04 Corolla CE Braking issue

[GMikeG]

Okay I'm looking for some input on the issue my wife's 04 corolla is having.

The description of whats happening:
When driving the car over over 50mph it will start to shimmy a bit through through the brake pedal and the steering wheel. When you brake lightly or to slow down if feels as if the rotor is warped and I can hear a noise (not a sequel more like a growling whirl) that will coincide with the pulsing pedal.

The noise and pulsing will go away when we bring the car to a stop and start going again. It will also go away while turning left.

On top of that the front steel rim will get pretty hot like the caliper is sticking.

Also this doesn't happen all the time. It seems sporadic but once it starts happening on a trip it will continue to happen when ever we get to the 45-55mph range.

So thinking it was a sticking front drivers side caliper (the noise seems to be emanating from the front left) I replaced it yesterday. This did not fix the issue.

The pads look new and the rotors also look good as I replaced them last fall. When I did them I replaced the shims and they still seem to be in good shape.

Aslo I get no movement in the hub in any direction so it seems the wheel bearing is fine.

Can anyone give me an idea? I'm really unsure of what to try next.

Thanks,
Mike

[ck25]

I have an 04 corolloa as well w/ 144k on the clock, gone through a couple tires and brakes.

you state earlier in your post it happens when you brake and then later you say "happening on a trip it will continue to happen when ever we get to the 45-55mph range."

so is it only when you brake or when cruiseing?..

I have had the rear bearings go on my vehicle, but it was more recent, you may not have as many miles on yours? If you are over 100k it could be a possibility. However when bearings go they typically howl or moan while in drive, under slow speed less then 10mph you may not notice any noise. Another way to tell if it is a bearing is to put the car in N and spin the tire by hand, if it is a bad bearing you will get resistance ... grinding resistance. Spin the other 3 tires to get a comparison. And definitely with mine I didn't see any shimmey or pulsing.- and the howl/moan was constant, whether brake pressure was applied or not.



I would start with the least costly item, 1. rotate the tires move the fronts to the back, could have a bad tire or thrown wheel weight.

The only thing that doesn't add up is you mention

: It will also go away while turning left.

I could do the same thing with my rear bearings (they went out 4 months apart), in a turn when you would rotate pressure off of the bad bearing wheel the moan would stop until recenter the car.

Not sure if I helped you any but provided my exposure to what I've seen.