What's causing my rough braking?

I

imported_truzoom

New member
My F150 is a little over 3 years old and about 34k miles with the originally installed Goodyear Eagle GTIIs (not the oem General Grabbers). The tires are very close to the end of their life as the penny trick shows all of lincoln and the wear bars are only a few hundred miles from being exposed.



Lately, it seems when I brake from speeds greater than 30mph or so, the ride gets rough like I'm driving over a bunch of small bumps in the road. I know it isn't the road because it has happened in different places, so I'm thinking my rotors could be warped or possibly the tires or something else has gone bad. My brake pads haven't started squealing yet, although they will let out a little chirp when I'm movin forward in the drive-thru lane.



I'm not really worried about having to fix the problem, but I'd like to make sure I address the problem, and not spend extra money on other 'suspicious places'. Rotors aren't too expensive for my model truck, and I'm somewhat uneasy about getting my current rotors shaved even. I know that rotors can easily warp if you expose them to cold water after a long drive, or even if the lugnuts are not torqued correctly, but I've been pretty cautious about both, so what else could it be?
 
Are you planning on replacing the tires now? That's a quick way to find out if it's a tire problem. 34K sound like a lot of miles on those front pads, and IIRC some Fords are really rotor-warpers (not sure if the F150 is one of them), so it could be brake-related also.



Sorry I was so much help, lol.
 
"The ride gets rough like I'm driving over a bunch of small bumps in the road"



Sounds to me like you're getting vibration in the cabin through the brake pedal, from warped rotors.
 
I really should be getting new tires before winter weather hits and I have to try to drive on icy roads with these pseudo-slicks.



Now I have to figure out which of the 4 rotors is bad!
 
Get some snow tires! Then get some new wheels in the spring!

There is a truck version of the Dunlop Winter Sport M3 that I've got. :)
 
LOL it doesn't get that bad here. If I use the goodyears 'til next year I'll just put some bags of sand in the bed during bad weather. We rarely get enough snow to make snow tires a necessary purchase.



I can't seem to find any wheels I like, but I'm shooting for 18s as I want them more for less sidewall and performance vs 20s+ for the "bling factor" :lol:
 
Truzoom,



I have a 98 F150 with the original GT II's, I replaced them at 60, 000 miles and they are about due to be changed again. I stayed with original factory tires but will not to do so this time. GoodYear tires IMO are pitiful and I have had numerous tire places tell me the same and they sell Goodyear so, they are not just saying that to avoid the buyer to go some where else.



I have the same problem, a constant vibration and have had it a while and it seems to come from the tires as Goodyears are prone to *cupping* which I believe to be the cause of the vibration. I have replaced the rotors on my truck but at that point the tires may have still been fairly new so I don't remember if I had vibration or not. Try your tires first and go from there.
 
What do you mean by cupping? My goodyears seem to have a problem with the tread not wearing evenly across the tire. The edges are good while the middle is worn out, but I don't run my tires overinflated as to cause them to wear this way.
 
Tire cupping is irregular wear on the tire tread. High spots, uneven wear, etc. That can and will cause vibrations. I had one of my rear tires wear out in the middle like you described. From what I have been hearing lately, Goodyear are prone to cupping (as are all tires) but they seem to do it the worst.
 
if its the rotors you should notice your braking is changed. i had the lumpy feeling from my car along with worse braking and knew it was the rotors. also was getting brake squeeks after 5k miles with new pads. was also so bad my ABS was comming on with moderate braking and the tires were losing grip stopping in the rain.
 
It does sound like a front rotor problem. I've read some compelling stuff about this, saying that the rotors don't really *warp* but rather get messed up by deposits from the brake pads. I've had this happen on vehicles where there was no way the rotors got hot or the wheels were overtightened, or any other warpage-causing thing. No amount of turning/etc. would solve the problem. The only way to fix it was to get new rotors and carefully break them in (which is a royal pain).



I think it was StopTech's website that had info about this.
 
I have a 2003 F-150, 43k miles, and i get the same thing.



At 60 mph i get smooth stopping, but once i hit 43 mph the truck kinda bounces, when i hit 25-30 it stopps.



If i keep my foot on the brake lightly and try to feel for the normal pulse from a warped rotor, there is nothng, the pedal is smooth as silk.



I have actually grown increasingly annoyed from this also.
 
My mothers Taurus and Thunderbird had these same exact problems. Any exceptional brake application at more than 30 mph and the whole strearing wheel would shake. At some speeds and brake application it would not do this but, for the most part, this was the exception not the rule. We changed the brake rotors and that fixed the problem for awhile but, w/i a couple thouusand miles, the problem resurfaced again. If I could do it over, I would have upgraded to performance rotors and brakes. I know there are alot of people on this board that love Ford vehicles, but I feel there component parts are very cheap resulting in alot of maintenance over the years. I only say this b/c I now drive Nissans and I never experience any of the problems that continually occur on my mothers Ford vehicles.



JJ
 
We had a Taurus also with the rotor problems. I talked with my mechanic, he said Tarus has undersized front rotors, and they warp. I know i replaced them 3 times, and the last time they were jiggling the wheel at only 10k miles.



The truck is doing something different i think, there is no steering wheel shake, the whole truck just kinda bounces, but only at a certain speed.



I have goodyear wrangler rt/s tires on it right now, but they are in good shape, not sure if the tires can cause this problem or not...



In contrast i have a chevy 3500 work truck, with only 17k miles on it. Due to the loads it gets put on it, i have a pulse in the brake pedal, and the wheel ever so slightly jiggles.



Thats typical rotor warpage i belive.
 
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