Brake Judder-causes?

[AJPMIKE 0]

I get a bit of judder through the steering wheel when applying the brakes firmly to a halt,not at huge speeds either,though if apply lightly no judder is noticeable.Thanks to a helpfull member on here i suspect i might have a slightly worn steering column uni joint,as the sttering used to get a bit stiff on occasion,which has lessened with more use(car was laid up before i recently bought it).I'd appreciate thoughts as to other possible causes i could investigate,but i dont feel it's the brakes themselves,which have good pads and discs,even wear,and pull up squarely. All advice much appreciated

[Cloverleaf 1]

There's two options I can think of:

 

1) Your brake discs are warped slightly or have uneven wear/pad material build up (which you wont be able to detect with the naked eye)

 

2) You have some worn suspension components

[stutto 0]

Are all of your caliper pins moving freely? I may well have just replaced my discs and pads when I possibly did not need to because of this. (Well the stuck pin may have warped the disc but it (the disc) was not the root cause)

 

I believed that my right disc was warped, when it was the front pin corroded and seized. My brakes were squealing some of the time but I did not notice and pulling beyond what I put down to the camber of the road.

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

In my experience it's always the pad at fault causing "judder". What pads are you running?

[aCe 0]

Carry out a disc run out check to eliminate them first. In my experience its disc 9/10!

[Batfink 201]

9 times out of 10 its uneven pad material build up on the disk.

[NeilGTi85 5]

I found that one of my calipers was loose when I had that problem.

[AJPMIKE 0]

I found that one of my calipers was loose when I had that problem.

Thanks all for the reply's.I'll take a closer look at the brakes,then

[cir287 0]

I would take a look at the discs, pads & the calipers, check for free movement, uneven ware etc

 

then I'd tug at the ball joints (bottom and track rod end) and check the steering rack for play.

you may find that its a combination of things that is exagerating a small problem.

 

if you shine a light accross the disc surface you may see a slight wave pattern if they are warped. If damaged they can be skimmed (provided there is enough meat left on them) but it probably just as cheap and more convenient to buy new ones

 

let us know how you get on.