ok so in my 2000 Civic SI when i brake hard (to like avoid running a light) the steering wheel vibrates...
i was told it could be the ball joints?
any help is much appreciated

 

ABS (anti lock brake system)
it should feel like its pulsing..this is perfectly normal

 

could be ABS if you're braking *very* hard, but I think it's more likely to be warped brake rotors.

Mine seem to warp every so often and start to vibrate a bit, often starting just with very hard stops, then getting progressively worse. When they do, I pull them off and take them to O'Riley's. They will resurface them for $9 per rotor.

Last time, it ended up being a seized slider in the caliper bracket, which caused the opposite front brake to have to work much harder, which caused the rotor to warp very quickly. Replaced with a junkyard bracket, resurfaced rotors, good to go again.

 

ok thank u for ur replys so it most likely isnt the ball joints

 

Answer me this, is it a slight vibration under 45 and under and gets worse at or above 45. If so than it could be your wheel bearings going bad. thats how mine was doing.

 

slight vibration under 45

 

FWIW it is definitely not ABS because the 1999 and 2000 Civic Si didn't come with ABS.

 

Might be your rotors being warped. Especially if it happens when braking. Had the same problem on my old 96 EX.

 

sweeet thanks i didnt know that, now i do!

 

Could be crooked discs.

Could be bad suspension.

 

ok since im getting so many of u saying it's warped rotors i am gonna replace the pads and have the discs resurfaced and see if that helps

 

warped rotors.

now which rotors?... front or rear?

frotn rotors tend to shake the wheel and pedal more. rear rotors tend to shake yoru seat or car more.

a trick you can do to tell which area is to slightly pull your ebrake at speed. if no shaking is present then most likely it will be front. if shaking is present then most likely it will be rear.

disc resurfacing is ok but really depends on how much "meat" you have left on the rotors. there is a spec that you cant go below. thicker rotors (i.e. brand new) have more meat on them then your resurfaced rotors. thicker rotors will not heat as fast as your thinner rotors. heat is what caused your old rotors to warp. so in essence if you turn them they will be thinner and have a better chance to warp again.

heat is also what stops your car. if you have less heat your brake pads will last that much longer. so thicker rotors will dispurse heat more resulting in longer pad life.

new rotors are pretty cheap and this will be a perfect opportunity to get a performance style rotor. my two cents would be just to buy new rotors instead of taking your car apart...driving your girls car to the store..waiting an hour...driving back to your car blah blah.

bad suspension components will not "shake" when braking. a bad suspension component will kick in or out to the extreme side of the play in that said suspension component "once." so your steering wheel will kick to the left or right ONCE until you apply another load transfer (bump in road, accel to decel, turn of the road etc..)

 

I've also noticed that when my rotors become warped it tends to be the front only or more so. Mainly due to your rotors in the from having to take more of the force.

 

its usually the front ones that cause the vibration.


i bought brand new rotors, and they were warped right out of the box. it costs more to machine them then they do brand new.

 

ok guys i will check the rotors today

 

the us em1 did not have abs

change you front rotors and pads

the canadian Si or sir came with abs as a option, the usa em1 si did not

 

thanks man i didnt know that.
and i checked with the e-brake trick and it the front rotors.
i found out that i could get them for 166.44 at my local honda dealer and they are in stock

 

EM1s (in USA) don't have ABS firstly..

Secondly, it's your front rotors.. My 99 Si when I bought it was the same way, front rotors were abused.

Thirdly, if your steering wheel shakes, it's never going to be the rears causing that, it's only the front rotors, which are connected to your steering. Warped rears will feel differently (you won't feel it in the wheel at all).

 

thank you everyone for all the help

 

crooked discs... lulz. thats a new one.

 

You can get Brembo blanks at O'Reily's for $35 each, and they're identical to stock as far as I can tell. From what I've heard, the stock rotors *ARE* Brembo blanks, but I haven't been able to verify that. It's a hell of a lot less than $166.44 though.

 

so 70 plus tax from oreilys

 

Front rotors from car quest for my 00 si were only 54 something from carquest.

 

Something like that. I bought mine over a year ago.

 

if resurfacing the rotors are that cheap, i'd try that first.