Front brakes vibrating after suspension upgrade

[Louis123]

I have a 1996 I30 with 67000 miles and I just replaced the front struts and rear shocks with Tokico blues. The car rides and handles better than it ever has, but there is a vibration from the front brakes. Instead of stopping smoothly, it feels like the pads are not applying force evenly to the rotors. Is it possible that the pads have worn unevenly because the front struts were sagging? If this is the case, will the pads eventually even out? The pads were replaced 8000 miles ago. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

[DAEDALUS]

Seems like the 2 would be related, but I can't see how if you didn't touch the brakes when you did the struts. The brakes are fixed to the hubs nice and firm. Any change in camber would be the same between the hubs, rotors and calipers. 8000 miles ago...you might just need to have the rotors turned and maybe the pads replaced. It is also possible that the calipers are sticking. Make sure they're nice and clean, and well lubed. Hard to diagnose without special tools and a fair amount of time.

[Q451990]

Sounds like warped rotors to me - maybe they're unrelated or the wheels were overtorqued when they were put back on? Daedalus's suggestion about sticking caliper pins is one to check out too - very common on the I30/Maxima.

Heath

[911/Q45]

Perhaps the previous soft suspension was soaking up some of the brake vibration and the new one transfers more of it to you.

[Louis123]

Q451990 was right! The wheel bolts were over-torqued. Thank you all VERY MUCH for your suggested remedies.

[Omar]

Hey,

I change my own brakes at home with my average tools (rachet/socket to looseen and tighten nuts) instead of using air tools like they do at the shops.

Question is, how do I know how much torque to apply by hand? I have the same vibration problem and I know its because of the "over-tightening." If I dont tighten it as much, I am paranoid and feel like the wheel will come off soon.

So any suggestions as to how much torque to apply when tightening it by hand?

Thanks. Take care.

Later...

[Q451990]

[Q451990]

Get a torque wrench and service manual. Prices here range from $18 to over $500, according to what you want... Use the torque specs in the service manual.

Heath

[DAEDALUS]

My first suggestion is to bite the bullet and get a good torque wrench. Good not only for lugnuts but for brake pins, caliper bolts, etc. If your wrench (or the part of the wrench you're pressing against) is a foot long, then obviously you want to apply 80 lbs to the point of contact. Scale it up or down depending on the actual length, and it'll be as good as your estimation of the force you apply. Maybe you can get the 80-lb child next door to gently stand still on the wrench till it stops turning. Or you could rig something up to measure the deflection in the wrench, but that's what a beam-type torque wrench does. Realize that at that torque, each nut is applying several thousand pounds of force against the wheel. 5 lugs--maybe 20,000 lbs total, give or take. The wheel is NOT going to come off, even if you were shy by 20 ft-lbs. In the range, it's probably more important that the final torque be consistent across all nuts, and this is pretty hard without a torque wrench.