I have a 96 xj that about a year ago I replaced front rotors, pads and calipers. Everything has been working great Until last month.

about 50% of the time when I leave work, parking lot speeds, when I brake I get a nasty vibration. It's intese, even at 5-10mph. Once I get up to normal driving speeds I see no issue. It's only when braking at slow speeds.

The vibes shake the entire vehicle pretty bad. It also seems to have started when the weather was colder up here in Seattle.

I looked last last night as I think it's coming from the front passenger side (not confirmed) and everything seems fine. All cables seem intact and no pinches.

its also worth noting that I have not get any pulling, or any other symptoms.

Any help aould be greatly appreciated

 

Do you feel it in the pedal (pulsing with the vibration)?

 

To add to Jordan's post, can you feel it in the steering wheel (shaking the wheel back and forth)?

 

I have a pretty bad vibration too, took front wheels off and my brake disks are completely ribbed and need skimming, check your break disks for unevenness.

 

I might take a good look at the U-Joints on both front axles and the front drive-line. Might be one is really toast, gets misaligned parked at the right spot, and trues up when you get moving.

 

Thanks for the responses.

i do not feel it in the brakes or steering wheel. It's just an all around vibe. When I bought a few years ago I replaced passenger side I joint. It was pretty bad. Maybe I should check the other side

 

Check tranny mount exhaust can come in contact with cross member causing vibrations

 

The brakes themselves might not be the root cause of the vibes.
Since there's no steering wheel vibes that sort of rules out suspension issues.
Yeah check the other axle U-joint and also the diff. input U-joint.
Might want to check the hub bearings also.

 

Check the new one too. IIRC I might have not gotten a clip in right before.

 

 

Thank you for your thoughts. I'll check the u joints soon.

The more im thinking about it it does feel like a "grinding" type of vibration which makes me think it's more of a brake issue. Could a prob with ABS cause something like this? Or a sticking caliper?

 

Have you looked at the condition of the pads and rotors lately?

 

I think I found the problem. While examining passenger side I noticed some faint grooves in the rotor and corresponding marks on the pads. When I removed the caliper I found the top guid pin was completely frozen. I had to use a c-clamp to get it out and it's completely dry and covered in rust. No clue how this happened as they were good when I changed the calipers previously. I attached image below. Gonna grab some new guide pins and report back later

 

Wow, only in a year's time.
How about the driver's side? Might be the same thing in the future.

Assuming the caliper is still useable, when you install the new one make sure to clean out the caliper guide hole and grease it and the guide pins.
If this were my deal, i'd replace the caliper with a semi loaded one.

 

woooo weee yeah those caliper slides have been neglected. Always service them when doing brake work. They're a bastard when they seize. I clean them and load them up with new grease every time.