bsmiley

2001 LX 5MT

No wobbles, alignment or balance issues. Tight front end, new struts, compliance bushings, ball joints and end links since April '14.

I replaced rotors with Pep Boys Pro Stop platinum this past April. When I lightly apply the brakes above 60 mph I can feel the pulsing common to warped rotors.

Should I have them turned or replace them?

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Might not be the rotor. Did you clean and grease your slide pins? Put grease on back of pads and on metal retaining clips?

Rotors should have a warranty, might be able to return them. May have gotten a bad one.

bsmiley

Yes, fair point, I did clean and lube the caliper pins, back of pads and retaining clips.

The warranty was up at 90 days. I talked to Pep Boys on the phone and its unclear if they're going to charge me for turning the rotors.

I figure if I get them turned they may just continue to warp and I'll be dealing with this problem again in 4 months. I was thinking I might just save some trouble and replace them.

ezone

If the face of the hub has rust on it it can cause the rotor to not sit flat and it will eventually exhibit the same symptom as warp, and it will cause warp.

The other day I found this on a 8th gen with 250k on the clock. I had to knock all 10 studs out of the front hubs to get the hub faces cleaned completely free of rust, clean all the rust out of his fairly new rotors, then resurface the rotors using the on-car lathe.

bsmiley

bsmiley

Here on the southern Virginia coast winters are gentle and rust & corrosion usually aren't an issue.

Is a warping rotors a sign of bad brake lines? It did appear that my brake fluid reservoir was a little above the full line.

Should I consider it an anomaly for now or should I investigate further?

ezone

Looks like some rust there, maybe not a bunch but some. From the pic I can't tell if it's just discolored or if there is scale buildup.
Does the inside surface of the rotor hub (the 'hat') have rust in the same place?

I'd probably look for dragging brakes first.......check brake temperatures after a ride -- see if there is one wheel that's a whole bunch hotter than the others.

Brake hoses have not been a problem in my corner of the planet. I see more calipers bad than hoses.

Not a problem IMO as long as it's not filled to the top.


Other stuff that can cause pulsation
Contaminants
Rust spots
Uneven brake pad material transfer
Disc thickness variation

Low quality rotors?

Wankenstein

They have a 3 year warranty.
Bring your receipt and have this video loaded up on your phone..play it for the manager and tell him you want new rotors.


Clean hubs with brake cleaner and small wire brush to remove rust... concentrate cleaning around the studs too. Brake fluid/full bleed replacement is recommended every three years.
Here's a good link on rotors: http://www.hendonpub.com/resources/a...etails?id=1787

bsmiley

UPDATE: Thanks a lot turd_ferguson & ezone! GolNat nailed it, it was a slide pin issue.

I removed the rotors last night after work. I dropped them off at Pep Boys to be turned.
Then I returned home with some new pads and began cleaning the calipers and doing prep to reassemble when the rotors were finished. That's when I found a pin problem.

On the right side I found the upper caliper pin was not sliding free (pin "A" 45235-S01-A01, the one with the nipple tip on the end) . I thoroughly cleaned the pin and the caliper bracket. I used plenty of synthetic caliper lube too. The rubber boots are in good shape.

The hubs are smooth and I cleaned them with a wire brush and some fine emory cloth. The back of the rotors were clean and rust free. That is a good tip to check those surfaces. The picture in my earlier post is before I cleaned it.

Pep Boys took care me. They turned the rotors at a discounted price. I'm honest and I couldn't fault the rotors knowing its a slide pin problem. They were going to charge me $30, but I asked nicely if they could give me a discount since I'm a loyal customer, and they did.

I picked them up after work today and the guy who turned them was gone for the day. But the pulsing pedal was very faint and I could only feel it above 60mph, so I don't think they had to shave off much to get them true.

I got everything installed tonight and took it for a test drive. Smooth and quiet!

It was fairly dark and I didn't want to get my phone filthy, so I didn't take pictures, sorry.
I did the brakes all the way around in April 2014 when I first bought the car. I thought I cleaned and lubed all the caliper parts. I must not have done a very good job on the pin that was a problem. I lubed things and hit them with a wire brush back in April, but I didn't notice the pin wasn't sliding freely. My fault. Take your time and inspect everything, do it better than I did!
Thanks for the replies. I hope this helps other folks.

Wankenstein

Good to hear you found and fixed the issue. I purchased the same rotors about 2k miles ago and they seem good so far..quiet, stop well. I remember the salesperson said they have a three year (limited) warranty.