My steering wheel shakes alot above 50mph

[Natty]

My steering wheel just started shaking at above 50mph after I messed around with my brakes. I inspected my old brake pads this morning, applied anti-squeak goop, put it all back together, and now I have this shaking.
Also, when braking from like 70mph, my wheel shakes very hard. My rotors "looked" straight and say flat on a flat table.
Anyone have that infamous TSB about the wheel shimmy?
Or should I take my car in to a shop?
Note, I do not have brake shims on, yet.
So it my rotors, me reusing my old (good condition) pads, me screwing up the "install," that spring with the Techincal Service Bulletin, or a lack of shims.
Jeff

[240meowth]

my car does the same thing too, i've always thought it was the alignment...  and when i break, my whole car shakes like it's going to fall apart, that could be alignment or wraped rotors...

[gh6o6]

ok its most likely the rotors are warped  
if the car pulls its the front if it just shakes its the back

[Natty]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (gh6o6 @ Aug. 05 2002,8:15)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">ok its most likely the rotors are warped
if the car pulls its the front if it just shakes its the back</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
I wasn't aware rear rotors on a stock system could see enough heat to warp.
I think I'll just live with the braking shaking.
It's going down the road at 55 that bothers me. The steering wheel is so bad it vibrates my watch &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/nervous.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':nervous:'>
Off to the shop I go. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'>
Anyone know what Nissan shims go for? Maybe the pads are scraping the rotor, which is warped. At 55mph, that would cause the vibration...
Jeff

[aqwkmf]

can i join the club? my steering does the same thing.

[GotDriftS14]

ummmm this doesnt have anything to do with brakes, but if ur steering wheel starts to shake above a certain MPH, then it could be your tire balance. &nbsp;my steering wheel used to shake pretty bad after i hit 55MPH and then i got my tires balanced and then it went away. &nbsp;just a suggestion....

[BlackFox]

Mine was my alignment, after I got that taken care of it only slightly vibrates cause the tires aren't worn evenly.

Make sure the notch on the piston lines up with the tab on the back of the pad. that would cause the pad to hit unevenly and build up more heat causing warping (i think the tabs are only on the back pistons)

Just some thoughts.

[HippoSleek]

If you worked on the rears, I wouldn't expect this to be a brake issue. &nbsp;Ditto the fronts. &nbsp;Basically, if you get shaking/vibration when braking, look at your brakes. &nbsp;But if you get it just driving at a certain speed, alignment or wheel balance is usually the culprit. &nbsp;

I'd get my tires balanced first. &nbsp;It could be that when doing the brakes, a weight came off the wheel - leading to a balance issue.

[Yoshi]

I agree, I really doubt this is a brake issue unless your have SEVERLY warped rotors and a caliper dragging (my van did this). &nbsp;

I'd have to go with tire balance and play in your suspension. &nbsp;When I got my new rims and tires, they were newly balanced and my steering wheel shake became almost nothing. &nbsp;Then I stuck the front STB in there and it was rock solid.

Just my own experience.

[Natty]

Thanks guys.
I'll be giving a shop $20 tomarrow for some balancing and to make sure they torque my lugs to 80ft/lbs.
I'll have the tie rod looked at too.

I only worked on the front rotors. I took the pads out, noticed they were good, and I put them back in.
On the front brakes, is there a notch in the piston that the pad sits in?
Jeff