Front end shakes when braking
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 133
Likes: 8
Front end shakes when braking
Hi,
I have a 96 E350 van with a braking issue. I was just wondering if anyone has dealt with this problem and might know what is causing it. My front end shakes when I apply my brakes. It's been going on for years and I'd finally like to figure out what's going on with this. It's not a problem at lower speeds but when I'm coming off an exit ramp from the interstate at 60 mpg it's very noticable. It happens if I brake lightly or hard. Seems like I replaced the rotors at some point and it didn't make any difference. I can't figure it out.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I have a 96 E350 van with a braking issue. I was just wondering if anyone has dealt with this problem and might know what is causing it. My front end shakes when I apply my brakes. It's been going on for years and I'd finally like to figure out what's going on with this. It's not a problem at lower speeds but when I'm coming off an exit ramp from the interstate at 60 mpg it's very noticable. It happens if I brake lightly or hard. Seems like I replaced the rotors at some point and it didn't make any difference. I can't figure it out.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 133
Likes: 8
Yes, I believe I did.
I just got back from having an alignment done. It was definitely off, and he said there is too much play in the steering gearbox. He adjusted the tightening screw as much as he could without binding the gears. He also suggested that this is what might be causing the shaking when I brake. I have not had a chance to get it up to speed and test it but if the tightening and alignment shows an improvement then that may indicate a new gearbox is in order. I'll update this thread as I learn more.
Thanks
I just got back from having an alignment done. It was definitely off, and he said there is too much play in the steering gearbox. He adjusted the tightening screw as much as he could without binding the gears. He also suggested that this is what might be causing the shaking when I brake. I have not had a chance to get it up to speed and test it but if the tightening and alignment shows an improvement then that may indicate a new gearbox is in order. I'll update this thread as I learn more.
Thanks
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,040
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
Everything can cause it, ball joints, radius arm bushings, tierod ends, warped rotors or sticking calipers, play anywhere up front feeds back into the steering, I tackle it one at a time as I can afford it, so I can understand you guys, age gets them.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 133
Likes: 8
Ever since I got the alignment and the steering gear tightened it is considerably better. I get a slight shake when I begin to apply the brake but it goes away once I am braking in earnest. I bought the replacement gear box so now all I have to do is find someone to install it. I don't have a lift so I'm not going to attempt it myself. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,512
Likes: 18
From: Detroit
The shaking is almost always due to warped rotors, and worn parts in the front end will both make the shaking worse and the shaking will wear the parts in the front end faster. There is no way that a worn steering box will cause a shake, but the worn box would make the shake worse.
There is also some possibility that shifted belts in the tires could cause an issue like this, but I would expect that to give a vibration at times other than braking.
I have owned big vans since 1986 and all of them have had some level of rotor problems. I buy high quality rotors when possible, and note also that you should torque the wheels to spec by hand in stages if possible, using an alternating pattern. Blasting the lug nuts full tight with an air gun will often warp the rotors either temporarily or permanently. Tire stores used to be notorious for this, but I've been using Costco and Discount Tire in recent years and they hand-torque wheels pretty regularly. (They do use a gun to tighten the lug nuts to a very low torque and then move to hand tightening.)
Speaking of which, my expensive new rotors, with about 10k miles on them, have a little wobble in them.
Good luck,
George
There is also some possibility that shifted belts in the tires could cause an issue like this, but I would expect that to give a vibration at times other than braking.
I have owned big vans since 1986 and all of them have had some level of rotor problems. I buy high quality rotors when possible, and note also that you should torque the wheels to spec by hand in stages if possible, using an alternating pattern. Blasting the lug nuts full tight with an air gun will often warp the rotors either temporarily or permanently. Tire stores used to be notorious for this, but I've been using Costco and Discount Tire in recent years and they hand-torque wheels pretty regularly. (They do use a gun to tighten the lug nuts to a very low torque and then move to hand tightening.)
Speaking of which, my expensive new rotors, with about 10k miles on them, have a little wobble in them.
Good luck,
George
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Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,040
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
YoGeorge, I have the same problem, my rotors don't have 5,000 on them and I get a little wobble, I have a new ball joint, tie rod ends, rotors and pads.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Detroit
I've had new rotors warp after a few thousand miles. I had a dealer do the brakes (for big $$$) at about 42k miles and they turned the rotors for free. Problem was, at 80k when I next needed brake pads, the rotors were too thin to take another turn. Thinking back, when my van was brand new, it needed the rotors turned in the first 10k miles as well.
One thing you could try is to loosen the lugs on the wheels and tighten them to spec in the correct alternating pattern. I have had this help a slight wobble over the years, but don't get your hopes up too much--unless you've just had your tires rotated or removed for some other reason.
I had an extended warranty to 60k miles on my van, and at about 55k, got new ball joints, tie rod ends, and a drag link, I believe. (The service manager at the dealership was on very good terms with me.) My van is only an E150, not driven hard, and still consumes front end parts and brakes. (My '96 GMC Savana would only get about 30k miles out of brake pads and rotors.)
I think that the brake weakness in the E150 was one of the reasons they made the new E150 into basically a 250 with 8 lug wheels, larger brakes, etc.
On other vehicles, we have had good luck with Brembo rotors. I do avoid the cheap Chinese rotors.
Good luck,
George
One thing you could try is to loosen the lugs on the wheels and tighten them to spec in the correct alternating pattern. I have had this help a slight wobble over the years, but don't get your hopes up too much--unless you've just had your tires rotated or removed for some other reason.
I had an extended warranty to 60k miles on my van, and at about 55k, got new ball joints, tie rod ends, and a drag link, I believe. (The service manager at the dealership was on very good terms with me.) My van is only an E150, not driven hard, and still consumes front end parts and brakes. (My '96 GMC Savana would only get about 30k miles out of brake pads and rotors.)
I think that the brake weakness in the E150 was one of the reasons they made the new E150 into basically a 250 with 8 lug wheels, larger brakes, etc.
On other vehicles, we have had good luck with Brembo rotors. I do avoid the cheap Chinese rotors.
Good luck,
George
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,040
Likes: 137
From: Maryville
I did my brakes, I tighten wheels the correct way, I used the carbon metallic pads, well known to eat into a rotor, but at 8000 lbs, the smart man uses the closest thing to semi-metallic as he can get, anything less will disappear before you get to 5000 miles, ceramic is a big no on this thing, too heavy. I have my tires rotated religiously, when it comes to I-beams, if you don't the front won't make it to 1/2 their mileage rating, have experience here in owning old F-100's and a TTB in the past. I had to get my rotors at O'Reillys when I got them, they were the only ones with them, guess I have to wait till I get my other van back so I can pull them to take in for turning, had over 100,000 on the previous ones and were far out of round to turn back.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 133
Likes: 8
That was my original problem, and yes, that vibration happened at various speeds while just driving along. Took three visits for them to confirm my suspicion that one of the tires was going bad. The shaking when braking is a separate issue that's been going on for a while. But like I said it's much improved now. With 216,000 miles a little problem now and then is no surprise.
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