I have a 95 dodge dakota SLT 5.2. I bought it for $750.00 and it needs some work. I bought new pads and rotors for the front and replaced them a couple days ago. Now when I brake hard either down a hill or from high speeds the whole truck shacks and I can feel it in the brake pedal and wheel. So i ruled out the pads and rotors cause they are only a couple days old. Any ideas cause I have no clue if its tire balance or what??

 

Possibly the front rotors are warped from the store.
Or your rear drums or shoes are bad.

I will move this to the 1st generation Dakota sub forum.

 

this is true even thou you just replaced the front rotors they can be warped. I work on other cars for other people and ran into that same problem a few times now.

 

Most likely tie rod ends
if not check ball joints, etc
BE SAFE

 

This is true it could be tie rod ends as now the brakes are fixed and run true.

 

I did not mean to imply that even new rotors do not need to be cheeked first.
A couple of other possibilities after tie rod ends
front wheel bearing adjustment-preload is correct
toe in-toe out... rapid switching between when braking
check alignment (toe) with a piece of string or some quick method to see if you are way off
Always flush brake system with fresh DOT3 or even better synthetic DOT 4 fluid-not the cause of this problem but SOP around here
OP you with us?

 

The phenolic pistons in the brake caliper absorb brake fluid and swell up, preventing the piston from fully retracting into the caliper housing, which forces the brake pad to be in constant contact with the rotor, creating friction or heat, thus warping the rotors, rapidly. Replace the phenolic piston (flat black) calipers with steel piston (usually shiny steel) calipers, have your rotors turned, rub the brake pad faces on asphalt (to de-glaze), re-assemble, and bleed the brakes until new fluid runs through the valve. I've owned several V8 Dakotas and I've eliminated the body vibration, steering wheel shimmy, pedal pulse, and brake fade from each truck effectively. The calipers should run about $30.00 each and are readily available off the shelf.