I have a 96 ram 1500 ext 5.2 4x4. I installed a 2 inch lift (coil spacers and rear blocks) and new brakes and rotors. Now when I first touch the brakes, i feel like a quick vibration through the pedel from the front left wheel area. It feels like i hit a rumble strip real quick, but not as violent. It only happens in the first 25% of the pedel travel. It wont do it if i push the pedel down fast though. Any ideas where to start looking?

 

sounds kinda like you might have a little air in the system, id start simple first, did you bleed them good? just a thought.

 

also i dont know if your truck came with abs but i do know your supposed to bleed them with a scantool to actually activate the abs to get the air out

 

Sounds more like a warped rotor to me. Air in the system just make the pedal soft, unless it is causing trouble with the ABS then I am not sure.

My '96 parts truck only has rear abs.

 

My moneys on the rotor.

 

No abs on my truck. What are the chances a new rotor is faulty? Besides the motor and tranny, the truck has 212,000. Can a bearing be going bad? or u joint?

 

the chances of a rotor coming warped could be because of the cheap japan metal they use anymore, check bearings, i had the same problem, also, i would check and replace the front u joints also, i have a 97 with 228,000 and i had the same problem and just replaced anything that could have been making my truck shake.

 

If you only feel the vibration when you step on the brakes...... that would tend to point at the brakes. Was the vibration there before you did the brakes?

I have had far too many "new" rotors have a bit of a warp to them simply from sitting on the shelf. As a matter of policy, I always put 'em on the lathe, and shave a couple tenths before installing them.