2003 Sunfire shakes a whole lot when braking... Not so much if I'm not going really fast, but if I'm going a pretty decent speed and I have to break it starts shaking, even my steering wheel shakes. I'm not even slamming on the breaks either. Just easing up on them to come to a stop, but it still rattles the hell out of the car. Is there any reason for this and is there something I can do about it?
Likely the front brake rotors have "warped"... they have a tendancy to do that
It's not that they actually warp though... but the runout on the rotor exceeds the maximum... so when the pads are going over the high-to-low spots it tends to vibrate... all the way through the pedal and majority of the car...
Replace the front brakes
<a href="http://www.lenkorules.com/"><img src="http://s93165229.onlinehome.us/images/zm/sig/LRDCsig3.jpg"></a>
yup yup...Mr. Lenko again hit it on the head
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So I need new brakes or just new brake pads?
mikeylikey(theTotalEstr8one) wrote:i had a 97 sunfire that used to shake like that...turns out it wasn't the brakes i was stupid enough to drive it until the motor mounts broke and my engine fell in...turned out just one of the motor mounts was loose, all i woulda had to do was get that replaced and i coulda avoided all that.....so yeah have the mechanic check the motor mounts too
Dang... Sounds like I've got a @!#$ load of stuff to check up on now... I hate working 2 jobs... So much to do... so little time....
Oh well, at least my Sunfire is still covered under warrenty. I'm gonna get a check up on everything this week or next week so I can get everything back tonormal before it expires at the end of this summer.
Do the brakes first. My '03 Cav did that too, and it only had 10K on the odometer. I bought the slotted rotors from Pat, at Stop-it perf., put 'em on, and no more shake. And the car stops better now, especially in the wet.
I may not know much about cars, but I know two things....
1) Breaking things is expensive, and
2) Horsepower isn't cheap.
my car just did that. got all new brakes all the way around and warped them within a few months....going to the track and the way i drive etc. i love driving my car, but i absolutely dreaded it when it i drove around, even short trips. i ordered new cross drilled and slotted rotors from Roto Tech and put them on in under 30 mins. Wow, can i say awesome braking. stops way faster and i have a 1 year warranty on them.
its def the rotors. swap em out with bendix