Nightmare of all nightmares. About 6 months ago i was getting shaking while driving & braking.

new parts:
- new LCA bushings
- new tie rod ends inner & outter
- new shocks
- new pads
- new rotors
- new ball joints upper and lower
- new axle
- 4 new tires (balanced 3 times)

the shake while driving seems to be gone, but while braking it shakes like crazy at anything over 30mph.

have tried 3 different rotor sets in the last few weeks. no luck.

- the back of the rotor doesn't even seem like it's getting wear.
- front of the rotor is getting wear almost constantly at the top 1"

when i jack the car up and spin the tires they are hard to turn and don't spin freely, with the exception of about a 4" span spins freely then grabs again. so when i spin the wheel it's hard to spin hard hard then easy, hard hard hard easy. both sides are doing this, one side more than the other.

i took some spare knuckles that i had laying around and put them on thinking maybe the hubs were bent. doesn't seem to have fixed anything.

and now with this newest set of rotors, when i turn right, i can hear the rotors grinding against the pads. when i go straight or turn left it goes away.

i know that the rack end bushing needs to be replaced. but does anyone think that it will actually fix my problem. would that cause the wheels to be hard to spin while in the air.

I did a search but the solution to the problem never came up, although i did find a lot of people with fairly similar problems.

it's a 1990 Civic Wagon FWD DPFI to MPFI swap with 424,000kms. i'm really getting desperate, i've invested so much time and money already that it's almost time to get a different car if i can't fix this.

Changed calipers. problem seems to be solved. after just doing the driver side it was still there, so i did the other side as well and bingo.


Modified by EFing8 at 1:18 PM 10/28/2007

 

Sounds like you have more then one problem and your tying to diagnose them as one. If you have a worn steering bushing, and your steering wheel is shaking, replace the bushing. If the wheels are hard to spin try new calipers, mine were hard to spin and I was getting uneven wear on my rotors too. I replaced front and back pads rotors and calipers. Now she brakes like a DREAM. It was dirt cheap with my discount at work but it's not as expensive as you'd think at list price. Seems like you've replaced everything BUT the calipers. Give them a shot. If that doesn't work, I'd try brake hoses as they might be clogged and created their own one way check valve. I'd say wheel bearings, but unless both sets of knuckes have bad ones it can't be that. Good luck, let us know how it turns out. DONT GIVE UP!

 

expletive yeah dude i have the same problem, i know i need new tie rod ends on the left side, which is where all the problem is i think i havent noticed anything with the right side. i know my alignment is a little off (uneven where on the tires( inside)) but the steering wheel shakes like a motha ***** when i brake.

 

your instinct on the hub being bent is probably right.

wheel bearing needs to be changed. or its possible you didnt install the rotor completely flush. both would explain some of the things youve said.

however you said you replaced the knuckles too, so i dunno. makes me lean more towards the bad rotor install. hard to imagine the rotor itself is out of round, but that could be possible.

but yes, replacing or rebuilding the steering rack with a fresh rack end bushing would help a lot too. i just dont thikn thats your only problem.

 

Have you checked the runout on the front rotors? Does it have drums on the rear? Are they out of round? Do the hubs have a lot of rust build-up on the mating surfaces?

 

i have not checked the 'runout' how do i do that.

rear drums were recently machined at dealership.
yes, the hubs have a bit of rust on the matting surface. i willl try sanding it all off. i tried sanding them a bit before but not much.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EFing8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have not checked the 'runout' how do i do that.
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You need a dial gauge. If they're real bad you can see it by eyeball. Put the car on jack stands, remove the front wheels and put the engine in gear. Look for a slight in/out wobble of the rotor.

 

and if they do whobble what do i do?


Modified by EFing8 at 9:13 AM 10/28/2007

 

Its already been mentioned once but I would wholeheartedly agree that is your calipers. Seized up pistons in the calipers will cause that grabbing (hard to turn sitution) you are talking about with that front wheels.

I would got to napa and see if you can't get a remaned loaded caliper assembly and go get your rotors cut so you are sure they are smooth. Calipers really are not expensive at all and if you haven't replaced them at all..that would be my next step.

 

looks like u need a new car boy.

after changing all that

 

changing the rack end bushing is a must see as how you got the shaking of the steering wheel while under heavy brake pressure. when i did mine there was only one little peice of the bushing left in the rack. you've replaced just about everything down there, when you put the different hub on did you turn the hub while the caliper and rotor were off? if the hub rotates fine w/out the caliper on then you put on the rotor and caliper and it doesn't rotate with ease any more then surely it's the caliper.

 

solved. calipers.

 

 

donforget you still have to deal with the wreckage all that shaking did to your chassis. namely the steering rack.

 

ya, i replaced another tie rod end. everything else seems good. that rack bushing will just have to wait. i'm not allowed to spend another dime on the car until next year. I limit myself to $1000 in repairs/maintenance per year. i usually never even get close to spending that much. but this year i think i went over. still waaaaaaaay cheaper than monthly payments on a newer car.

 

the end busing is only 7 or 8 bucks