Chronic warped rotors on '04 100, help please

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Arya Ebrahimi

Arya Ebrahimi

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My dad has had his 100 since '05 and for as long as I can remember the rotors have been warped.

He has tried everything from turning the rotors to having them replaced by the dealer and finally having them replaced by our local family mechanic. Nothing will cure the shaking. Usually they are trouble free until the first trip to the mountains and then they're F*&#ed.

I have two hunches, corrosion/debris between the front rotors and the hub face, or running the rotors on with an impact and not torqueing properly.

Has anyone ever had their hubs turned to make sure that they are true prior to installing the rotors? Is this a crazy idea?

Any other thoughts on how to solve this problem?
 
Sure the rotors are not being contaminated by grease from the wheel bearings/CV?
Mine were and the pulsation was horrible.
 
Rotors being contaminated by grease how? From a leaking seal? or by greasy mechanics hands?

Dad always downshifts in the mountains and isn't one to ride the brakes.

Wheels appear to be true. The problem happens with two seperate sets of wheels/tires and doesn't move around when the tires are rotated.

I suppose it could be a sticking caliper(s) that is causing it although I would think that would cause them to warp under normal driving conditions, not just heavy braking scenarios.

Bearings feel tight and I don't know if there is any spindle damage, but I doubt it.
 
How do you know the rotors are warped - was a dial indicator used to confirm?

My money's on sticking caliper. I actually had a really bad wobble that I felt through the steering wheel and was also causing a pull. I was rotating my tires and taking a look at brakes prior to a weekend family trip and found a 'frozen' caliper slide pin - i.e. it wasn't moving. It was my rear driver side top caliper pin iirc and it must have been sometimes sticking closed.

Anyhow, I cleaned and regreased and that wobble and pull are gone. Now I'm down to the more of a pulsation due to scored or maybe slightly warped rotors, but it's a completely different feel.

Anyhow, if you've replaced rotors and are still having issues after all that... I'd take a step back and look at what else could be causing the issue. Take a look at the brakes, brake pads (you may be able to see a problem by the way they are wearing). If that all checks out, I'd also get methodical on the rotors - use a dial indicator to confirm runout, and even if there is runout it could be due to other factors - is the contact b/w rotor and hub clean or is there debris preventing a square connection; are the lug nuts overtorqued etc...?

I'm sure there are other things to look for if none of that yields anything...
 
I say you're on to something with making sure the hub surface is true/clean. My roommate is super anal when doing brakes, and always checks for warped/dirty hubs (I just usually make sure there are no big chunks, and slap things back together haha). Anyway, it is important to have a true rotating assembly to prevent warp-age.

With that said, have they ever been turned while on the truck?
 
warped rotors

A lesson I learned from tracking my M3 and M5 is that rotors and pads get deposits on them that feel like the rotors are warped. Whenever I get that on any of my cars here's what I do- head out to a stretch of road that is not well travelled. Drive about 1/4 mile at about 20 miles per hour with the brakes on at light pressure- this will warm up the pads and rotors. Then accelerate to about 50-60 mpg and hit the brakes hard, but NOT hard enough to engage the ABS function. Repeat the acceleration/hard stop 4-5 more times. By this time you will smell your brakes. Drive several miles to cool off the brakes and DO NOT come to a complete stop with your brakes engaged or engage your emergency brake until the pads and rotors are completely cooled off as that can put more deposits onto the pads and rotors. For a more detailed explanation go to the www.stoptech.com site and read Dave's article on bedding in brakes. It's saved me much time and money over the years.:beer::beer:
 
pcut said:
A lesson I learned from tracking my M3 and M5 is that rotors and pads get deposits on them that feel like the rotors are warped. Whenever I get that on any of my cars here's what I do- head out to a stretch of road that is not well travelled. Drive about 1/4 mile at about 20 miles per hour with the brakes on at light pressure- this will warm up the pads and rotors. Then accelerate to about 50-60 mpg and hit the brakes hard, but NOT hard enough to engage the ABS function. Repeat the acceleration/hard stop 4-5 more times. By this time you will smell your brakes. Drive several miles to cool off the brakes and DO NOT come to a complete stop with your brakes engaged or engage your emergency brake until the pads and rotors are completely cooled off as that can put more deposits onto the pads and rotors. For a more detailed explanation go to the www.stoptech.com site and read Dave's article on bedding in brakes. It's saved me much time and money over the years.:beer::beer:
Click to expand...

Agreed. I used to go through one after the other set of new rotors on my old Tacoma. I learned 8 years later it was the cheap pads leaving uneven deposits on the rotor. Even some "quality" pads will do it, including OEM pads if they heat up and then you "sit" on the brakes at a redlight.
I upgraded my wifes car to ceramit pads and Bosch rotors and got rid of the problem even when I drive the pi$$ out of it.
Hope you find a fix!
 
If you have dial gauged the rotors and they are clean and the bearings are fine, replace the rack bushes with poly ones.
 
Arya Ebrahimi said:
My dad has had his 100 since '05 and for as long as I can remember the rotors have been warped.

He has tried everything from turning the rotors to having them replaced by the dealer and finally having them replaced by our local family mechanic. Nothing will cure the shaking. Usually they are trouble free until the first trip to the mountains and then they're F*&#ed.

I have two hunches, corrosion/debris between the front rotors and the hub face, or running the rotors on with an impact and not torqueing properly.

Has anyone ever had their hubs turned to make sure that they are true prior to installing the rotors? Is this a crazy idea?

Any other thoughts on how to solve this problem?
Click to expand...

gotta go back to basic questions here - need more deatils on why you think you had warped rotors to begin with. You do mention shaking but it's not clear what's shakin or when.

are you feeling shaking in the steering wheel ONLY when braking? if so then it's most likely something to do with the brakes or rotors etc. If the shakin you're feeling is not just when braking that changes things.

could you provide more details on the symptoms, where and when you feel them, and is it speed dependant, are you getting any pulling with braking, any pulling without braking, is it while going straight or only when turning, is there discoloration on any of the discs, ofd wear payterns on tires or uneven/odd wear patterns on brake pads, etc

generally speaking bearing issues and lose/worn steering components would be felt all the time or at least consistently at certain speeds while braking components would just be felt during braking (of course sticking calipers might be felt all the time too).

just want to clarify that since the suggestions to look at bearings or rack bushings would not seem relevant if you are only getting vibration when braking. not saying it's not possible just probably not as likely as brake related components.

also when rereading your post your already onto the hub face and over torqueing both of which could be causing your issue. but i'm curious to hear more about your symptoms and why you think you have 'warped' rotors
 
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agaisin said:
generally speaking bearing issues and lose/worn steering components would be felt all the time or at least consistently at certain speeds while braking components would just be felt during braking (of course sticking calipers might be felt all the time too).

just want to clarify thatsince the suggestions to look at bearings or rack bushings would not seem relevant if you are only getting vibration when braking. not saying it's not possible just probably not as likely as brake related components.
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This has been argued since before the internet, it was a problem on my two '73 Capris, and my '96 BMW, and it went away with new bushings.

Brakes always get deposits or rust or something on them to make them vibrate slightly when braking. If you have loose or soft suspension bushings, that vibration can hit a harmonic and greatly amplify the vibration through the whole system. It feels like warped rotors, and even experienced mechanics will go for that. I've read about guys having all their calipers and rotors replaced twice, then fixing it with bushings. Expensive. Not that this is the problem here, but don't eliminate the possibility.
 
Arya Ebrahimi said:
Rotors being contaminated by grease how? From a leaking seal? or by greasy mechanics hands?
Click to expand...

In my case I over greased the needle bearings for the CV shaft through the spindle I believe. I probably over greased the wheel bearings also that first time.

One other idea: The CV's are stock and not aftermarket? Aftermarket CV's can cause front end vibration on these things.
 
Well I've been driving the truck for a couple of days trying to diagnose the problem(convenient timing, since my DD is down waiting on parts :p ). It has a slight shimmy in the wheel at 65 regardless of brakes or not that is barely perceptable unless you're holding the steering wheel. However, once the brakes warm up, regardless of speed, the pulsing is horrendous. It does feel like buildup on the pads from improper bedding, but I have tried the bedding procedures(do the same procedure everytime I ever do brakes) and it has not improved anything.

If it doesn't rain all weekend I'll probably tear it down and see if any of the calipers are sticking or if there are any other tell tale signs. I'm also thinking there may be a mis-balanced wheel or a bent wheel causing the shimmy in the wheel at 65.
 
I found that new pads did not fit in the OEM retaining clips, and my rear brakes were not releasing appropriately, which caused premature wear and eventually ate the rotors. At first I thought that the calipers were not releasing, but when I got in there I found that the caliper was fine and the pads were stuck. When I replaced the rotors and pads with OEM, I had to use a hammer to get the pads to move inside these clips.

I then discarded the four little steel clips and have had no other problems, except for occassional brake squeal.

I guess you could also grind down the ears on the pads to fit better, but the clips really are not necessary.
 
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