# Unable to cure brake vibe



## ECPunk (May 16, 2008)

Alright guys, brake vibe is my problem and here is what I have done so far to remedy it to no avail:

1: bought my 01 1.8t about a year ago with 68K on it and notice right away the brake judder, so i replaced the rotors and pads all around (EBC green stuff and rotors), with new hardware and lubed everything correctly. This improved things but did not fix the problem completely. Vibe still existed. almost a year passes before I have time to address this again.

2: the vibe is worse now. 

3: Last week I disassembled each wheel and braking system. I used my gauge to measure disk thickness variation at ten points on each rotor. Every rotor was .002" or less in VT.

4: I noticed some rust on the hub surfaces, so i cleaned all mating surfaces for the hub and rotor to ensure a tight fit. 

5: I used my dial indicator to check for runout on my hubs. The front hubs (where I believe most of the vib is originating) had .0015" or less of runout. I have been suspect of my hub and bearing assemblies for a while, but I do not have any movement with them. I should check my drive shaft nut to proper torque not that i am thinking of it.

6: I matched the thick spots on the rotors with the low spots on the hub to produce .002 or less in runout. 

7: I cleaned all sliding surfaces and cleaned and relubed the sliding pins. I did notice that the caliper pins had some resistance even with the new lube. This concerns me and leads me to believe the caliper is unable to freely float back and forth as the rotor moves through the pads. 

8: I torqued everything to speck when installing and I still have vibe. 


So what next? runout of .002" is within tolerance according to my haynes manual. I have considered replacing the rotors again as they have some VT. Replacing the hub and bearing assembly and calipers have crossed my mind as well. However, I do not want to be throwing money at this for no reason. I have new tires (3mo old) and were balanced when installed. 

Any suggestions are welcome as I am currently :banghead:. I just want smooth braking! Is that to much to ask?


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## ECPunk (May 16, 2008)

Are there two calipers available for my year jetta? My front calipers have the slide pins mounted on the caliper vs on the mounting bracket. Does that explanation make sense? I can take pics if necessary. I wonder if I have crappy calipers.


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## ECPunk (May 16, 2008)

No advice? What calipers are people running on their mk4 1.8t?


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## OddJobb (Nov 6, 2004)

There are 2 different calipers for MKIV's: FN3 ans FS3. They are not interchangable with the different rotors so you're not mismatched here. Are you 100% sure it the brakes? What is the condition of the suspension bushings and components? Worn bushings can cause similar problems.


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## ECPunk (May 16, 2008)

OddJobb said:


> There are 2 different calipers for MKIV's: FN3 ans FS3. They are not interchangable with the different rotors so you're not mismatched here. Are you 100% sure it the brakes? What is the condition of the suspension bushings and components? Worn bushings can cause similar problems.


Good thought, I do have some squeaky bushings on the right front. A friend mentioned to check the tie-rod ends, but they seemed ok the other day. 

Which calipers are better. I wonder which ones I have.


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## OddJobb (Nov 6, 2004)

If you have a 1.8T, you should have the FN3 calipers. Looking at them, if you have the metal spring clip on the front of the calipers, then you have FN3s. Not sure if you could consider either of them 'better' as they're both single piston calipers.


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## GTijoejoe (Oct 6, 2001)

What wheels are you using? Did you try rotating them?

Judder is not only from brakes, there are so many things which influence it, its very complicated.


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