jetta02awp

Hey Everyone, Here is my current issue with my car. Every now and then maybe once a week for about a minute I get a real bad vibration. It happens at very random times. Twice it happened after taking off from a light and today it happened just as I was driving down the freeway.

It is coming from the right rear and the brake rotor is noticably hotter than the left rear. This started after I left my car parked for 2 weeks and I thought that it was a sticking caliper and I lubed up the caliper real good and it went away for a while. My car has been sitting for a week again and it happened again. I am really confused on why it would start vibrating while just driving without even hitting the brakes. This makes me lean towards a wheel bearing. I got off the freeway and stopped at a light and it went away.

Anyone have any insight or had this happen before?

Thanks in advance.

phister

wheel bearings usually is consistant sound after awhile and sound pretty bad. I would take off the wheel to see if the rotor is loose if any suspension part is worn out. It could be the wheel bearing slowly going out but I would look for other causes first.

jetta02awp

That's what confuses me. I know wheel bearings are usually a constant whirling noise. The brake rotor temp is what is pushing me towards the brakes dragging. But the fact that it happened on the freeway 15 minutes after the last time I hit the brakes makes me believe its something else.

I wonder if one of the ebrake pads is shifting. Maybe a rivet that holds the pad to its base came out.

Norwichdelta06

if the RT RR wheel is dragging drive it around for awhile.. the wheel itself should be extremely hot.. if not.. that general area alone should be hotter then the opposite side... and is it a vibration or a shuttering?

Norwichdelta06

also just to make sure.. you only feel it in the seat and not the steering wheel right?

ncmudbug

I think it's time to take the pads out of your calipers on both rear wheels to check for any irregular wear on them and differences from one side to the other. You can also make sure that there is nothing that is hampering movement of the floating caliper on the right side and that the pistons are able to move freely.

I haven't had to mess with the e-brake yet. It's a drum-type arrangement, isn't it? That could be another thing I'd check - pad thickness and free movement.

I guess the last thing I might consider is a problem with your ABS. That seems unlikely but possible.

Good luck!

Boom vang

a sticking rear parking brake will make a ton of vibration, (a loud almost thumping sound almost like wheel coming loose) usually the culprit is the lever for the brake under the rear seat. Because this is totally exposed it is subject to rust and does not allow the lever to return to unreleased position. I found that the best way to fix it other than replacing the part is to undo the cables, soak the lever and bushings with PB Blaster and then try to work the lever back and forth. Once it moves freely then saturate it with anti-seize paste (I tried regular grease but did not last) I am on to my 4th year since I did the anti-seize and have not had to redo it since.

I had to redo the shoes in my parking brakes last year as they wore out and made a metallic scraping noise and the job is one from hell because they are so small and the return springs are extremely tight and near impossible to hook on unless you have a MB Tool...I made my own from an awl after struggling for hours and it worked. You can't do it by yourself, you will need a helper as one stretches the spring (you need both hands) and the other pushes it on to the pin to attach the spring


https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...on-rumble.html





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jetta02awp

I used a temp gun and the right rear was 15-20 hotter than the passenger side. (depending on what part of the rotor I temped)

It is more of a shutter than a vibration.

It feels like a flat tire on the right rear and no feeling in the steering wheel.

I just replaced the rotors and pads last fall. I'm no amateur when it comes to replacing disc brakes. Yes, the parking brake is a mini drum brake under the rotors.

I'm starting to lean towards the parking brake setup. But this only happens when I don't drive the car for a few days. When I know I'm going to park the car for multiple days I don't use the parking brake because I never know how long it is going to be sitting.

The one thing that bothers me though is that it happens at completely random times. I drove the car to and from work everyday since last Thursday and haven't had it happen. Last Wednesday I left my house and drove 20 minutes down the freeway and it happened just as I was about to get off the freeway.

I haven't torn it apart yet because I'm waiting for the weather to break around here. I'm going to tear it apart when I goto swap my summer wheels back on.

Thanks for all the replies

jetta02awp

Bumping my thread back up...

It happened again tonight. I went out for a quick ride and on my way back it started shuddering again after light braking around a corner.

I'm now leaning towards the front brakes. The front rotors are warped slightly and when it shudders and I let off the gas I can feel a pulse that goes along with the shudder when I'm not applying the brakes. I've been googling around about sticking calipers and I can't come up with anything concrete. I haven't taken the front brakes apart yet but I am going to soon. I've never had anything like this happen before on any car I've owned

Anyone experience sticking calipers on their car here?

sammydragon3

if u have a slightly sticky caliper does one wheel turn more freely then the other when hot?

i thought my caliper was sticking but my rear pads worn very weird since i use the parking brake alot

check the pads for irregular wear

check for any movement in the upper and lower control arms

any irregular wear on tires?

maybe u just need front rotors

jetta02awp

It happens at such random times. Sometimes just after I start driving. Sometimes it'll be a half hour into a drive and it only happened every couple weeks now. As soon as I make a complete stop, it goes away and it doesn't come back for a long time. It's driving me up the wall. I can't even take it to a shop because chances are it won't even happen.

alexinmontreal

Hi,
This exact problem is happening to me. At random times on the highway, a massive rumbling from the rear end. I pulled over 3 times thinking the tire was shredding or I was losing a wheel. Nothing.
The rear L disc smells of burning, making me think it's an ABS problem (very quick on/off).
I just had 4 new rotors and pads installed at dealer 2 weeks ago. The car is at dealership now and I haven't heard anything yet.
It's got to be a bearing or the brakes acting up...I'll post an answer as soon as they tell me.

potmat

Any updates on this alexinmontreal? I seem to be experiencing a very similar problem.

GermanMade

Have you checked the brake fluid? It's possible that it needs to be changed if the screen and fluid is dirty. I use Pentosin Super Dot 4.

potmat

Just had the fluid changed at the dealership about a month ago.

GermanMade

I highly recommend you check it yourself bc I do not trust the dealership working on my car. I attached some photos and looks like I need to change my brake fluid.

Have you tried using purple engine degreaser on the springs and surrounded area? clean it with water after you leave it on for a minute or so. Try to avoid anything that plastic. You may also need to tighten up the nut screws attached to the bumper and around the fender since they do tend to loosen up after many years of driving.

Boom vang

a stuck parking brake will make a ton of vibration and noise. See my earlier post and link

alexinmontreal

Sorry I took so long...After being told by dealer that I needed rear drum brakepads ( parking break), I showed them the work order showing that the pads were good...small argument...Dealer agreed to repair and replace pads no charge. It seems they had over tightened adjustment screws... All good...I love my car again!

alexinmontreal

Sorry I took so long...After being told by dealer that I needed rear drum brake shoes ( parking brake), I showed them the work order showing that the shoes were good...small argument...Dealer agreed to repair and replace pads no charge. It seems they had over tightened adjustment screws... All good...I love my car again!

faszer

I think my situation is similar. I could hear a thumping sound from my car but could never figure out what it was until it changed one night after a long time to a now grinding sound coming from my right rear wheel area or so it sounds. I thought it was my left wheel bearing, so I had it taken off and replaced. It did need some changing but after replacing it, I'm still hearing the grinding sound coming from that area. So it wasn't the bearing at all. I'm now thinking it could be the axle joint. So I'm thinking about buying a new unit and replacing all of it. I can't think of anything else that would be making noise on my 17-year-old 2001W210 e320 Mercedes.