i noticed this while i was changing the carrier bearing. it looks to me like it should be tightened. i'm not going to lie, i don't even know what it's called.
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it looks like it may be contributing to the shake i get in the rear end while braking at medium speeds.
so what is this picture supposed to look like?

 

i believe those are your subframe bushings. check the fsm for torque specs before you decide to tighten them. they will collapse if you tighten them too much

 

yeah looks alot like even the subframe bushing for the moustache bar that holds up the rear diff on my S30's even.

 

yea that sounds like what it is. i'm just wondering if it is supposed to have that big gap.

 

is anything loose? it might just be a normal thing but odd looking.

 

i tried to wiggle some stuff while it was jacked up by the diff but i couldn't get anything to move. but it could be causing my back end to shake when i brake, if indeed it is too loose. lol my brakes are funny. when i start braking lightly, it shakes in the front first with the steering wheel shaking and then smooths out up there then goes to the back and it kindof bounces. it's a 2 stage shake!

 

have you tried searching for your braking problem?

 

Are your rotors warped?
I guess that wouldn't explain how the shake goes to the back but could be part of it?

 

i thought about the rotors, and they may be warped. i picked the wheels up and spun them by hand and i know that they arn't completely perfect, but that isn't the whole problem. the shake that this thread is about it a pretty severe shake that happens only on medium strength braking at moderate speeds. but once the car gets under a certain speed, or if i hit the pedel hard enough, then it is as smooth as can be. the anti-lock light is on, but it's too severe to be even that. i've got a few things to try now then i'll post back on results

 

so this weekend i'm planning to re-bleed the brakes using all 6 bleed points rather then just 4... that may help, but i doubt it. i also plan to check the codes on the ABS computer. the instructions i read on this said enter diagnostic mode by going over 19 MPH, then read the code behind the passenger seat... is there a way to do this without risking running over my neighbor, then my dog, then hitting a pot hole and loosing my allignment, and then stopping when i hit a tree because i was watching the LED instead of the road? sounds like rather strange directions... can i do it if i stop after i get to 19 MPH?

 

Well, if you couldn't see the rotors wobble when you spun the wheel by hand, then they must be fine. Dude....you've got to be kidding me. Take it to a shop and have the rotors spun and have the allignment checked. They'll be able to tell you if the bushings are worn; since you clearly don't know how to tell. Your tension rod bushings are another possible culprit.

 

"i know that they arn't completely perfect, but that isn't the whole problem"

i'm basically not worrying about the rotors right now, because i am positive that there is a bigger problem. when i brake hard enough, it is as smooth as can be. all my experience with warped rotors has told me that thier effect is felt more with harder braking.

but thanks for the advise. i just recently had the allignment done, but they didn't mess with the bushings in question. the front end is reportedly in good shape. but yea, i don't know how to tell if the bushings in those pictures are good. i'm not gonna lie! sounds like tension rod bushings are a pretty likely suspect

 

so i'm pretty sure now that the problem is a combination of slightly warped rotors and bad bushings. i have the 2 in the back not looking too good and i found 2 more up front about the same size that look to have some play in them. so i'm going to try all that (gradually as i gain the funds) and then post back to tell if it worked. are those bushings in the back that hard to change? they look pretty easy to me

 

i think that many of you may like to hear that you were right, and i was wrong. i got my front rotors turned today. it took 3 passes to get one of them finished. they were baaaaaaaad. the car brakes perfectly now. no doubt, i have a few bad bushings, but i don't think they show up any now that the rotors are good.

 

ok, i take that last post back. when i first drove it with the front rotors turned, it felt good. then it went back after a few stops. so i just got the back rotors turned. it's still basically the same as it was before i turned any rotors. wtf? i guess the next things are tie rod ends and sub frame bushings

 

I think that the next thing you need to do is figure out how to use the search function. There are dozens of previous posts regarding brake issues.

Where did you get the idea that it would be your subframe bushings? The subframe bushings are in the rear and your brake problems are in the front. You might as well put a new cd in the radio too since that's about as likely a cause to your problem as the subframe bushings.

Do a search...you'll learn a lot.

 

owch dude. i thought about the subframe bushings because the back was shaking too. that has pretty much gone away. i don't have a CD player either! i'll change the MP3 player though. all my searches so far have said that my rotors are warped. when indeed they are not

 

and, as seen in those pictures at the top, my sub frame bushings are very bad. so they might be the cause of the little bit of shaking that remains in the back.

 

Then you're not searching hard enough. You're front brake problem sounds more like tension rods to me.

Before you ask about how to change your subframe bushings, just take it to a shop. You don't own the tools you need to change them

 

i can score a torch easy enough. i don't like shops.

i already looked up how to change them.