my brake vibrate/pulsating

[M1Accord]

while driving home this morning, i noticed vibration/pulsating sound and motion coming from my front wheel area. it only occurred while driving slowing around parking lot. i wasn't sure if it was my brake rotor warping or what. after making sure it didn't have a flat and check to make sure no fluid was leaking, i drove home at speed ranging from 40-60 mph. now the sound and motion isn't nearly as bad so i don't know if it was just a foreign object getting onto the rotor and came off during the high speed driving, which result in the noise/motion going away.

this happened 1 year ago to my right front side and it went away after 3 weeks.

i am not sure if i should just replace the 2 front rotors and the pads while at it. how big a job is this? who makes good pad and rotor? i found this site selling brembo for 30 bucks a piece and also carrying more expensive stuffs too. i am also debating if i should just go for the high end brembo (75 bucks) or the 30 bucks as i already replacing them so may as well go with the very good stuffs to make my time worth it.

please advice.

 

[MGregoir]

Check your wheel bearings and tie rod ends, jack up the front of the car and check your front wheels for play. The vertical motion is usually a sign of a bad wheel bearing, horizontal is a bad tie rod end or something.

I've had similar problems. Make sure everything is tight in the front end before chasing other problems, but while it is up on stands you can pull the wheels and check your brakes out as well.

 

[M1Accord]

thank bro.

 

[The Critic]

Is your brake pedal actually pulsating, or are you merely hearing a vibration noise?

Does the noise only occur during braking?

 

[M1Accord]

noise only occurs during very low speed braking. the pulsating comes from the driver side front wheel. i am going to put it on a lift and inspect today but, to be honest, i don't know how to check for tire rod end or wheel bearing. i don't even know what they look like; i am just a fluid guy.

 

[M1Accord]

i can't hear the sound and feel the pulsation anymore. i haven't done anything and it went away by itself. this happened once last year with the right front side, now the left front side.

strange.

i am gonna to take the wheel off and clean and inspect the disc brake.

 

[mechtech2]

Loose suspension components do not make vibration.
They allow any rotor or wheel vibration to be felt.

 

[AcuraTech]

It's impossible to guess on an internet forum. Have a knowledgeable mechanic take it for a drive and give it a good once over. Have him check for loose suspension, warped rotors, etc.

 

[Gary Allan]

Most low speed wobble that I've experienced was permanent and usually a CV joint. You would do the mombo for a few feet until you got some speed up. I've never seen it go away, though.

 

[glennc]

It's not unusual to get some brake pad deposits on the rotor. It will cause a variance in friction as the wheel turns and feels just like a warped rotor. This is called hot-spotting and can go away by itself. It can also lead to a permanent warp, and there are many variables that determine which will happen. I think it is possible that this is what you experienced, especially if the brakes might have gotten fairly hot some time before it occurred. That is when pads are most likely to leave deposits.

 

[mechtech2]

Low speed wobble from a C/V joint?
I've never seen this in the shop, and don't know how it could physically happen. It can't.

 

[M1Accord]

i think it is foreign objects and i took the front wheels off to clean the discs. too bad the back wheels have drums instead of disc. the vibration went away before i took the wheels off and has stay away since. still, i probably need to change the pads when it hits 100k miles, which is 10k away.