Brake pedal pulsates & whole car shakes on the highway

[78kitty]

I need some help because when I hit the brakes on my '97 Camry on the highway the pedal pulsates and the steering wheel shakes badly. I just put on new front pads, greased the caliper slide pins, and inspected / adjusted the rear drums.

At first I thought it was just warped rotors, but the car only does this when you press the brakes at highway speeds. If you even barely touch the brakes at highway speeds (65mph +) it shakes the steering wheel and pulsates. If you do it at 50 mph or less it doesn't really do it at all, even if you press on them aggressively. The car pulls hard to the left (if you let off the wheel it will be over the line to the next lane in about 2-3 seconds). I dropped it off to have it aligned tonight, but could that be what's causing the pulsating / steering wheel shake when braking at highway speed?

[ghettosled]

im thinking that your rotors (or just one rotor) are/is very slightly warped. not enough to feel it at lower speeds. if you havent had your rotors turned yet, you might get away with having them resurfaced as opposed to replace them. its usually good practice to have rotors turned anyway when replacing brake pads.

[Venom_5]

yup, its your rotors ... theyre warped

mine pulsate at highway speeds now - its gonna be much more noticeable when theyre spinning faster (60+mph), until the warping gets bad ... then you will notice it at all speeds

[Mike Gerber]

I have to agree with the above posters. Your front brake rotors are warped. They should have been turned when the front pads were replaced, if there is enough meat (thickness) left on them to have them turned. Otherwise they have to be replaced. Alignment will not cause the brake pulsation your are feeling.

Also if the pulling to the left only occurs when braking, check the slide pins on the right caliper/bracket for sticking. If it pulls to the left all the time, (not just when braking) check the alignment (you are having that done now), front suspension components for damage, and also check the front tires for a radial pull.

Mike

[Koan]

warped rotors is my vote as well - had the same issues on my 96 Camry XLE. I also agree that one caliper is more than likely hanging up. This leads to a bit of a downward spiral, as it causes the rotor to heat up more, leading to more warpage. This in turn means the ca;iper contacts the rotor more If the caliper is hung up and sticking , the car would pull to that side all the time. i wouldn't waste ur time turning them, replace them with decent quality solid (not drilled or slotted) rotors. Also consider a caliper rebuild for both front cylinders, or replacement of both front calipers

[78kitty]

Thanks for you help everyone! I believe it is the rotors b/c they said the alignment is perfect and even gave me the printout showing it. And, yes it pulls to the left all the time, which is why I suspected the alignment at first. I guess that would mean the left front caliper is most likely sticking as well.