I got some major shaking from front right side only when braking. No pulling, vibration in steering wheel, or pulsating pedal. Will a bad ball joint cause this?

 

Warped rotor possibly? Just a guess.

 

Bigshot62-I'm fixin' to sell my '88 F150 and have the same problem. Vibrations while braking, more violent the faster I was going, but no discernable shake in the wheel or pulling.

Yesterday, I pulled both rotors and both drums. Got 'em turned and ended up buying a rotor as one was under spec and wouldn't be turned. Repacked the bearing, put the old pads back on (both pads and shoes were 6 mos old).

Will bed the brakes either tonight or tomorrow and let you know if that fixed the problem...hope it at least gives you a starting point...

 

My guess too. Looked at it and it looks a little off but I guess a little can go a long way. A guy doing brakes on another vehicle looked at it and mentioned the ball joints had some play.

 

Ok. Thank you. Exactly my problem. Thanks for reply. Didn't want to start throwing parts at it.

 

the bad ball joints could give you a pull and a sloppy feeling steering wheel but i dont see how they could be the result of a pulsation while braking. the last owner did one ball joint and slapped some pads on it before he sold it and now theres a pulse. i pulled the tires and can see the bad wear thats causing it. and hearing your problem i would say its the rotors as well.

 

Just for reference, this is the guide I'll be following:
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_bedintheory.shtml

 

had this on my daily driver, a audi a6, the tire was crooked, new tire and the brake vibrations dissapeared.

 

Are you 4 wheel disc brakes or just front wheels? Ball joints should not have any play, but I'm surprised you stated no vibration in steering wheel.

Assuming you are disc brakes only in the front and drums in the back, drive very slowly and stop only with the emergence brake. If the truck gives the sensation of surging in speed or a wheel out of round your drums are out of round. If you are 4 wheel discs, then this procedure is not valid due to the combo disc drum set up for the back brakes. Cable operated emergeny drum brakes and hydraulic operated disc brake.

 

GoB-as for my situation, I was really baffled by the steering wheel not shaking side to side, as I fully expected the problem to be with the rotors. Unfortunately, since I've had everything machined, there's no way for me to test that theory-maybe Bigshot can do it.

Bigshot-after 20 or so 50 or 60mph to 10mph stops (never coming to a complete stop and letting the pad rest on the disk), it appears the problem has vanished. For the first time in quite some time I can get on the brake pedal without a tightness in my gut, wondering if the truck's gonna shake itself off the road.



Good luck!