Vibration, shuffling, and heat from wheels

[stevediraddo]

Hello this is a problem that I've been trying to troubleshoot for some time now, with not much luck. When I drive slow (<10km/h), the car shuffles left and right at the same speed the tires are spinning. I was told one of my discs might be badly warped. As the speed increases a low frequency humming is heard, and the vibration can now be felt in the steering wheel, and even the floor. After a short trip down the road, much heat is coming from the rim bolts. Driving through a puddle sends steam from the front wheels. Driving at highway speed feels like driving with a flat tire, with a lot of clumsy vibration that is especially noticeable in the steering wheel. As the trip continues, the vibration can get better and worse repeatedly over the course of about 10 minutes. Taking a curve at highway speed makes the vibration significantly worse (lub lub lub lub lub), and then not so bad after the curve straightens. After stopping, the front wheels remain too hot to touch for a good amount of time.

Ive tried rotating the tires. I've checked the brake pads, they are still quite thick. I was told it could be the wheel bearings, warped brake rotors, etc. Everything underneath seems nice and tight. There is nothing loose that I can find. I spun the wheel in neutral and couldnt detect a bad bearing.

How can I check the rotors myself, and how hard is it to replace them?

[Losiracer2]

are you sure none of the brake calipers are sticking? That would've been my first guess.

But you also said you heard a lub lub lub noise? you could have a separated tire, they normally have a large roundish bubble in the tread that could cause a nasty thumping/vibration...see it everyday working at Discount tire in AZ esp. in 115*F heat.

a humming would indicate a bad wheel bearing and should get louder as the speed increases.

also I would check your tierods for any slop or play if your car seems to shift left and right and not track straight.

But excessive heat from the wheels can only mean one thing, friction and lots of it. So the only friction component behind that is the brakes.

[stevediraddo]

i'm almost sure the vibration problem is coming from the right wheel, but both front wheels get unusually hot. i dont think the calipers are sticking, because i can spin the wheels by hand with minimal effort. i just checked the tires and there are no abnormalities, but there seems to be some excess wear on the left front tire, on the outside. i will go over the brake system one more time and report back.

thanks for the help i appreciate it.

[visualpoet]

Dumb question, you don't let your left foot touch the brake pedal while you drive do you? The slightest pressure on the brake pedal could cause the friction/heat problem you have, wouldn't necessarily be noticeable as you drive and it wouldn't stop you from spinning the tire freely by hand.

[nine_deuce]

To check your rotors, you could take the tire off, spin the rotor and check to see if it's warped. Also, check for unusual gouges or wearing on the disks themselves. Check the pads to see if they're wearing unevenly.

[wherm]

I had this problem once with my old civic hatch. It ended up being a seized caliper. The other thing that it could be is a bad rubber brake hose. Might wanna check those too.

[old honda tek]

i think you mmight have a bad wheel bearing a bad wheel bearing will cause a low freq grumbling sound and ruff feel through the floor if you think it is the right bearing ,drive the car till you hear the noise and then swerve to the right and listen to see if the noise decreases,if it does it is a bad wheel bearing .

[wed3k]

warped rotors could be from a frozen caliper. which would explaint he excessive heat build up.

[stevediraddo]

lol i definitely dont keep my foot on the brake while driving, trust me

all of these are great ideas.. i'm going to check my caliper in the morning. i checked my discs and they have some minor grooves carved in them here and there. i'm going to replace them, as soon as i can find some place that can do it cheap.