My Tacoma is a jackhammer

Let me preface this by saying that my 55k mile Tacoma has been trouble free and that I had a breakfast burrito this morning in Mono Lake, CA that was not worth the price....


I went on a 1000 mile road trip this past week in the Sierra's, starting in the Bay Area and going to Tahoe, Mono Lake, June Lake and Mammoth areas. There were a LOT of hills and mountain ranges I went through, the truck performed great EXCEPT on downhill mountain ranges. It felt like I was holding a jackhammer and pounding into concrete. Extreme vibration from either the A. steering wheel or B. both the steering wheel and brake pedal. On flat surfaces it was "Ok", little vibration but nothing bad. On the downhill though it become ridiculous, and at times was difficult to maintain control of the truck

I think I remember this being discussed here.....is this most likely a rotor issue? warped? I am wanting to wait until 60k mile service to have it looked at, but I want to know what the possible issues are before bringing it in.

Up until now I have only noticed slight vibration occasionally in the steering wheel when braking at 30-50mph....


Any ideas?

Thanks

 

If its happening when you brake then its defintiely the rotors. Get new ones along with new pads and do the break in procedure to help cure them. It will help keep you from getting the pulse feeling later on.

 

Makes sense but when I last had service done on the truck there was "plenty of " brake pad left. Is it still worth replacing both pads and rotors?

 

You have uneven brake pad material deposited onto the rotor surface, thus causes the jerky feeling and vibration.

You can sand it off, have the rotors turned or try and re-bed the brakes.

 

thanks Jimmy!

 

It only takes acouple hard power brakes on new stuff to warp a rotor.
Running from 50mph and braking to a stop in 100 feet like alot of drivers do will indeed twist your sht.
If you dont drive like the genric idiot? my guess would be a junk st of BFG rubbers

 

@Jimmyh has it right.

Enjoy. http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

 

You should always replace as a set.

 

Engine braking is your friend.

 

Don't wait too long to replace your pads and rotors. The longer you drive this way the more damage you do to your steering components and wheel bearings.

 

I'd first try sanding down both faces of the rotors by hand, see if that knocks down any high spots created by pad deposits &/or glazing. If that fails, or isn't worth your time, new rotors & pads are pretty cheap. I got these on Amazon warehouse for about $130 out the door

$215 Power Stop Brake Kit For 2007-2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2005-2022 Toyota Tacoma 6 Lug, 2003-2009 4Runner 12.56" Rotors - Front Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads & Drilled Slotted Rotors Replacement, K137

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005FKS28C/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brake feel is sublime, zero pulse or shudder. Had my 1st panic stop on the freeway this week. I was prepared to eat their rear bumper but surprisingly stopped with 1 car length to spare.

Edit to add: while I had the front in the air I'd also wiggle the front wheels to see if there's play. Could be loose lugs or bearing play.

 

Sanding and creating dust from any of the brake components is always to be avoided. Some brake manufacturers still use asbestos in the linings. Its simply not worth it. Having the rotors ground down at a shop would be the safer way if you choose not to replace them.

 

The air you breath is more contaminated already.
A little asbestos wont hurt anything.
That is if can still find brakes still made with it.
Most assume that its still being used,actually not

 

Thats real fucking good advice.

 

While most oem brake pads are asbestos free, there are still companies that make asbestos lined brakes and clutches. The only way you know for sure is when you buy the brakes and the box says NAO, Non Asbestos Organic.

This is quoted from the Toyota Parts Center website.

There are some after-market brake pad manufacturers that still use asbestos as a brake pad filler material. What's more, there are no regulations requiring that brake pad manufacturers disclose the presence of asbestos. This is more than a bit disconcerting, as inhaling asbestos brake dust can have serious health repercussions. Therefore, it's a good idea to buy pads that are labeled "NAO", which stands for "non asbestos organic." Again, all Toyota OEM brake pads are asbestos free. The risk of asbestos exposure is limited to after-market pads (at least as far as Toyota is concerned).

Finally, it's a very good idea to wear a mask and/or use a wet brake cleaner of some kind whenever you change your brake pads. It's likely that all brake dust is bad for you, even if it doesn't contain asbestos.

 

So my neighbor took a look at my rotors/pads. He does all his own maintenance in his Nissan truck and
motorcycles. He said my rotors and pads are fine (he showed me, rotors were smooth and pads have plenty of life). He also pulled on some of the suspension components to make sure there isn't any "play"

he thinks I may need an alignment. Could that also be causing this? If it's not that and not the rotors I'm not sure what else it could be.

 

So I had the same concern rotors fine, bearing and all joint good to go, so right after buying a new set of firestones. Felt like I was driving a bumper car, rear leaf springs recall fixed a lot of the road wobble, but still had vibration. The place doesn't balance correctly or align well. Took to dealer, balanced properly and aligned by dealer fixed all issues with control and vibration.

 

Interesting. I got new tires in April and haven't had the truck aligned since, maybe i need to. Thanks

 

Glad to share. Another time it was just bad rubber like a previous poster stated. They called it "throwing a belt or belt shift" aka "bad rubber" and the tire dealer replace the offending tire. Then all was well again.