I have recently changed all 4 rotors and brake pads, i blead the brake line, replaced tires about 4 months ago and replaced lower front ball joints. The problem is that the whole explorer shakes including steering whee when you brake between 55-40 MPH. I thought by doing a complete brake job, it would solve my problem. I'm running miserable not knowing what the problem is. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

Welcome to the forum!

Are you suggesting that the shaking while braking was there before you did all the brake work, and there was no change after replacing the rotors? Did you replace the brakes and rotors, or have a shop do the work?

Generally the shaking you describe when braking is due to warped rotors, or rotors that no longer run true. Several years ago when I still worked at my dad's shop we had a period where brake rotors we purchased actually caused a worse pedal pulsation than the old rotors we took off. If we put them on the brake lathe we could get the pulsation out, but then we had already significantly decreased the life of the rotors the customer was about to pay good money for. Working with the parts house it was determined that to save shelf space they were storing the rotors standing up rather than flat. Maybe you received some rotors that were also not stored properly?

Were the hubs carefully inspected for debris before putting the new rotors on? If there was any debris stuck to the vertical surface of the hub it will cause the rotor to not run true and will definitely set up a nasty pulsation under braking. To only feel the pulsation from highway speeds, the debris would not need to be all that large.

Was the anti-corrosion coating removed from the rotors before installing them, or was it still coating the rotors when the vehicle was taken for a drive? If left on the rotors, it may have caused glazing of the rotor and likely did not allow the brake pads to break in properly.

When the wheels were reinstalled following the brake work, were the wheel lugnuts torqued using a start pattern and to the proper torque spec, or just spun on with an impact wrench? If just tightened with an impact wrench, the potentially uneven torque could warp the rotors.

-Rod

 

I would look at the pads and shoes again.. All seem to be contacting and wearing in ? If one of the caliper slides is "stuck", the caliper will not clamp on the disc both sides, just push on one side of the disc. With wheel off, grab the caliper and wiggle it back and forth around the disc. If it dont wobble, the slide pins might be frozen.
Your sure this is not an ABS problem ? No lights on dash ?

 

Not trying to be Captain Obvious but did you clean the rotors with brake clean? Did you swirl the rotors with sandpaper? Also, take a wire brush and clean the areas where the caliper sits on the spindles and lube the slides for the calipers.

 

Caliper hanging up.