[alfa] Re: Second call for help: Juddering Spider

["Dean W. Cains" <dwc@xxxxxx>]

Hi Doug:

I didn't respond the first time because I wasn't sure what to say, and I'm 
just about as unsure now.  But, light application of the brakes, that 
causes the feeling you've described, does sound like a warped 
rotor(s).  Easiest way to tell is to pull the wheels (together, or one at a 
time), and spin the rotor by hand.  If you don't want to pull the wheels, 
you can even just jack up one corner of the car at a time and spin that 
wheel.  You'll be able to hear the warp as it passes through the caliper 
and lightly scrapes one of the brake pads.  If you really want to do it 
right, a dial indicator will tell you precisely what the rotor runout is, 
but the "spin and listen" method usually works well enough just to identify 
that a warp exists.

That same juddering feeling can also sometimes indicate a loose, worn, or 
damaged wheel bearing.  The real question is, was the warp, if it's there, 
really caused by the handbrake?

Regards,

Dean
Lutz, FL
'74 & '87 Spider Veloce's


At 12:14 AM 10/7/2003, you wrote:

> Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 20:38:16 -0400
> From: "Douglas R. and Julia R. Harris" <dharris@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] Second call for help:  Juddering Spider
>
> Can someone help? . . . Anyone?  Please.
>
> My post from last Friday:
>
>     Last weekend I had my Spider out.  A neighbor sat in it and checked
> it out.  He pulled the emergency brake up a few inches too keep from
> rolling while he stirred the 'box.  I didn't really make a note of it.
> My dash brake light doesn't work, so when I later took it for a 50-mile
> jaunt, I failed to notice that the brake was partially applied.  It felt
> no different when I drove it.  I smacked myself on the forehead -- V8
> style -- when I noticed the brake handle up . . . just as I got home.
>     Today, when I drove it, I noticed a disturbing juddering feeling
> when I applied the brakes lightly at a low speed -- kinda like driving
> over two or three sets of railroad tracks.  Most troubling is that the
> feeling remains a few seconds even after I take my foot off the pedal.
>     Did I bake my rotors?  Cook my pads?  Glaze my doughnuts?  Yes, I am
> feeling pretty dumb.
>
> Doug
> Richmond, Virginia  (We survived Isabel!)
> 77 Spider (named Isabella . . . really)
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