Brakes pulsate

Hi all, I am new at this forum stuff. I am trying to find outwhy my brakes on my 04 Tacoma TRD 4x4 pulsate. I have turned the rotors and drums, new pads and still they pulsate. even turned the rotors again thinking the first shop didn't get them right. No luck. Is there something else going on with these 1st Gen Tacoma's I need to know about that causes the brakes to pulsate when braking?

 

can you elaborate a little more on whats going on? i know what pulsate means, im just trying to figure out what and where you are feeling. like is the whole truck vibrating or can you just feel it at your foot? and is the pulsating affecting your braking in any way? i.e. taking longer to brake or shorter

 

check the hat of the rotor the part where the lug holes are.this area gets rusty i always use a digrinder with a scotch brite pad.also you will need to get the hub clean also.if the area on the rotor was not cleaned then when machined the rotor was not true.also check the mounting surface on the backside of you wheels where the lug holes are.if your wheels are aluminium the do tend to get a little fuzzy that needs to be cleaned also.

 

wheels arent balanced, ball joints a worn? wheels are over torqued? not mounted flush? or to thin and getting warped really fast. where is the pulsation? pedal, steering wheel, or seat?

 

The brakes vibrate and the steering column too, only when braking. No hard left or right, it is straight as an arrow. Just pulsates/vibrates when I brake. I tried pulling the E-brake only a few times and it stops smoothly, although takes forever as one would imagine when braking with the e-brake only. So that tells me the rear drum brakes are not the issue - although I did turn the drums anyway. Can a caliper piston be sticking? Or the anti-lock system be failing in some way?

 

Thank you very much jrf02. I will try these things!

GREG

 

I would inspect around the front wheel area, look around the brake lines, where the line changes from a metal tube to rubber, look for kinks or a collapsed hose.

 

OEM wheels? Aftermarket wheels? Have the wheels been balanced recently?

 

i just hope it helps good luck.

 

I'll chek the lines too. The wheels are OEM and the tire size is the recommend 265/70/16. Nothing fancy, No lift.

 

Hi Carone, All those things you listed have been checked are are good! The pulsating is in the pedal and the steering wheel, only when braking!

 

I would say its not ABS issue, because you shouldnt feel it in the steering wheel just in the pedal. but i could be wrong.
I would try to swap wheels around put the front on the rear and rear on the front and see if it changes.
Also struts are tight and all alignment cam eccentric bolts are tight?

even if the rotors have been turn it could still be the rotors. you might be down to getting new rotors. its definitely in the front though

 

how old are the rotors? because if there old"ish" they might be warped?

does the problem happen when your on the brakes hard?
does it pull to one side?
does it shake when your on them slightly?

all signs of warped ones. or like chris said......uneven tourq on them

 

I have the same issue, brand new rotors, new ceramic pads. Pulled my ebrake, at first I thought it was a bad drum, but when I brake the whole truck does the pulsating thing. Not really bad, but as it slows it is more obvious. I was going to return the rotors on warranty. The old rotors did the same thing, that's why I replaced them. It's driving me frickin nuts!!!

 

It happens with any braking, sometimes worse than others though. I can brake moderate one time and the pulsating is horrible and the next time it isn't so bad. It'll happen with light braking, yes I can feel it grabbing when slowing to a stop and you get that feel of brake grabbing on a certain spot when as the wheel rotates. Sometimes I feel like road conditions dicate the pulsation rate, doesn't make sense to me at all. I do need to try to retorque the wheels and see if that helps.

GREG

 

I had a similar problem couple months ago. Bought some new rotors like 60 bucks stops like a dream now.

 

I had the same issue on an old 91 isuzu amigo. For me it turned out to be a sticking caliper piston. The pad would just slightly rub on the rotor. i could not tell it was rubbing but the brakes would get hot. when trying to stop, the brakes would pulsate. sometimes worse then other times.

 

I may have to take the caliber apart and hone out the positon cylinders to ensure this isn't an issue for me too.

I retorqued the wheels but no good. Still pulsates.

 

I totally have the same issue in my 04 trd 4x4, I have been trying to figure it out but no luck. Took it in to Toyota and of course they say nothing is wrong because my truck has a 7 year warranty on it. Also, had someone check the brakes and they still have 25% life left. I have no clue whats going on....