Intermittent Brake shutter??

[jwalker1970]

1995 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 8800lb gvw. Came in with a "brake shutter". Only shutters during a hard brake at less than 25 MPH. Vehicle appeared to have new rotors, new pads, new drums and new shoes.

Shutter feels EXACTLY like warped rotors.

Note: It only shutters about 50% of the stops. It does not shutter at high speeds when you slam on the brakes.

#1. Installed new front rotors..... no change.
#2. Inspected front axle joints. not loose, not rusty, turn freely when steering is fully turned.
#3. Inspected steering components. tie rods all seem tight, minimal wear in the track bar joint.
#4. Inspected front ball joints..... they are tight, don't move with 5' pry bar.
#5. Inspected drive-line u-joints...... all seem good.
#6. Inspected steering column extention rod.... seems tight.

Please Help!!! Any ideas would be very much appreciated!

[Chris Stewart]

You might try rotating the tires.
Just to be sure it's not the ABS, do you hear a little motor come on under the hood during the shudder event?

[jwalker1970]

Thanks for the input. However the truck is not equipped with ABS on the front axle.

[WHATDIDYOUBREAKNOW]

sticky calliper

[jrsick]

It sounds like one of two possible problems to me:
1. Brakes. Sticky caliper mentioned previous could be the cause. A sticky caliper could result in uneven pressure on the rotor and a shake. I think most likely brake problem is a rotor that is not mounted flush to the wheel hub. This can be caused by rust on the wheel or uneven lug torque. Solution for this problem would be removing the rotors and wire brushing the wheel hub, reinstalling rotors and wheel and tightening lugs by hand using star pattern.
2. Loose component in wheel. It sounds like it could be a wheel bearing. Way to check is to find a straight, smooth road and drive down it at a constant speed doing long smooth S turns. If you get a shake during a turn to one side and not the other then the unloaded (inside) wheel has bad bearings.

I hope this is helpful.