than what's been said here already as mine do that
 
Just come back from my local friendly garage that do all the non MB repairs and what they are going to do is take off the front discs and remove any rust again between them and the hub...check the calipers for any sticky pistons, balance the front wheels and do the tracking. The motor already had a 4 wheel track when i bought it so won`t need that.

The new front torque arms by MB Medway have reduced the vibration which i did expect as the rubbers were shot and an advisory the front end feels quite taut now.

On the way to the garage i went via my local valley road which is smooth and fast and quiet for traffic and did numerous really heavy stops at different speeds and using the ABS which worked well and also didn`t vibrate when brakes absolutely full on hard.....result was the vibration on braking is still there when applying them moderately from a very fast speed.

So booked in next week for a complete check before i waste any money.

I will report back out of interest for others.

I had similar, ok on a full bore braking, moderate braking from speed produced vibration.
Discs and pads cured it, initially they looked ok but the inside surface of the disc was rusty, with only a small swept area.
 
So here we are back with a result or at least a 99% result...

Had all wheels removed and also the front discs sanding the rust off the surface between them and the hub ......the grey paint was mostly still there from the MB discs being new 18months ago but tiny raised bits of rust around each bolt hole.

Each piston on all calipers were checked and non sticking.

Tracking was toeing out instead of in but maybe due to the new Torque Rods fitted?

This is the interesting part....the rear wheels were balanced and each wheel with tyre needed 10gms on the inside rim and 40gms on the outside rim to balance correctly.

The front wheel`s during balancing needed 10gms inside and 50gms outside and the tyre was not revolving perfectly on one so maybe a very slight warp of the wheel rim??

The other front wheel, and this i think is the culprit was 10gms inside and 90gms outside needed for balancing and the tyre was revolving with a very very small ellipse (not perfectly round) so it is believed the wheel is not warped but a badly made MB wheel ?

Although the vibration has 99% gone at speed now it does not exist until past the M way speed limit.

The wheels being staggered i can`t swop them over to the rear so it will have to stay like that until the tyres are gone kaput. They have only done 10,000mls so a couple of years yet!!

Look at all the shiny weights in the picture of the wheel...nearly run out of rim space.....:crazy:
 

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Revisited my front "wobble " this week & noticed the new disc on the passengers side had a serious warp in it when turned so purchased a new set of Brembo's.
Today I stripped everything down & installed the disc only to find when everything went back on the situation ( albeit slightly less warped ) was still the blinking same.
Stripped everything off again & reviewed the hub to see if that was bent & couldn't notice anything, checked the bearings & can only assume that 1 or both races are failing even though they seem ok once nipped up on the stub.
So I'm ordering new bearings in the hope this sorts things out.
Disappointed so far as a new owner but living in hope I'll find & fix the problem.
 
Ok guys this is my first time posting on the site. Reading the above it sounds similar to the problem I have. When braking especially at low speed with only slight pressure on the peddle, it is noticeably. It feels like the wheel is warped and rubbing in one place. I've had new discs put on but the problem is still there. Some days, especially when first driving the car cold there doesn't seem to be a problem, however the longer I drive the more noticeable the issue. Could the wheel be warped? Any help greatly appreciated.
 
I had the same issue on my W220 S Class, it would judder and shake when I applied the brakes, it would still stop but it would shake, it would not pass the MOT but the tester did check the discs and pads and said they all look fine and could not see any obvious signs of uneven wear on the pads.

I was advised it could be a build up of rust and dirt trapped behind the disc which could result in them not sitting correctly. Although the discs were not a fail they were pitted in places had a set of discs which I intended to change eventually so I decided to change all 4 discs. There was not much dirt behind the discs but when I got to the back I did find the handbrake shoe could have been the cause as one disc would not come off and when I got it off the handbrake shoe came with it, no damage but the shoe had become unseated and was interfering with the disc. after reseting the shoe back in place and replaced the disc it resolved the issue.

Check the handbrake shoe which sits behind the rear brake discs in the hub is seated correctly.
 
Hi guys
Well I loosened off the disc retaining bolt & it has made a slight difference,
However the wobble is still bad.
So tomorrow I'm replacing the discs & pads to see if this makes any improvement.
Have to say that I've never experienced anything like this on any previously owned car.
Very frustrating!
 
I still think a sticking caliper is the problem, might not show on cold brakes in a work shop but will make itself known on the road after warming up. I had the same problem & had to replace two calipers, brakes are now perfect.

Russ
 
So, I've located the issue
Caliper piston leaking & seized solid on one side.
Obviously with only one pad working it's forcing the disc over & out of line.
I suspect the passengers side is similar.
I'm going to invest in new calipers in the hope that this fixes the issue, I'm not keen on repair kits.
Sports pack calipers are not cheap ☹️
Anyone know who I can get a deal on these through?
GSF have them for around £300 each with a surcharge.
Plus .... I noticed a crack in the alloy on the inside rim, it's just not my day.
 
Send the callipers for refurbish and paint at BCS you don't need new they come back like new and better.
brake caliper specialist in notts.
 

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