Significant vibration after changing brakes

chyld_89

chyld_89

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Hey guys, I know the thread says "brakes" in it, but there's other things I need to point out, so that's why I thought I place this problem here. Yesterday I went to a good friend of mine to help me change the front brakes (rotors and pads only). It was a pain, but we managed to get it done. We were gonna do the rears as well, but it proved too difficult, especially since we didn't have a clamp to compress the brake piston. So we just did the fronts only-I'll probably go to an autoshop to do the back.
Now, me and my friend made absolutely sure that every bolt we touched in this job was tight. Once I started driving I could tell, there was a noticeable vibration after hitting 65+mph. When I hit the brake peddle, the peddle itself vibrates also, and that's never happened before :think:. Vibration while driving was noticeable before the brake changing, but it wasn't that significant OR made my brake peddle vibrate.
Here is where I'd like to point out, that last year, around the ending of summer 16', while driving, I was behind a car (tail gating, though not on purpose, only to pass him/switch lanes). As I'm ready to make my move, and seeing as how I'm close to the driver in front of me, I hear a big bang, and felt the impact on my car. At first I thought "oh no! My front bumper is broken!?". But my car was still driving pretty straight and I heard no scrape-like noises except now I feel a subtle vibration. Long story short I come to find out that I damaged the subframe on the passenger side. I suspect I must of hit a big piece of concrete that I didn't see when I was behind the driver. Ever since that day, the car still drives straight, but again, I feel vibration AND I hear some kind of winding noise.
While changing the passenger side front brakes, I discovered what looked like an area of where something is to be connected to the subframe and engine. I'll put the photos at the end of this thread, but basically should I be concerned? Has anyone had a similar problem? Should I just go to a trusted autoshop to have them look at my problem and explain to them what's going on? Thanks in advance guys, and I do apologize for the lengthy thread, I just thought I'd be as descriptive alas possible.
 

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Please note that the last photo is in the front passenger side. The black piece, with what looks like 2 connection holes protruding out, is the subframe. The shiny metal area is the base of the engine I believe.
 
So the vibration was happening before u did the brakes? Also,did u guys bleed the braking system and check ur brake fluid? U changed the rotors as well? Did u tighten the screws for the rotors?
 
Did you end up using a torque wrench when you did the brake job? The front caliper bracket bolts (to knuckle/spindle) have to be torqued to 80ftlbs which cannot be torqued using a standard 3/8" ratchet wrench.
 
Grease the slide pins.

And if they are new rotors/pads they need to be bedded in properly.

Basically, bring the car up to 40-50 mph and hit the brakes fairly hard and bring the car down to 10mph or so. DO NOT COME TO A STOP, then speed back up to 40-ish again and repeat a few times. You basically want to get the brakes hot. Get them hot to the point you can smell them, then drive around for a bit until they cool off. Try your best not to stop fully so you don't have the hot pads against the hot rotor. This can leave deposits and high spots recreating the problem again.

You can google brake bedding procedure for a more detailed explanation. I'm sure there are better guides out there than my 5 sentence one.


Check your lug nut torque in case you got a wheel on crooked.

Check the bolt torques.

Looks like dar already found the tq value for you. Lugs should be 80ft/lb also.

Check that the rotor is sitting flat against the hub. You can get a lot of rust build up on the hub. Grease the slide pins.

Thats all I can think of.



From the pics it looks like you scraped the front tow hook. The other stuff I can't say if its damaged/missing. There are a few empty bolt holes under the car in places. I dunno why but they are there. Probably Honda uses the same castings for multiple vehicles with different mount points.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I did not have a torque wrench at my disposal for this job, but I figured I'm gonna go to a Honda services center where a friend of mine works. Maybe then, I'll see what's going on. Will update later on.
 
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Alright guys, so here's what I was told and SAW. The subframe isn't something to worry about according to the master mechanic. Apparently my rims are bent causing the vibration I was mentioning earlier; that, and because my tires are not flat when making contact to the roadway. My car was on the lift, and I saw my wheels wobble :eek2: . How that happened, idk. I asked the tech if maybe the rotors were warped, but apparently, me and my friend did a good job on the brake changing, so the rotors are not the cause of the wheel wobbling/vibration. Someone, please explain why my Rays rims are bent.
I know, I live in NJ, and the roads here are ****, but could 2 years of daily run-ins with potholes (most of them minor) do that much bending to my rims? I'm going to go on my stock rims and see if it really is the rims that are the problem, but honestly I'm disappointed that this was the cause, especially from a name brand that has a high reputation for its quality. Otherwise, if this is common, then I apologize and take back my noob ranting and will prepare myself for the future. One thing is for sure, I think I need to get new tires, and I'll get a rear camber kit. I'll keep you guys updated, and please give me your 2-cents on this issue.
 
any pothole can cause a rim to bend. Even a little bend will cause the wheel to vibrate. Not to say your rays are fake, but did you buy them yourself from a store/shop ... online?
 
@webby so I just got home, and switched on my stock rims to see if the problem is the same. While taking off the rims, I decided to run the car (on jack stands) to see if anything seemed out of the ordinary. The driver side rotor was wobbling a bit, but I thought it could be my imagination. When I placed the stock rims back on and ran the car again, I could see that the wheel was wobbling which makes feel good that the rays rims are not the issue, but it's something else. I took a video of what I did. I'll post it up. What do you guys think my problem is if it's not the rim OR tires.
 
chyld_89 said:
@webby so I just got home, and switched on my stock rims to see if the problem is the same. While taking off the rims, I decided to run the car (on jack stands) to see if anything seemed out of the ordinary. The driver side rotor was wobbling a bit, but I thought it could be my imagination. When I placed the stock rims back on and ran the car again, I could see that the wheel was wobbling which makes feel good that the rays rims are not the issue, but it's something else. I took a video of what I did. I'll post it up. What do you guys think my problem is if it's not the rim OR tires.
Click to expand...
Sorry again guys, but idk why I can't upload the videos I took of my discovery. If anyone can help me upload them, it'd be much appreciated. Otherwise, I hope my explanation helps you guys visualize what I'm talking about. And again, any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
chyld_89 said:
Sorry again guys, but idk why I can't upload the videos I took of my discovery. If anyone can help me upload them, it'd be much appreciated. Otherwise, I hope my explanation helps you guys visualize what I'm talking about. And again, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
You actually would need to upload the video to YouTube or a video host and then post a link to your video here. It'll embed the video
 
chyld_89 said:
Alright guys, so here's what I was told and SAW. The subframe isn't something to worry about according to the master mechanic. Apparently my rims are bent causing the vibration I was mentioning earlier; that, and because my tires are not flat when making contact to the roadway. My car was on the lift, and I saw my wheels wobble :eek2: . How that happened, idk. I asked the tech if maybe the rotors were warped, but apparently, me and my friend did a good job on the brake changing, so the rotors are not the cause of the wheel wobbling/vibration. Someone, please explain why my Rays rims are bent.
I know, I live in NJ, and the roads here are ****, but could 2 years of daily run-ins with potholes (most of them minor) do that much bending to my rims? I'm going to go on my stock rims and see if it really is the rims that are the problem, but honestly I'm disappointed that this was the cause, especially from a name brand that has a high reputation for its quality. Otherwise, if this is common, then I apologize and take back my noob ranting and will prepare myself for the future. One thing is for sure, I think I need to get new tires, and I'll get a rear camber kit. I'll keep you guys updated, and please give me your 2-cents on this issue.
Click to expand...

On extreme cases (potholes for instance), high quality wheels bend, low quality wheels crack during a strong impact.

chyld_89 said:
@webby so I just got home, and switched on my stock rims to see if the problem is the same. While taking off the rims, I decided to run the car (on jack stands) to see if anything seemed out of the ordinary. The driver side rotor was wobbling a bit, but I thought it could be my imagination. When I placed the stock rims back on and ran the car again, I could see that the wheel was wobbling which makes feel good that the rays rims are not the issue, but it's something else. I took a video of what I did. I'll post it up. What do you guys think my problem is if it's not the rim OR tires.
Click to expand...

The force of the hit probably transferred to other components. Inspect the tie rods, compliance bushings/ball joint on the control arms, , knuckle, etc. There's a possibility that the bearing might be shot. A bad bearing can cause wobble.
 
Dar-Dar said:
On extreme cases (potholes for instance), high quality wheels bend, low quality wheels crack during a strong impact.



The force of the hit probably transferred to other components. Inspect the tie rods, compliance bushings/ball joint on the control arms, , knuckle, etc. There's a possibility that the bearing might be shot. A bad bearing can cause wobble.
Click to expand...
@Dar-Dar you know of any shops that do wheel repair (if it needs it) around your general area? Looks like he's not too far from you maybe.
 
@chyld_89 looks to be an hour from me. I only know of one spot relatively close to me. It's 'Drive Auto Works'. But I'm sure there are tons around his area.
 
if the rotors are not screwed into the hub they will wobble because they arent being held down. That aside take the wheel off and grab every suspension component you can get your haands on. jerk everything around and see if anything is moving around that shouldn't be. Also you can test your wheel bearing with the wheel on and the car on the ground. grab the wheel at 12 and 6 and try to shake it back and forth. repeat with your hands at 3 and 9. there shouldnt be any excess movement in any direction.
 
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Thanks for your input guys. I have a feeling it's the hub assembly. @Dar-Dar I'm gonna take it to a shop near me, maybe you've heard of MP Built? Either way, I'd be happy to take it to the shop you mentioned earlier for a second opinion. For now, I'm gonna have to deal with this issue until the weekend. I'll keep you all updated. Oh and @webby , I'll try to upload the videos I took to YouTube and put them on here.
 
It definitely looks like something in the hub assembly is damaged. So it's clearly the driverside that's affected.
 
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