kwatt1

I am starting to have some off issues with my 06 LX470. I thought I would open a few threads to try to resolve them...

The last several months I have been having shudder when I step on the brakes hard at high speed. It's been getting progressively worse.

I had an issue with the crank bell freezing. I fixed it a but it froze again and I thought maybe someone set the parking break and drove the truck and warked the rear rotors. I rebuilt both bell cranks a month ago and installed new rotors and pads in the rear. I could still feel a very slight pulsation and thought maybe the front brakes were the issue. I pulled the wheel and the left spring between the pads was missing so I replace it and reset the pad which had creeped up. Pads are ceramic (fornt and back) and the fronts are less than a year old and look new, no scoring onthe rotors. Rotors were replaced at that time and the wheel bearings repacked.

Yesterday I had to break hard from high speed and the shutter was pretty intense with the sterring wheel trying to oscillate back and forth a bit.. I seriously doubt this is a braking issue. I'm thinking I should put a dial on the rotor and measure runout just to be sure. I didn;t feel any play in the calipers when I had it apart.

Ideas?

lx20072014

well i am having similar issue with the brake pulse. it happens sometimes after releasing the break paddle,

have you found the issue?

kwatt1

I think my issue is bushing based. It seems to be much worse if its warm outside. I also think I have a tire with a bubble in it. I noticed the telltale wobble in traffic the other day. I've guess the bushing in the front have to be getting past their useful life (146K miles on it). It's just a bit cold to be messing around with it. I pulled the front wheels this past weekend and the rotors looked good, though I did not check the run-out and the pads looked close to new. but I did see that the anti-sway links were shot (split all around the edges) and the anti-sway bushings appear they could use help.

I'm thinking new lower control arms, anti-sway bushings and links. The upper control arms were replaced 12-18 months ago so I am thinking they are ok. I'll also do the front bearings at that time since I found that can cause the front end to wander. Its a tedious job but easy enough to do.

kwatt1

Looks like the shutter is solved...

The right front caliper appears to have been the culprit with the 2 outer pistons freezing;. I am guessing 1 must have been an issue and the other followed suite. Caliper replacement was simple enough once I managed getting the outer pad away from the rotor. The rotor will need to be replaced to get rid of the remaining pulsation; when I re-pack the wheel bearings.

maxse01

Hey,

Glad you solved your issue.

I just picked mine up from the shop...huge overhaul but the main things were new tires and new rotors and pads all around, I no longer have any shudder in the steering wheel but the whole car vibrates when I brake.

Any thoughts?

Thanks guys.

kwatt1

I thought my problem was solved, but as the weather warms I am getting the vibration again.

I bought inner and outer tie rod ends and I am thinking the bushings may be shot. The upper control arms were replaced a year or 2 ago, they are weak. I noted the ant-sway bar links have cracked rubber bushings. I am thinking the road salt has taken its last toll on the rubber in the suspension.

maxse01

Ok, I found some re-manufactured calipers on autozone's site for $99 each. I was just going to change them for piece of mind...but I've never had a caliper fail at 100k before. How can you test if a caliper is good?

kwatt1

Well, *I* would not get anything from Autozone. 10 yrs or so ago I got a caliper from them (Duralast Gold or something), It worked great right up until one day my wife was driving home from dropping my son off at school. got out of the car and the tire area burst into flame. The caliper had frozen/failed and ended up ruining everything.

I just got a NASTRA front caliper (never head of it - probably Chinese or something) for around $70 before core charge. Worked great so far.

I knew the caliper froze because I came home one day and I could smell burning brake pad as I walked by the vehicle. I pulled the wheel, opened the brake bleed screw and tried to back the pad away from the rotor. One side moved ok. I could not get the other side to back away from the rotor more than a feeler gauge amount.

If you have not changed a caliper before, chime up. Its not a hard job you just have to make sure you get the bleeding process down correctly.

krye

Calipers can rust out from age and minimal use. Mileage is not the only culprit. I have other vehicles with over 150K miles with original calipers. Water in the brake fluid can do it or salt from winter driving.