weird shuddering or groaning when applying brakes

[97RangerXLT]

97 Ranger. Brakes were done in April 2016, rotors, pads and wheel bearings and all new hardware.

brakes work fine, I doublechecked the pads and rotors, they are fine, and the noise doesn't happen all the time, it is mostly at the end of the stop. putting on the brakes at speeds higher than 5-10 mph they work normally. truck stops normal.

I am thinking radius arm bushings are the culprit, but I do not see any shiny areas around them, but they do look like they have moved a little, just not much.

check the video out... the noise is much louder than what is being picked up by the cell phone



Whaddaya think, y'all?

AJ

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

You might check that the pads fit in the brackets snugly. On my parents '94 Explorer I think the knuckles were worn so the pads could shift around, it was a front brake eating nightmare that could make all sorts of strange noises if it wanted to. Your '97 has replaceable brackets though.

In both the ol' Explorer and my Ranger the only time the radius arm bushings made nose was changing directions. Back out of a parking spot and you could hear things shift around as the axle shifted ahead and then when you went to pull ahead you could hear things shift again as the axle was pushed back. Nothing while braking.

Might not hurt to check your front wheel bearings too.

 

[4x4junkie]

I tend to agree, it doesn't really sound like suspension bushings to me.

The noise is a bit hard to discern what it is though (the sound is obvious, but the acoustics make it sound more like someone rapping on the roof with their knuckles or something). A dedicated camcorder or audio recorder with a better microphone might help.

Have you tried stopping the truck using just the parking brake? Might help to isolate whether its in the rear or front.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Hmm I will look deeper into the brakes. that annoys me that they would make that much noise in less than two years... and I did replace *all* of the hardware as well except for the brackets.

wheel bearings are good, that was one of my first thoughts after the brake pads.

AJ

 

[97RangerXLT]

as for stopping the truck with the parking brake... nope, have not tried that... kind of afraid to activate it as I don't think I have ever used it, or maybe once or twice more than 8 or 9 years ago..

as for sound direction, Samsung Galaxy Note 8+ is the best I have. I am reasonably sure that it is coming from the front, but if I have some time this weekend I will take a look at the rear brakes. they were fine when I checked them in April of 2016.

AJ

 

[Denisefwd93]

as for stopping the truck with the parking brake... nope, have not tried that... kind of afraid to activate it as I don't think I have ever used it, or maybe once or twice more than 8 or 9 years ago..

as for sound direction, Samsung Galaxy Note 8+ is the best I have. I am reasonably sure that it is coming from the front, but if I have some time this weekend I will take a look at the rear brakes. they were fine when I checked them in April of 2016.

AJ

All new means nothing when it comes to brakes you could have bad rotors right out of the box and not know it, I didn't believe it either I had a badly warped front rotor and the whole back of the truck was jumping up and down.

Sent from my LG-M430 using Tapatalk

 

[Ranger850]

I agree, new hardware doesn't mean anything in the brake business. Were your rotors turned? Sometimes new rotors need to be turned, and a bad lathe man can ruin a new rotor if it has been turned incorrectly. I worked at a brake shop for 3 years as a lathe man (the guy who turns rotors). Seen it happen.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I agree, new hardware doesn't mean anything in the brake business. Were your rotors turned? Sometimes new rotors need to be turned, and a bad lathe man can ruin a new rotor if it has been turned incorrectly. I worked at a brake shop for 3 years as a lathe man (the guy who turns rotors). Seen it happen.

I kinda think if a new rotor needs turned... said new rotor needs returned.

I suppose they could be different, when I had warped rotors on my '150 the truck would shake terribly at about 20mph+. The pedal pulsed but it made no noise at lower speeds.

 

[gw33gp]

I have something similar going on with my Ranger but it doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes, it will go many weeks without a sound. It usually happens after towing a while. I attribute it to the brake pad compound. I use an aggressive pad compound to improve stopping ability. I use Akebono pads and they work very well and are durable.

What kind of brake pads are you using?

 

[pjtoledo]

try lightly sanding the glaze off the rotors. its easy, free, and might work

my favorite method of de-glazing is a sanding disk in a drill. have an assistant keep the rotor spinning, you will get a swirl finish.

if the pads don't have one, make a thin cut in the middle going top to bottom to vent dust.

 

[97RangerXLT]

the brakes have been on the truck almost 2 years, i think that if the rotors needed turned that would have reared its head back in 2016. Also, the truck brakes smoothly, just shudders and groans at low speed braking, and it does not do it all the time, just most of the time. if the rotors were out of spec i would feel that all the time when braking

the pads do have cut down the center. I don't remember the brand, but they were not bottom end, and they came with brand new anti noise clips.

I am going to wait until warmer weather and tear them down again...

AJ

 

[Denisefwd93]

the brakes have been on the truck almost 2 years, i think that if the rotors needed turned that would have reared its head back in 2016. Also, the truck brakes smoothly, just shudders and groans at low speed braking, and it does not do it all the time, just most of the time. if the rotors were out of spec i would feel that all the time when braking

the pads do have cut down the center. I don't remember the brand, but they were not bottom end, and they came with brand new anti noise clips.

I am going to wait until warmer weather and tear them down again...

AJ

Torque converter?

Sent from my LG-M430 using Tapatalk

 

[97RangerXLT]

Torque converter?

Sent from my LG-M430 using Tapatalk

lol bite your tongue..

nah it is definitely brake related. i can change the pitch and fervor of it by how hard i push the brake pedal down.

AJ

 

[91stranger]

Have you checked anything suspension wise? could be something loose that doesn't look loose until it has the weight of the truck pushing on it (when braking). I would jack it up and take a pry bar and start prying on things in the direction it would move when braking. might be something to look into. I'm surprised no one has mentioned anything about the suspension, steering or hubs. you could have all new brakes but new brakes on a bad hub or bearing do you no good.

 

[holyford86]

sounds like it may be rear brake related to me, might want to yank a drum and take a look at it, if your adjustment is out it could also cause issues with noise but you'd get excessive pedal travel too.