I have a 2001 Subaru Legacy Outback with 170,000 miles that is having violent shuddering problems when braking and a barely noticeable shudder when at speeds above 55-60 mph. A mechanic friend said that the R&P was broke (it was, very badly) and that the reason I only felt the shudder when braking was due to the R&P violently moving when the pads were pressing on the rotor.
I replaced the R&P, both outer tie rods ends, and steering pump back in July 2016. I also recently had the transmission and axles drained and refilled in August 2016. The axles were put on December 2015. (I should mention that the R&P was an absolute Son of a Biscuit and after 2 alignments from Free Service (who I will never use again), the steering wheel is not exactly aligned.)
After the fix in July, the shudder is much, much, MUCH better but it is still there. I am thinking that I need to replace the rotors and pads, but the previous dealer replaced both sets of rotors and pads less than a year ago. I am not sure if driving and braking on a basically severed R&P would cause the rotors and pads to warp between October 2015 and July 2016. But the dealer is also a crook, so they rotors and pads could have not been new.
The shudder when braking is mostly in the steering wheel (which shakes pretty bad), but sometimes I can feel it in the seat. My passengers say they do not feel the shudder at all. The shudder lessens as the vehicle slows and it is very rhythmic when you are almost stopped. This leads me to think that the rotors and pads are warped. But could it be the wheel hubs?
Any suggestions?