Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

[relocyo]

2003 chevy silverado, 5.3l v8, so I changed my brake pads, they werent too bad but I hadnt done it since I owned the truck, front brake pads only, so I changed them no problem came off, they had mabey a 3rd of the pads left. Everything went back together perfectly no issues, no extra parts, lol. But now ive got a pretty significant shimmy on the front passenger side. I realise I should now change the rotors, but that wont be doable for 2 weeks.

So my question is will I do any significant damage to my front end driving like this for a little while? The truck stops fine so thats not an issue... Any guesses from you guys?

 

[dlindeblad]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

When does it shimmy? Only when braking? Did it shimmy at all before? My guess is that you got some grease or lube on the pad or rotor when replacing the pads. My guess would be the rotor. It will cause the pad to slip on the greased spot and grab in the dry spots hence a shimmy feel.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

If it's only when braking then the shimmy will be fine till you can replace.

If it's all the time, double check the tire, You may have not got it seated correctly when you tightened it down.

 

[BlkY2k]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

If it's only when braking then the shimmy will be fine till you can replace.

If it's all the time, double check the tire, You may have not got it seated correctly when you tightened it down.

x2 If you had the rotors off at all check the backside of them, some times they get a rusty, crusty spot on the back side where they contact the axles may just need a little cleaning. I always paint the end of the axle with anti-sieze after cleaning. G/L

 

[relocyo]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

Ok thanks, makes me feel a little better, had never done that before, and yes only when braking. Didnt have the rotors off. Ill check for any crusty or greasy spots. Been driving on them for a week, would the grease burn off by now if on the pad?

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

Grease and oil would have burnt off by now.

but here's a few scenerios for you..
1:You had a grease/oil spot on the rotors, This cause a cool/hot spot on the rotor(s) and warped them.
2:The old rotors are thinned from age and the new brake pads warped the rotors.
3:Your guide/slide pins aren't seated properly.

Here's what i would do. Depending on how many miles are on the rotors, Take them off and run them down to the autostore (Oreilys) and have them checked for thickness. If they are in speck have them turned down. Cost you about 15 bucks. Here's where many may jump, with turning rotors and say never to do it. Just buy new... We did it in the past, why not do it now.. If they are in spec I say go ahead.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

There's usually not enough meat to turn the rotors on a 1500 Chev and why bother when turning won't take out hard spots (makes them even harder!) and the rotors are relatively cheap to replace, I think mine were about $36 bucks each from Autozone for my '03 Avalanche. Shop around, they aren't very expensive.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

Sometimes over torqueing the lug nuts can cause a rotor to warp also. Like I tell my Son-in-law, Tight is tight, and too damn tight is too damn tight.

 

[relocyo]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

and i guess it would help to add that they squeek when my foot is NOT pressing the pedal. whenn i press the brake the squeeking stops, its not real loud, noticibale but not loud. its like a ticking squeek, tink, tink, tink, tink. faster i go faster the squeek is. im familiar with turning rotors, and from what ive always been told they could have still been turned.the whole reason i didnt was because the brake pads werent all that worn and the rotors were smooth with no gouges, just the normal rusty lip around the outside.

also with that being said i properly greased everything like normal., back of pads (duralast gold) slide pins and the tracks the corners of the pads slide on.
also can feel the flutter in the brake pedal... ugh... i guess i was trying to save the time as opposed to the money, but now i have neither :redface:
and i had to borrow the jack, and stands, and star bits in the first place... needless to say im a bit embarresed now.

just want to make sure i dont nuke somthing down there until i can recoup some funds to fix it, as i bought a new steering system for the boat and some tools to install it and now everything is on hold now... bummer...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

Sometimes over torqueing the lug nuts can cause a rotor to warp also.

Local tire shop fixed my flat and over torqued the lug nuts and I got a shudder through the brake pedal. I went home and correctly tightened the nuts with a torque wrench and I was back to normal.

 

[mscher]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

Did all of the wheels, go back on the same hubs, they were removed from?

The last brake job I did, had the tires not in that great of shape. They were rotated and a slight front shimmy and pull started. Could it be something want amiss with the brake job?

It went away when the tires were replaced.

FWIW, I once had the same rotors on a vehicle for 16 years (140K miles).

Sounds like you have something dragging.

 

[relocyo]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

I agree I feel like something is dragging also, I didnt use a torque wrench, I just tightened them down with the factory lug wrench, I got em tight as I could by hand without jumping up and down on it. Truck only has 70k on it. When taking the wheels off the lug nuts were a biotch to get off so I didnt think it was an issue. Nothing really went wrong with the brake install pretty straight forward. Except for on that side the pads were tight sliding into its holder, and I tapped them in with a hammer, didnt have to bang on em, just tapped em into place as I couldnt get it by hand...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

Well the first easy thing to do is to loosen all the lug nuts and torque them down properly. You do tighten them a little at a time working your way around the wheel right?

Before I replace the pads, I always get a tootbrush in there and clean as much brake dust out as I can paying particular attention the the guides on the side where the pads slide.

I also always buy a new hardware kit too to replace all the spring clips and slides. Worth the $5 to $10.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

I have seen cases where wheel bearings that were going out did not show signs of going bad until a brake job was done. This can cause a squeak and shimmy as well. Hope you find out what is going on. Let us know as I like knowing knowledge from other peoples problems.....SS

 

[relocyo]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

Ill let yall know aa soon as I can get to it, I dunno if its my imagination but it seems to have gotten a little, tiny bit better, I wonder if pads are starting to conform to the rotors or some such...

 

[dc095]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

get better brake pads. if the ones you got are from advance ar auto zone go to a real auto parts store and buy good brake pads. i used advance auto one time got the same result, shimmy only after changing pads. I changed them for better pads,all better."you get what you pay for" most of the time.

 

[relocyo]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

get better brake pads. if the ones you got are from advance ar auto zone go to a real auto parts store and buy good brake pads. i used advance auto one time got the same result, shimmy only after changing pads. I changed them for better pads,all better."you get what you pay for" most of the time.

I here ya, but I got the duralast gold, only 1 step down from ceramic pads, reviews I read were pretty decent... I was gonna tear it apart this weekend but we had thunderstorms and I dont have a covered work area... Frustrating for sure...

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

If it started after you finished your brake job, I would suspect something you did. Or didnt do. I dont think I would drive it til you pulled it apart and made sure. Rotors for that thing should be the same as the ones on my Trailblazer, and I think they cost like $24 each. I wouldnt have them turned. It isnt worth the aggrevation. Trust me, I had a local brake shop turn mine and they made them worse than before, and I was out $35 for a pair. Wasted money because they denied that it was their fault and blamed my brake job. Local parts places do not turn rotors any more.

I fought my shimmy for years. Mine was in the rear though. I replaced rotors 3 times and finally after the third set I found a straight set. My mistake was that I was mail ordering them, the last set I bought local. I paid a little more but they were straight because UPS didnt have a part in shipping them. I was beginning to think it was a bad abs sensor or who knows. I had them apart so many times and replaced every single part.

 

[mnypitboat]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

I here ya, but I got the duralast gold, only 1 step down from ceramic pads, reviews I read were pretty decent... I was gonna tear it apart this weekend but we had thunderstorms and I dont have a covered work area... Frustrating for sure...

Oh and those pads are just fine. I have the same ones on my truck.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Changed my brakes, now I got a shimmy, kinda bad...

When all else fails, buy a harbor Freight dial indicator and measure the runnout on your rotors. You can also index your rotors(rotate them on the studs) to get the least runout if you are really anal.

I would get the rotors turned if I were you. On some vehicles, there just isn't enough meat on the rotors to get them turned. Silverados are not one of them. There are plenty of machine shops, including those at auto parts stores, that turn rotors. I have at least a dozen of them within 5 miles that do it.

I also would not buy the cheapest rotors you can find. I actually bought a bad brand new rotor verified by a dial indicator.