I swear, I've never had a truck with so many vibrations, rattles, and issues as my 04 AC. Granted, I drive the truck like I stole it, but come on, I've own 2 Toyotas before that were literally bulletproof. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive because I bought it new. Ok, enough whining.

So I replaced my rotors and pads with EBC slotted and vented discs, and greenstuff pads. They went on great, and with the exception of the slight whisting that is common with slotted rotors, everything was grand. I replaced the rear shoes and had the stock drums turned, that too went well. Now, after less than 5k on the front and 2k on the rear, the truck shimmies when you lightly get on the brake, say for an average stop. If you grab the brakes hard, the thing is straight as an arrow and stops quick. I mostly feel the shimmy in the steering wheel, and if you let go of the wheel as you stop, it tick tocks back and forth about an inch.

I don't see why my front rotors would need to be turned after only 5K. The only thing I can think of is that the rears aren't adjusted tightly enough so the fronts are working overtime.

Any thoughts?

The rear drum don't machine well, they are likely now out of round and will need to be replaced. Make sure you are using a torque wrench when installing the wheels
Mike

The vibration may be coming from your wheel alignment and not your brakes. I have to get mine aligned about once a year as the vibration increases and it solves the problem. Even a small misalignment in your wheels can cause vibration as they are no longer pointing straight and brake pressure will cause the wheel to vibrate. I thought my Tundra just had really bad brakes until I tried that. I'd give that a shot.

...Make sure you are using a torque wrench when installing the wheels
Mike

Sure enough. Uneven or excessive torque on the lug nuts can cause the rotors to warp. Here's the procedure I use:

Torque in a cross pattern, like so...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4500765430_5a55ee0594.jpg

Do the pattern three times.

1. all lug nuts to 1/3 of torque spec
2. all lug nuts to 2/3 of torque spec
3. all lug nuts to full torque