95 Accord has front end shimmy problem

[MEJA]

I replaced the rotors at 200K miles along with the brake pads. I used after market NAPA rotors and ceramic pads. After just 25k miles the front end started shimmying while braking. When I asked the man behind the counter at NAPA if the problem was warped rotors he told me I should take the car to a garage and have the ball joints checked before replacing the rotors.

My question is: is this something I can check myself, do I need to pay a mechanic $60 to tell me that the ball joints are so worn that they are causing the car to shimmy when braking? If I have worn ball joints wouldn't I be feeling the problem all the time rather than just when the brakes are being applied?

[razr_88]

You can physically look at the ball joint and look to see if the rubber is torn. I would look into getting it replace as soon as you can or :
http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...000-truck.jpeg
might happen (lol worst cases scenario)

also you can put the vehicle up on jacks and try to find any play in the linkages by wiggling the tire. good ball joints should have minimal play in them ... also suspect the steering joints

as for your second question my best guess is that when your braking the forces applied to the linkages are in the oppossite direction then when you are, say, accelerating or driving down the road.

[FrankVtec88]

Ok, if it only comes on when you brake, it is definately a brake problem. More than likely, it is due to a warped rotor. If thse are premium brake parts you are using, you need to check if the caliper piston and/or sliders are seizing up to cause premature wear. Did you do the brakes yourself? Or took it to a shop? Also, if you want to inspect the front end you will need to jack it up to go under so that you can clearly see the moving parts.