maxiiiboy

Like other Maximas, my 2000 SE has had a chronic problem with brake judder.

The problem first started perhaps 9 months or so after I purchased the car (brand new) back in January 2000. The severity of the problem fluctuated; it would get quite bad one day, and then for unknown reasons, it would get better. Also, the judder severity varied depending on how I applied the brakes, but not in any linear matter. Sometimes, applying brakes lightly would cause judder and hard braking would cure it, at other times the opposite was true. I was following this forum and tried to do the right things (avoid over-tightening lugs, etc.).

I was aware of the brake judder TSB (NTB00_088), so some time in 2001 or 2002 I took the car to the dealer. Guess what: when we took the car for a test drive, the car was behaving itself, and we could not reproduce the problem (although it vibrated half an hour earlier, when braking on my way to the dealership !!!).

When the car had 45k miles, I replaced both the font rotors (with Brembo blanks) and the front pads (Raybestos Quiet Stops). Things were good for about ~ 10k miles, but then the judder started again.

During the last two years or so, I noticed that the judder did go away after I washed the car. However, it returned two to four days later. I started to experiment, just hosing/watering the wheels - it worked. This made me think that perhaps the cause is not a warped rotor, or even deposits on the rotor, as many suggest.

Few months ago I decided to clean the calipers and lubricate the caliper pins. Perusing brake cleaners and lubricants at O'Reillys, I noticed a Gunk product called "Squeal Medic"; the can says it contains metal flakes, hexane, and solvent/other distillates. To make a long story short:

• I bought a can ($6.99).
• The first application (outside of rotors only) brought major improvement, although some judder persisted.
• I tried second time, and this time I thoroughly sprayed both sides of the rotor. The results are amazing - my brakes are smooth and quiet, perhaps in the in best shape since the car was new.
• I bought two more cans .... and plan to use them as/when necessary.

So, what is the underlying cause? My current/best theory is that the judder has something to do with with the angle with which the pads are applied to the rotor ("angle of attack"). Minor surface imperfections also play a role. I suspect that the Nissan design of our brakes (single caliper, floating) might be a big contributing factor, if not root cause ....

What do you think and what's your experience?