hanime

My '97 ES300 vibrates or shakes a little when driving 30-60mph. It worsens while braking from any speed in that range. During braking, I can feel the whole car and the steering wheel shakes rapidly--the brakes feel like they are in a repeated "grab-slip" motion on every half revolution. Everything appears to come from the front. Any ideas where to look or what to look for?



P.S. I recently replaced the two front stabilizer (sway) bar bushings and two sway links to the Moog brand. The car appears to vibrate a lot harder (I think it's due to the new bushings or hardened suspension).

ViPeRs103

Most likely its warped rotors... however problems pertaining to vibration or shake are bad tires, worn tie rod ends, out of alignment... Have you checked any of these symptoms!?

speedkar9

+1 on warped rotors.

hanime

My alignment seems okay. It does not lean to one side on the highways. The tires appear to be okay with normal wear (no uneven wear) with I think 80% tread left--they have been mounted and balanced last fall. When I brake, the car does not lean to one side. The calipers are engaging fine, and there is no burnt smell after driving a while. The rotors on each side do not get extremely hot and appear to wear evenly--they have been replaced 3 years ago. The brake pads have around 70% life left on them. I'm going to take them apart and see if they are worn evenly. Thanks for the input!

lostape45

You may not even know that your rotors are warped by looking at them. I never realized that mine were until I had my rear pads and rotors replaced and I noticed the car had much smoother braking. See if you can determine if it is a rear or front shaking

repairmatt

+2. Also check the calipers, even if they seem fine, they could be sticking or not retracting enough, causing them to grip the rotor slightly and creating the shake due to the warp in them. That's what happen to mine, after replacing the rotors, calipers and pads it was smooth as butter.

ES300NZ

check the wheel bearings. But replace the rotors (or have them skimmed), and if you replace them get them skimmed as well. They don't come perfect from factory (little known fact). you will need new pads as well.

ES300NZ

none of that matters. The symptom is so specific that it can really only be two things,

Brake rotors are warped. (= replace pads too)
Wheel bearings are stuffed. (= replace pads, rotors (or skim), and wheel bearings too)
or Both.

it is 'possible' a tyre has a bulge, or buckled wheel. But it's pretty unlikely.

lostape45

One other issue could be that your tires are out of round. Since you said it was shaking in the steering wheel that means it's most likely a front tire or the front tires. That would make more sense because you said it happened at only certain speeds, not just while braking.

ES300NZ

btu he talked of braking which was like 'on / off' and violent vibrations.

speedkar9

I too have got a vibration and bumpy feeling in my Lexus. It can be felt at city speed and worse on the highway.

I've swapped and balanced tires, taken it in for a few alignments, and everything is to spec. I even put on another set of Michelin tires on Toyota OEM rims on the front and the vibration is still there. The car still pulls to the left on the highway.

At this point I'm looking toward my brakes - I don't get any pedal vibration when braking, but I can hear the pad rubbing unevenly as I approach the last few feet of a full stop. Front brakes were done 2 years ago when I got the car and have ~35K km on them, and rear brakes were done who knows when. The calipers and wheels are an even temperature after a long drive. Brakes were serviced last year when I pulled everything apart to paint the calipers.

Is there any better way to check for wheel bearing play beside shaking the wheel?

I look forward in hearing what your solution was. I don't mind replacing my brakes... its easy enough, I just don't want to spend money doing it now if I don't have to

hanime

Thank you everyone for your inputs.

@ES300NZ: I didn't know about the wheel bearings. Is it easy to go bad, or is it common?

I am ordering new pairs of rotors (Brembo blanks), calipers, and brake pads (Hawk ceramics). Might as well change the whole thing. I plan to change the tires before the snow hits, so if the shaking stops beforehand, we know it's the brake system. If not, I may have to check the wheel bearings or see if the tires will fix the issue. I will post back with the results.

ES300NZ

here' s a decent video on how to test a wheel bearing.


nah, it's not common. Wheel bearings are seriously strong. But it's not uncommon that one issue leads to another and before you know it it's three or four things at once.

INNOUTFAN

Just changed all four rotor, caliper, pads, front sway bar bushings and links and rear bearing/hub assemblies. Had a major vibration and could tell the rotors were warped (I think from getting my tires rotated and blue-torqued on the lug nuts). Went with Brembo rotors and EBC pads, would have went with EBC rotors but they don't make rear rotors for my 3ES.

Three out of four calipers were "blown" out and the rear hub/bearings were dry as a bone. Front left pads were worn twice as much as the passenger side which leads me to believe there was a caliper problem. The break in on the EBC pads and Brembo rotors was interesting, thought the brakes were going to come apart. Shutter is gone and that annoying rattle over bumps (sway bar links) is gone as well. Good luck



Brembo Rotors, EBC Pads, reman calipers and new wheel bearing/hub assembly

hanime

@Innoutfan: Wow, your wheel-well area looks so clean! I hardly see any rust on there. I am so jealous. Congratulations on the new setup, it looks flawless! I have received my brake pads and calipers. I should be receiving the Brembo rotors today. I am going to just do the two front sides for the time being. We'll see how it goes.