I had reason to believe that my back brakes needed replacing. While I was at it, I also attempted to swap out my front rotors, but was stopped when I was unable to remove my front brake calipers. All in all, I essentially did nothing. I checked the back brake drums and put those tires back on and then took front tires off and put them back on. I woke up today to drive to work, and and after getting about a mile down the road and going about 30-35 mph I noticed my wobble. It seemed to be coming from the front, but still hard to be sure. I know my rotors are a little warped, but I usually always experience that when braking, not when just coasting or accelerating. Does anyone have an idea of what to check on, or what I could have done? If it makes any difference, I am driving a 2002 Ford Taurus. Thanks for any help in advance!
You Could Have Loosened Some Rust/Dirt And Trapped It Between Rotor And Hub Or Rotor/Drum And Wheel.
I know the calipers weren’t removed, but how about those rotors ? Did they move or come loose and you put them back in place before reinstalling the wheels ?
Contacting surfaces must be clean and free of rust and debris.
Did you use a torque wrench and properly tighten lugs in a couple of stages in a proper pattern Some cars are sensitive to this issue.
CSA
You say you weren’t able to remove the calipers from the front brakes. You clearly tried.
How come you couldn’t remove the calipers? On most cars, usually all you have to do is remove the bottom bolt and you can then pry the loose to then swivel them up and out of the way.
Did you perhaps pry them such that they are now not sitting correctly?
I wasn’t prying on anything, but I was trying to loosen the bolts that holds the caliper in place. Without being able to loosen the bolts, nothing should have really changed, but I can start by looking there. If the rotor were warped enough, would I feel it without even braking?
I was rotating the rotors just to see if I could physically see any warpage. I also did not use a torque wrench when tightening the lug nuts.
Since you just removed the wheels, I’d check to make sure you got the wheels back on and seated properly on the hubs. Jack up the front and loosen the lugs enough to get the wheels loose and then snug them up again using the proper technique. Hand tighten all first, then snug one, then go across and snug up another, then cross and another. Once all are snug, then go back and put the appropriate torque on each lug nut again using a crossing pattern as you go.
This will make sure all wheels are centered on the hubs. Do you use Ford wheels or are these aftermarket wheels? Aftermarket wheels often need centering rings and when one gets knocked out of place the wheel won’t go on centered and you get a wobble and vibration like an out of balance tire.