Front Rotors

If 'shaking' is that noticeable/violent, the rotors may not be able to be turned to the minimum safe thickness.....(if the rotors are the problem) Be prepared to buy new rotors. Yes replacing the pads would be the thing to do while you are at it....with either turned or new rotors.

Dave S(Texas)

You may be able to turn them, depends on the thickness currently left, and how much has to be taken off to get them to where they should be. As for pads, with 38k on them, they may be getting down to the point where it would make sense to replace them now anyhow. That way either you don't have to redo them later or have someone pull everything again to put on new pads. Best thing to be done to keep your turned or new rotors from warping is to keep the lug nuts torqued to the proper ft lbs. This should be listed in your owners manual. Unevenly torqued lugs with the heating and colling of the rotors will always make them warp. Don't assume because someone has used a torque stick to put the lugs on that they are properly torqued. I always use my own torque wrench after any work is done on my vehicle and whenever I do any work myself. That plus an occasional re-torque.

This is not to discount what anyone else has written. You should follow that advise as you see fit. In my case, it wasn't the normal things you'd neccessarily look for that were causing the same problem. The culprit was the brake line itself. At some point...I think it was when the wheel bearing was going bad...the left front brake line was heated and the rubber inside the stainless steel braid had deterioriated. The fluid would flow near normal to the caliper, but would be slow on the return causing the brake to bind. What made it hard to diagnose was that there was no visible markings on the exterior of the brakes line, nor was the flow noticeably different to the brake. It took my top knotch mechanic to figure out what the real problem was. If it turns out not to be the rotors, calipers, or pads you may want to look into it being the brake line.

I took my '02 F350 with the same rotor wobble into Midas brakes in Tucson. They turned rotors (front only) and replaced seals (this is required on 2WD not 4wd) for $ 75.00 in under an hour. SMOOTH now. Didnt replace the pads.

BTW, I got the price and job desc written up FIRST.

BTW, I got the price and job desc written up FIRST.

A quick test will determine if it is a deteriorated brake line. Let vehicle sit for a couple of minutes to allow brake line pressure to neutralize, raise the wheel off of the ground, spin it, note the resistance felt. With someone else sitting behind the wheel, spin it again. Have them apply and release the brake. You should be able to immediately spin the wheel with about the same resistance felt earlier. If more drag is felt, check further. Another test is to just crack the bleeder after the brake has been released. If pressure remains in the line, the inner line is failing. Actually, this situation is a lot more common than you would think. Any halfway decent mechanic knows about it.