[koontz]

Hi I have a problem were anything above say around 50 mph my steering wheel will judder when braking, about 8 months ago I had new pads fitted to the front of the car and it made a grinding noise when braking so took it bcak and he filled the brake discs a little and the noise went away, the brakes seem fine but was wondering if this is either the brake discs are warped and need replacing or it maybe is the wheels need adjusting for balance and alignment any thought thanks.

Edit: sorry car is a ford focus 2001 1.6 zetec petrol.

[Hometune]

Have the suspension mounting points checked for the lower arms. There may be excessive play in one or more bushes.

[koontz]

Thanks for the reply, my car was serviced in april and failed first mot on the basis of nearside track rod end ball joint has excessive play, which they duly fixed for £13.03, is what you say anything to do with this?, if so I will go back to garage and have a word.

Just a thought would having my wheels tracked help?, remove the shuddering under braking.

[tommytwotanks]

i have a similar problem on my mondeo mk2, after doing a little investigating, and trying things to try and eliminate one thing or another, ive fitted new front springs, after one broke, and new lower suspension arms,
but i still had the shaking, so i tried slowly applying the handbrake, to try and find out if it was the rear disc's, it didnt feel as smooth as it should, so i had a look at the rear disc's, drivers side was ok, but when i looked at the passenger side, the outer surface was 99% but the inner surface is starting to break up, so im hopng this is causing my shaking under braking problem, new parts on order

tommy :D

[Hometune]

Originally Posted by koontz

Thanks for the reply, my car was serviced in april and failed first mot on the basis of nearside track rod end ball joint has excessive play, which they duly fixed for £13.03, is what you say anything to do with this?, if so I will go back to garage and have a word.

Just a thought would having my wheels tracked help?, remove the shuddering under braking.

No, I mean the lower arm suspension bushes. But, sometimes garages can make a mistake when saying the track rod end has play when in fact it is the steering rod at the rack that has the movement. With wheels off the ground grab at 9 and 3 o'clock and try to rock in and out. If your car has power steering the engine should be running but you can compare with the engine off.
If your car has not had tracking done in a long time it may be worthwhile carrying it out to prolong the life of the tyres especially if you go over speed humps every day.

[bobbyd]

why would they only judder at above 50mph ??? if ive had brake judder in the past i seem 2 remember it was at all speeds although faster proberbly meant felt worse...how far did u drive on the new pads b4 the mechanic filed the rust off the discs...did they have time 2 heat up and warp

[koontz]

Not sure mate its going in for a check this week so hopefull they will sort it out, hope it doesnt cost to much though this driving lark is an expensive 'hobby'.

[koontz]

Well my problem 'apparantly' was my brake disks were warped, so they have replaced front disks and pads, just took it out and the problem so far has gone, cost me nearly £100.00 though.

[koontz]

The steering seems better since the brake disks and pads were replaced?, maybe it just a placebo effect?, or can warped disks effect the steering of the car?.

[dnhcliho]

hi again

when i had this prob...it was a few years ago on a 2.8i capri....whilst driving at 50 or 60 mph you could lightly depress the brake pedal with your left foot whilst pressing the accelerator with your right...and feel the pedal move slightly up and down with the deviation on the disc faster the car faster the deviation maybe easier to tell with shoe removed just as a trial that is for future referance...but as for steering interfereance....no none...you may get a pull on what appears to be the steering under braking...is this prob you have detected...steering whist braking...steering whilst not braking...sometimes...all the time...what are the symptoms