Rover 418 Steering Shake

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Fri 4 May 2007 12:16
Rover 418 Steering Shake - Jules50
I noticed recently that I was getting steering wheel shake when applying the brakes, particularly when braking from higher road speeds (50-70 mph). I thought that the discs looked a bit worn and as one of the symptoms of such shaking is a warped brake disc, I decided to change the discs & pads. Imagine my surprise when it made the judder much worse.

As I've read that any dirt/rust between the hub and disc could cause the disc to run out of true, I took the discs off and wire brushed and cleaned the hubs before refitting the discs. I also double checked that all the bolts were done up to the correct torque. The judder is still there. The pads are new (obviously) and the pistons & sliders all seem to move freely, so I feel that the brakes are being applied together and at the same time.

The symptoms are steering wheel shake when the brakes are applied; even when done gently (which is severe enough to make the dash rattle!) and also the brake pedal to pulse as if I have ABS fitted (which I don't). I noticed that there was a small amount of movement in the offside track rod end, but whether that is an effect of the juddering or the cause I'm not sure. The car recently passed an MOT and no mention was made of this movement and the tester is a harsh one where road safety is concerned. I've no way of testing if the discs are running 'true' and I wondered if anyone could suggest my next course of action.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.
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Fri 4 May 2007 17:00
Rover 418 Steering Shake - injection doc
I asume that you have checked the disc's for run-out with the wheels off! have you tried driving and gently pulling up the handbrake with the lock button held in to see if you get the pulsing from the rear? it sounds like the front if the wheel is shaking but check the rear or go to an MOT testing centre & ask for a brake check for run-out!. It is possible that you have clipped a kerb and have a bent hub! the flange that the disc mounts on. Check rears first on road & tyres for run out then go to testing station
Regards
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Sun 13 May 2007 17:46
Rover 418 Steering Shake - Jules50
I double checked the handbrake and there was no problem there - it was definitely the front brakes. I borrowed a DTI from a friend and tested the run out as mentioned in the Haynes Manual. I'm supposed to have a maximum of 0.02mm - on one side I had 0.02mm, on the other it was 0.15mm! No wonder the car shook under braking. I turned the disc through 180deg to see if I could improve matters and it went down to 0.08mm but still shook like mad. The only option I had left was to refit the old discs & pads. Now I have normal smooth braking except the odd occasion when I have to decelerate from higher road speeds in a hurry, when I get just the slightest trace of wheel shake.

I will keep the new pads to replace the current worn ones in the future, but is it worth doing anything with the discs other than scrapping them? I've had them too long to return them for a refund, plus I'm not sure (from reading other posts) whether they can be guaranteed to run true and so are really faulty.
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