I have 16" wheels on a 1997 4Runner and have 160k miles on the vehicle. I had vibration problems (surging) when braking for the last 6 months or so and assumed it was the front rotors. I replaced the rotors myself (but not the pads as they had lots of life left in them) and still have the same problem.

I also have a slight vibration problem on the highway. The steering wheel will shake slightly left and right very quickly at certain speeds. Perhaps the two problems are related??

Any thoughts greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Well I also have a 97' with about 152k miles. I changed the rotors and pads about 2 months ago. At around 60mph it started to vibrate, I found out that it was my bad tire, after that it didn't vibrate anymore. But I still feel a slight vibration when braking though. I think you should get your tires balanced, this might solve the problem.

If your front tires look like the are wearing unevenly, rotate the tires.
Usually it's a good idea to install new pads at the same time you replace the rotors. The pads and the rotors wear together. Maybe the pads are still worn into the old rotors, either replace them or let them wear into the new rotors, they will get flatter with more usage.
Make sure the lug nuts are torqued correctly!
Check the tire pressure!
Sometimes tires go bad. They become out of round (the steel belts seperate, creating a lump in the tire). A simple way to check for belt seperation is, using the palm of your hand, feel the tread in circular motions all the way around the tire. Belt seperation doesn't occur too often, but when it does, it creates unexplainable vibrations at times. It's a 5 minute check.

Replace the pads also they will wear to the old rotors and u will fell the same problem

Buying new rortors does not guarranty that they are true,many times they have to be machined slightly even when new.

seen that also

i had BAD rotors and pads when i got my 95 4runner, and when replaced, found that it had jacked with alignment, had this fixed, and problem solved. hope it helps

i had BAD rotors and pads when i got my 95 4runner, and when replaced, found that it had jacked with alignment, had this fixed, and problem solved. hope it helps

I have worked for Goodyear for a good amount of years. I've worked on tires, brakes, suspensions and alignments.
I have never seen or ever heard of brakes having anything to do with alignments and vice versa.
Some people get wheel balance confused with wheel alignment. Wheels that are not correctly balanced, will vibrate at freeway speeds. Alignments do not have anything to do with whether or not the vehicle vibrates. Unless the alignment is off so bad, that it wears the tires so much that the tires then become out of balance, thus creating vibration issues.

Another thing, with 160,000 miles, you might want to check out your universal joints. I recently had that problem at 150,000 miles. The universal joints were going bad and it created plenty of freeway vibration. New U-joints, no more vibes.

not saying it was because of the rotors, but compounded problems. i fixed one problem, and it turned out the shaking was from alignment

What I'm trying to tell you is that alignments have nothing to do with whether or not your vehicle vibrates. Believe me, I've had plenty of customers that have come in stating that they need an alignment because their vehicle is vibrating. A car might not drive straight, or wear its tires prematurely, but it is quite impossible that a misaligned vehicle will vibrate for that sole reason.

I had the same problem with my '97 4runner that I bought used in 2000. It only had 53k miles when I bought it, and for some reason I didn't notice the shaking during the test drive. On the drive home from the dealership I felt the shaking when I got to around 60 mph and it was also pulling to the right. Instead of turning around and going back to the dealership (like I should have done in retrospect) I just went home and brought it to a firestone the next day to have it aligned. They put it on the machine, gave it a clean bill of health, and I took it home. We did notice when the car was up that there were some weights on the tires so the previous owner must have been having the same problem. There were no unusual wear patterns, or much wear at all for that matter, on the tires at that point. Unfortunately it still shook and pulled. Long story short- I had three other shops plus another dealership do the alignment and rotated to no avail. Finally, 2 years and 20k miles later, I decided to replace the tires and had them redo the brakes too. It has helped a little but it still shakes sometimes when I brake hard. Oh yeah, and now the brake light comes on whenever I accelerate. It runs though :)

Oh yeah, and now the brake light comes on whenever I accelerate. It runs though :)

Check your brake fulid level. It might be low. As you accelerate, the brake fluid goes toward the back of the reservoir which triggers the sensor. Same thing happened to me.

What I'm trying to tell you is that alignments have nothing to do with whether or not your vehicle vibrates. Believe me, I've had plenty of customers that have come in stating that they need an alignment because their vehicle is vibrating. A car might not drive straight, or wear its tires prematurely, but it is quite impossible that a misaligned vehicle will vibrate for that sole reason.

Well... alignments wont make the vehicle vibrate directly. But alignments that are off enough, can cause feathering or uneven patches in the tread of the tires. The uneven wear will cause the vibrations. So in order to fix this, they will need to get the vehicle properly aligned. The Vehicle will still vibrate at first because the tires are still feathered, but it will eventually smooth out over time. I know this because i just experienced this last week.

I had the same problem with my '97 4runner that I bought used in 2000. It only had 53k miles when I bought it, and for some reason I didn't notice the shaking during the test drive. On the drive home from the dealership I felt the shaking when I got to around 60 mph and it was also pulling to the right. Instead of turning around and going back to the dealership (like I should have done in retrospect) I just went home and brought it to a firestone the next day to have it aligned. They put it on the machine, gave it a clean bill of health, and I took it home. We did notice when the car was up that there were some weights on the tires so the previous owner must have been having the same problem. There were no unusual wear patterns, or much wear at all for that matter, on the tires at that point. Unfortunately it still shook and pulled. Long story short- I had three other shops plus another dealership do the alignment and rotated to no avail. Finally, 2 years and 20k miles later, I decided to replace the tires and had them redo the brakes too. It has helped a little but it still shakes sometimes when I brake hard. Oh yeah, and now the brake light comes on whenever I accelerate. It runs though :)


In response to above^^^^ Check brake fluid level for brake light problem