Truck has inconsistent and pulsating brakes at low speeds.

[dwh13]

So I bought a heavily used 03 LX with 260k miles about 3 weeks ago. She needs a lot of work, but for better or worse she's mine now and I've been triaging issues since then. One issue is the inconsistent stopping at low speeds - it's a pulsating feeling, but you can't feel anything through the brake pedal or steering wheel - the whole truck itself pulses. My first thought was warped rotors, but there's none of the pulsating at high speeds. Any ideas where the problem is or what it might be?

 

[Evan Kapel]

I would suspect warped rotors. You may just not notice it at a higher frequency. I cannot think of
what else would cause such symptoms only when braking. When Toyota dealers replace brake pads,
it is standard practice to "turn" the rotors to eliminate this. Hopefully that will solve it.

 

[cnnrblksl]

I think I have this issue occasionally as well. Does the "pulsating" seem to be directly proportional to wheel speed?

 

[Julian Stead]

If you can’t feel it through the steering wheel then It could possibly be the rear rotors.

 

[Salty Dog]

My front rotors are warped and I feel the pulsing when braking but waiting for the pads to wear out; have 6mm left. Will also tighten the bearings when I change out the pads and rotors and potentially might change out the calipers.

I'm in Charleston as well, go to: Clubhouses>SC - Low County Land Cruisers and introduce yourself to the group. We get together regularly and there's a lot of combined years of mechanical experience. Also do events with SC - Upstate Cruisers and NC - Olde North State Cruisers. Can also meet us on some Saturdays at Town Center at Cars & Coffee around 08:00 in front of Atlanta Bread Co. Welcome!

 

[Spike555]

I had the exact same issue, replaced the brake pads and the problem was gone.
I needed brakes anyway, thought my rotors were warped, they were not. I did NOT replace the rotors only the brake pads.

 

[jerryb]

Guide pins on the rear were seized on mine when I bought it. Remanufactured loaded calipers are cheap. That took all my slow pulsing away.

 

[Skidoo]

The brake hoses can swell up inside, had it happen on my Suburban and had all sorts pulsating as it got worse.

 

[dwh13]

I think I have this issue occasionally as well. Does the "pulsating" seem to be directly proportional to wheel speed?

Sort of - I can only feel it during the 20-0 mph part of a stop. As the truck slows, the pulsating slows proportionally.

 

[dwh13]

My front rotors are warped and I feel the pulsing when braking but waiting for the pads to wear out; have 6mm left. Will also tighten the bearings when I change out the pads and rotors and potentially might change out the calipers.

I'm in Charleston as well, go to: Clubhouses>SC - Low County Land Cruisers and introduce yourself to the group. We get together regularly and there's a lot of combined years of mechanical experience. Also do events with SC - Upstate Cruisers and NC - Olde North State Cruisers. Can also meet us on some Saturdays at Town Center at Cars & Coffee around 08:00 in front of Atlanta Bread Co. Welcome!

Thanks for the tips - just made an intro post. I'm hoping its something as simple as pads - for no more than it costs, I may just swap out pads and rotors. If that wasn't the issue, new brakes never hurt anyone!

 

[PabloCruise]

If you can’t feel it through the steering wheel then It could possibly be the rear rotors.

I am wondering if that is my situation - pulsating brakes, but no feeling in the steering wheel

 

[dwh13]

Let me know if you figure out what it is. I’ll probably throw new rotors on it next month to see if that helps

 

[aaronrules]

I'm having the same issue. Haven't had time to check it out, I also know it is going to end resulting in something having to be replaced and that equals money. I think the idea of the back rotors and pads as I do not feel anything in the steering wheel except at 70+ MPH, but I am sure that is a separate issue.

 

[Julian Stead]

Before you run out and just buy rotors, their are a few checks you can do. First is your tire pressures and tire condition. Check all your Calipers are free and not seized, so all pistons and the sliding pins/bolts(mine where seized on the rear) move without great force, check your mating surfaces and clean between your wheel and rotor and your rotor and hub, you can do a run out check then on your rotors with a dial guage(make sure you put the wheel nuts on to secure the rotors). Remove the pads and look for any uneven or abnormal wear, check your Bell cranks are free and condition of your E Brake shoes/cable. Also on the rear check the condition of your lower and upper control arms. Check for movement in wheel bearings.

It does seem like a bit of work, but it gets you list of what will or won’t be needed when or if you are going to replace anything. It is more important on the rear as you have your E Brake. I speak a bit from experience with this as I lazily bought pads and rotors for the rear and when I went to install them I found extra issues which meant I had to put it all back together and wait for the extra parts to arrive.

Another thing I found out after I bought my pads and rotors is that Toyota sell a cheap version and a expensive version, at the time I didn’t know this and wasn’t informed. I only found this out when I bought front rotors for my corolla, they said they had no stock and will need to be ordered in, when I said I couldn’t wait for a delivery they said they had stock of the expensive version which I purchased with a 50% discount. I can’t say there is any better performance or longevity but the quality looked far superior to the land Cruisers I purchased. I wouldn’t tell you what to buy it is just so you are aware and can make a informed decision.

By the way, Toyota’s cheap version was cheaper than most or all aftermarket brands so don’t always think the dealer is more expensive.

I always change out some brake fluid with a pad change, I normally put half a litre down each line that I have change my pads on. This is outside my normal brake fluid change interval, it is a bit OCD but I had brake fade once in a car and once was enough to see how important good brake fluid is as it scared the s**t out of me.

 

[Julian Stead]

If you take it to the dealers there is a bit of a naughty trick they can play which to be honest I used to benefit from. For the rear brakes they can charge you for an inspection as they have to strip the rotors off to inspect the E brake, now if you decide to have work done they with charge you in full to change the shoes so this means they double charge you for stripping everything down again, again this can be for the pads and rotors. Just make sure you don’t get double charged for the same labour.

For example.

Rear brake inspection clean and adjust 1.5 hours
E brake shoe replacement 2 hours
Rear pads and rotors 1.1 hours.

Now if they are a bit naughty they will charge you all of the above labour combined, but in reality the E brake replacement of 2 hrs covers the lot as all Work is carried out in this procedure. The labour times above is a rough guide, it is just so you get an idea.

This counts for any work you get done by a dealership, they get the times from a computer and it doesn’t care what other Work is being done, it treats everything as a stand alone job. If you know a bit about cars you can argue this point that they are basically double charging and try and come to an arrangement.

 

[dwh13]

Before you run out and just buy rotors, their are a few checks you can do. First is your tire pressures and tire condition. Check all your Calipers are free and not seized, so all pistons and the sliding pins/bolts(mine where seized on the rear) move without great force, check your mating surfaces and clean between your wheel and rotor and your rotor and hub, you can do a run out check then on your rotors with a dial guage(make sure you put the wheel nuts on to secure the rotors). Remove the pads and look for any uneven or abnormal wear, check your Bell cranks are free and condition of your E Brake shoes/cable. Also on the rear check the condition of your lower and upper control arms. Check for movement in wheel bearings.

It does seem like a bit of work, but it gets you list of what will or won’t be needed when or if you are going to replace anything. It is more important on the rear as you have your E Brake. I speak a bit from experience with this as I lazily bought pads and rotors for the rear and when I went to install them I found extra issues which meant I had to put it all back together and wait for the extra parts to arrive.

Another thing I found out after I bought my pads and rotors is that Toyota sell a cheap version and a expensive version, at the time I didn’t know this and wasn’t informed. I only found this out when I bought front rotors for my corolla, they said they had no stock and will need to be ordered in, when I said I couldn’t wait for a delivery they said they had stock of the expensive version which I purchased with a 50% discount. I can’t say there is any better performance or longevity but the quality looked far superior to the land Cruisers I purchased. I wouldn’t tell you what to buy it is just so you are aware and can make a informed decision.

By the way, Toyota’s cheap version was cheaper than most or all aftermarket brands so don’t always think the dealer is more expensive.

I always change out some brake fluid with a pad change, I normally put half a litre down each line that I have change my pads on. This is outside my normal brake fluid change interval, it is a bit OCD but I had brake fade once in a car and once was enough to see how important good brake fluid is as it scared the s**t out of me.

This is great stuff, thank you!

 

[PabloCruise]

Before you run out and just buy rotors, their are a few checks you can do. First is your tire pressures and tire condition. Check all your Calipers are free and not seized, so all pistons and the sliding pins/bolts(mine where seized on the rear) move without great force, check your mating surfaces and clean between your wheel and rotor and your rotor and hub, you can do a run out check then on your rotors with a dial guage(make sure you put the wheel nuts on to secure the rotors). Remove the pads and look for any uneven or abnormal wear, check your Bell cranks are free and condition of your E Brake shoes/cable. Also on the rear check the condition of your lower and upper control arms. Check for movement in wheel bearings.

It does seem like a bit of work, but it gets you list of what will or won’t be needed when or if you are going to replace anything. It is more important on the rear as you have your E Brake. I speak a bit from experience with this as I lazily bought pads and rotors for the rear and when I went to install them I found extra issues which meant I had to put it all back together and wait for the extra parts to arrive.

Another thing I found out after I bought my pads and rotors is that Toyota sell a cheap version and a expensive version, at the time I didn’t know this and wasn’t informed. I only found this out when I bought front rotors for my corolla, they said they had no stock and will need to be ordered in, when I said I couldn’t wait for a delivery they said they had stock of the expensive version which I purchased with a 50% discount. I can’t say there is any better performance or longevity but the quality looked far superior to the land Cruisers I purchased. I wouldn’t tell you what to buy it is just so you are aware and can make a informed decision.

By the way, Toyota’s cheap version was cheaper than most or all aftermarket brands so don’t always think the dealer is more expensive.

I always change out some brake fluid with a pad change, I normally put half a litre down each line that I have change my pads on. This is outside my normal brake fluid change interval, it is a bit OCD but I had brake fade once in a car and once was enough to see how important good brake fluid is as it scared the s**t out of me.

Thank you - good list!

 

[dwh13]

For anyone with a similar issue - I replaced the rotors and pads this weekend which fixed the issue. Centric rotors and OEM pads

 

[fooldall1]

Doing mine this weekend. Can't wait, I have the same issue as you. Though, I am also replacing both front Wheel bearings this weekend. you know, "While you're in there" kind of thing.

It's just happenstance that it needs brakes and rotors, too.

 

[bucfl]

Have similar issue. I replaced pads/rotors and had to have one of them heat treated as pin was siesed.

I still have pulsating after over a year. Much less now than prior to replacing pads/rotors.

As an FYI it will probably go away but resurface later. On the next brake job i may swap callipers.