Front End / Brakes?

My '94 Regal Custom (85K miles) has developed a front end vibration under braking. It is barely noticeable at 25mph but real significant at 40mph and above. The car feels as if it were going over rumble strips on the highway. I plan to pull the rotors this weekend. Can wheel bearing or suspension problems create the same kind of symptoms? Anyone have any experience with this problem?

Thanks,
Ray R.
96 Chrysler T&C
99 Grand Voyager
94 Regal Custom

A lot of components could cause this problem but the symptoms you describe are related to the brakes. If you felt a shimmy or vibration while driving I would suspect the suspension has a problem but given the fact that the problem only occurs while under braking I would believe that the problem is due to a warped rotor. Once you either have it turned or replaced I would suspect the problem would go away. By the way the tires could cause this problem but you would probably see uneven wear or have very little tread left on the tire. Let me know how it behaves after the rotors are changed.

Thanks GTP Dad, I went ahead with new rotors and pads. Problem appears to be gone.

Two more things:
1. after iinstalling everything, I noticed an attention slip encouraging me to fit the rotors to the hub and torque to spec. with flat side of the lug nut prior to use. Needless to say, I did not do this step. Is it necessary? 2. The caliper bracket torx head bolts were loctited in. Without a lift and an air gun, removing this bracket was the hardest part of the job. maybe why I missed the rotor attention slip (all cursed out). I did not use loctite when reinstalling. Is that necessary?

Thanks again,
Ray R.

It really isn't necessary to do this step. It is useful when putting new pads on as it holds the rotor stable while you fit the pads and caliper back into place. The loctite is not absolutely necessary as long as you torqued the bolts to spec. Although just for safety sake I would check the bolts after a couple thousand miles of driving to insure that they are still tight. With the heating and cooling cycle that the brakes go through they may eventually loosen. If they are loose you can easily remove them and put the loctite on them at that point. Also, remember to use loctite blue not red. Blue is removable while red will never come loose.

Thanks again. Red loctite was on them. I'll check them in a couple weeks.

Thanks,
Ray R.