steveski

Guys I have searched and found some decent explanations but they are dated. I am hoping to get some perspective and maybe a solution without spending needless cash on unnecessary parts.

Here is what is happening. I am getting a shimmy both in the wheel and on the floor when braking at higher speeds (over 50 MPH). It does not shimmy at all while cruising at any speed. Braking under 50 MPH it is unnoticeable. I jacked the car up and tested wheel play (vertical and horizontal) and they are all tight. The only problem I found is by grabbing the passenger outer tie rod and wiggling it I feel play. It is not significant but there is play versus the driver's side being tight.

I used a dial indicator on the rotors and they all are within spec according to the manual. My question is should I replace the outer tie rods or could it be the strut bar(s) or both?

RA40 had threads describing the same thing. My local mechanic checked and said it could be strut rod(s). I already replaced lower ball joints and upper CA's. Strut bars have never been replaced.

Any of you mechanics out there that could give me some insight would be appreciated.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

strut bars.
i had a similar problem on my old car, unfortunately it was totalled before i replaced the bushings x.x

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

Your pistons are not functioning properly and having a 4 piston set up makes it a challange for most to do a brake job properly.

Pull the pads off , push the pistons out by depressing the brake pedal, pull up the edge of the piston seal and spray some penetrating lube in there.
Also bleed the calipers properly by opening the bleeder screw and pressing in the bottom outer then upper then moving in to the inside ones to get all the air out in sequence .
You may also notice uneven pad wear as well from it.

steveski

Thanks guys I will look into the calipers - I was thinking initially the strut bars since they have not been changed and car is old

JBrewster

When my strut rods went I didn't have any shimmy under braking. Around 80-90mph the front end would wander side to side though.

steveski

Interesting. Mine wandered but when I changed upper CA's it stopped. Thestrut rods have never been replaced - how could they possibly be good after 218,000 miles? For $95 each I guess it is a cheap fix hopefully.

Maybe the rear trailing arm bushing is bad????? I may change that next if this doesn't fix it.

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

I just hit 99K in mine.

As far as strut bars, bushings, control arms and basically everything we just covered, how often should these things be changed?

steveski

I changed ball joints and CA's around 150k - never did the strut bars but they are next on my list.

Photoinc

Everytime I had a shimmey during braking in my Supra, and both LS's 93 and 98, it was the rotors, even when they were within tolorrence. After changing them the shimmey went away.

PS I don't recommend pumping your brake pedal while the caliper is off of the rotor, if you try the suggested repair, I recommend you put something in the caliper to prevent the pistons from popping out when you push your foot to the floor.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

isnt that like common knowledge

oh, and this shimmy isnt purely under braking as you would get from normally "warped" rotors.

Photoinc

Common knowledge to those that work on cars commonly......just trying to prevent a headache for the guy if he does not have that common knowledge.

So it happens over 50 mph during braking, and not under, then it's rotors that are in the beginning stages of warping, the higher temp of over 50 braking will bring out the shimmey, that is not felt at slower speeds, eventually it will get worse.

When was the last time the pads were changed?

How old are the rotors?

If it's been a while, I would look there first.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

while "warped" rotors are possible, being that the vibration is at a VERY select speed it is unlikely, you would feel "warped" rotors a little bit at every speed, hell i once "warped" my DD's rotors so badly that they would vibrate a little bit from braking under 20mph

steveski

Thanks for the input - if it helps somebody not make a goofy mistake it s all good. The problem is I used a dial indicator on the rotors and they ran true - that is what initially troubled me on the vibration. Since then I checked tire/wheel movement at 12, 3, 6 and 9 O'Clock and all were fine (tight). I am taking it to my local mechanic tonight to see what he thinks. He will help me check steering (inner and outer tie rods) system.

I am leaning toward strut bar(s) however I don't want to rule out inner tie rod(s).

Photoinc

In my experience anytime you touch the brakes and the steering wheel shimmeys, at what ever speed, 9 out of 10 times it's the rotors.
My 98 had bad lower ball joints, and warped rotors, when using the brakes and the wheel started to shimmey, the ball joint would knock, sounded like somebody was hitting the side of the car with a hammer. I changed the rotors before the ball joint, the shimmey and the knocking sound went away.
Personally I don't think it's your strut bars.

Did you put the dial on your rotors when they were hot?
I think I would do that first thing when you get to the shop.

Let us know what you find out.

steveski

Thanks. I used the dial indicator when rotors were cool (in morning) and they spec'd fine (normal run out). I remember my lower ball joints would pop or clunk loud when I hit a bump. Many thought it was strut bars back them however it was my lower ball joints. I will see my local Lexus guy this week and definitely post the results. I agree that normally rotors cause these sorts of things. Thankfully the guy I go to is honest. Otherwise I would be changing every part in the suspension

I will say though that when I jacked the car up and spun the wheels I noticed a low spot on "both" front wheels. I took them for balancing and they guy said they balanced out and would not cause the vibration when braking - story is complex. We'll see what the solution is this week