BSDodge Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 I have replaced both my front and rear brakes and rotors in the last 2 months because my rear brakes wore out completely and my front rotors were warped. I have a vibration in the steering wheel when I brake lightly, and not when I brake harder. What can be causing this problem?? I am out of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtomatoman Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 Not sure. I too have a 2011 with some very slight vibration. I can't decide what mine is either. I think it may be the OEM tires as my DJ is not my daily driver and sits in the garage most of the week. I have not had the brake issues because even though I have 37,000+ miles on my DJ, they are mostly highway miles. There are times when the vibration behaves just as you describe on light braking and other times it is constant. My vibration is very slight as to not be that noticeable most of the time so I haven't done anything about it. I will be following this thread to see what others say. . . Peace. Dcbratton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtsr Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 It's been reported before that improper torqueing of the wheel lugs will cause a slight vibration. You can always loosen re-torque and make sure you do it in a cross pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtomatoman Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 It's been reported before that improper torqueing of the wheel lugs will cause a slight vibration. You can always loosen re-torque and make sure you do it in a cross pattern. Huh. . . I didn't know that. That may be the problem. Bigtsr, do you happen to know the torque setting for our DJs? That way I can mention it to the service manager next time I have my tires rotated or to the tire store when I have my tires changed. Thanks. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 I believe your rotors - most likely the front ones - are not perfectly square to the wheels. The first possible cause to eliminate would be the improper seating of the rotor. Sometimes the surface underneath is a bit rusty and even when you sand that rusty layer away, a little bit left behind is enough to throw the rotor out of square. So remove both rotors, inspect and clean underneath and reinstall. Do torque them to the recommended value using the star pattern. If problem persists, then remove the rotors again and check them for squareness on a lathe. I've seen brand new rotors that were out of square... granted, they were low-end rotors, nevertheless I was surprised to learn that I had to machine them right out of the box. The problem with that is they'll become thinner and therefore have a reduced capacity of absorbing heat, as a result they may warp and you're back to square one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtsr Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 Quite honestly I don't know the wheel nut torque spec as I don't do my own wheel work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey_SeXT Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) 95 ft. lbs. (130 N-m) is what is stated (page 431) in the 2011 owners manual. Edited July 6, 2014 by Journey_SeXT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtomatoman Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 95 ft. lbs. (130 N-m) is what is stated (page 431) in the 2011 owners manual. Right. After my post, I found it in the emergency/spare tire section of the manual. I should have looked there first. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey_SeXT Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) I invested a while back ago a digital torque adapter from CanTire and always torque the wheel nuts to spec....most shops just impact wrench them on without using a torque wrench resulting in over torqued nuts. Edited July 6, 2014 by Journey_SeXT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 (edited) i too bought a torque wrench a few yrs ago. found out i prob. had been over torqueing my wheel nuts to tight. 95 ftlbs is not as hard as you would think. but you have a slight tire or wheel problem i would rotate the front to rear to see if it solves the problem good luck also do NOT use grease or anti-seize grease on the studs as that lets you over tighten the lugs also Edited July 6, 2014 by 2late4u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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