Hi, I have a 2000 F150 with 150,000 miles. I have had it serviced regularly by both the dealer, a certified Ford mechanic, and on occasion a national chain. In July 2007, while I was out of my home state I had all new brakes, and all rotors either replaced and resurfaced at Midas in Missoula Montana.
I just returned from Midas here in Boulder, CO and they had to replace the front brake pads and rotors again (about 15,000 miles since July), as well as install a new serpentine belt. On the way home I noticed that when I engage the brakes the steering wheel vibrates and shakes to the extent that it is very uncomfortable. The harder I hit the breaks the harder the shaking, the faster I am traveling the shakier the vibration. I plan on taking my truck back but I want to be better informed as to what they did or overlooked. I don?t want them to tell me something else is wrong when this was never a problem before today. Can you help me?
Bill in Boulder
Bill, it sounds like the wheel bearings are not adjusted right. Do yourself a favor and take your truck into Gray’s Auto and Tire here in Colorado Springs before you go on the next trip - it may be worth it to make a special trip. I am a retired truck mechanic and would never trust my cars to anyone else. They are off I-25 about a 1/2 mile east on the right.
Good possibility. It’s also possible that he got a bad rotor out of the box. I’ve seen it happen. My theory is that the Chinese have yet to learn the art of stress relieving metals.
It’s also possible that the guy that put the rotors in didn’t clean the surfaces and there’s now uneven coefficients of friction. Seen that happen too.