[Shotimes] Recurrent front end shudder

[Zach Leahy]

first thought, check your axles, if one of the lobes of a CV is wearing out,
it could randomly casue an inbalance and a shudder, probably not as big as
you mention, usually especially apparent on acceleration. Here's some stuff
to look at next time.
 1) Pull up on the brakes with your foot. Does it change at all?
 2) Stop and check the brake rotors, is one of them very hot vs another? Are
they both abnormally hot?
 3) Let your foot of the gas and push in the clutch, is the car slowing
abnormally fast?
 4) Look at the brake dust on your wheels, is one side covered more than the
other?
 5) when you appy the brakes does the car pull one way or another?
 A lot of things can casue a dragging brak pedal, I would suggest though
that possible one of the slider pins might be sticking and causing the
brakes to drag. If you really want to get involved, look and see if any of
the 4 pads up front is worn abnormally thing (letting you know possibly
which side is dragging.)
 Z

 On 10/21/05, sabutin <sabutin@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> Ok folks, here's an interesting one...
>
> '94 MTX, going on 200K. My daily driver since new.
>
> I've had a number of vibration problems with this car over the past
> couple of years...solved some of them, working on others. Also some
> abnormal rear brake wear .
>
> Now...this has happened three times.
>
> I'm driving along, highway speeds, dry-ish conditions.
>
> Suddenly I get a front end shudder. Starts small, gets fairly
> serious. I can really feel it through the steering wheel. When i
> brake, it feels like the worst warped rotor ever. The first time it
> happened, I pulled off at a nearby exit and got out. No loose wheel,
> no smells...nothing. Got back in the car...no shudder. Chalked it up
> to mud or debris.
>
> But now it's happened twice more. Each time, it builds for a few
> minutes, then decreases and disappears.
>
> it MUST be the brakes sticking.
>
> Right?
>
> What else would progress and then regress like that?
>
> I THINK it happens a minute or so after after a fairly strong brake
> application...but certainly not after every one. Plus...I think that
> applying the brakes makes it go away faster. (Can't really be
> sure...always in traffic; no warning; can't experiment much.)
>
> Any ideas?
>
> New brake lines?
>
> That Gen III brake replacement?
>
> The pedal return system? Spring?
>
> Anyone else had a similar problem?
>
> S.
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