Brake shudder at high speed?

I never had this before on my wife's Lesabre but it's a 2000 so the undercarriage was due to go. Just replaced the driver's side outer tie rod (rubber mount torn) and discovered that the stabilizer bar link was broken...fixed that and did the brakes. Did the wheel shake test and feels sturdy but when I dropped it and turned the wheel and I can feel and hear a slight clunk also when releasing the brakes. The car drives fine with no problems but a serious shudder on driver's side is felt at speeds above 50 kms/hr (30 miles/hr). The rotors are about 2 years old (they seemed fine) and the drivers side strut is in rough shape (going over a tiny pothole was pretty violent experience) Could a bad inner tie rod do this? I've experienced no problems with steering or going around bends on highways like I had in the past with a bad inner tie rod. It's the slight clunk that's throwing me off?

I would recheck for any play in the steering done with the other wheel on the gd to load the steering, Also, typical rotor symptoms, only a dial indicator can check the runout here.

It could be both. Any loose/worn steering or suspension components will exaggerate a brake pulsation becuse not only are the pads moving in an out causing the pulsation, but once it starts shaking the loose component(s) will make it feel more violent.
Check the inner tie rod as maxwedge suggests. It may not feel loose in a different postion in the socket. Worn end links will clunk if you drive straight and turn back and forth quickly to roll the body a bit. Is the shudder felt even without applying the brakes? Switch the left front tire with a rear tire and see if the shudder moves. May have a broken or shifted belt.

Took it out on the road again, I could feel the brake shudder but it had a distinctive lope to it...like the rotor has a warp somewhere. Don't know if it's an over-zealous impact wrench or maybe the result of the broken stabilizer bar and tie rod took its toll on the thing.
Time to get the credit card and the breaker bar out :biggrin:

Exactly, what does "did the brakes", mean? Was this just a pad slap?