Hello All,
I did my brakes at 90,000 miles and installed the following:
Disc Brakes Australia rotors - 4000 series slotted rotors
Part numbers:
Front DBA - 4788S
Rear DBA - 4789S
Brake Pads
Akebono Pro Act
Part numbers:
Front ACT772
Rear ACT773
I now have 190,000 miles on the same brakes, and they have developed a horrible, jerking pulse at light pedal and heavy pedal, along with the shaking steering wheel. I have looked and they have a ton of material left on the pads, and the rear rotors are very smooth overall and have virtually zero wear, as in they measured 17.96mm (using Mitutoyo Digital Micrometer) on the one side I had time to measure; they start at 18mm stock thickness and can be turned to as thin as 16mm, although I will have the minimum turned off of mine to get them true and flat again.
I did not have time to measure the front rotors yet, as I am going to try and do that tomorrow; they start at 32mm thickness and can be turned to as low as 30mm, but again, I hope to turn the minimum to get them trued up.
Here is where I need some advice or help.....
I have attempted to "re-bed" the brake pads and rotors and get them hot enough to re-deposit pad evenly on the rotors, and it didn't work, in fact, it made it worse. I had them very hot, but couldn't seem to smear the "sticky spot" off of them and even them out.
I have had to make a few "oh-$H!T" panic stops because of crazy drivers and circumstances, and although I did pull a light trailer a few times, I never over-worked the brakes or got them hot during towing. I think the pulsations may have occurred because of the panic stops.
I am taking off work tomorrow, if I can, and I am going to have the rotors turned if they are all above minimum specs, which I will check with my digital calipers. I have found a local shop here in the Denver area that will turn slotted rotors, as many will not.
I have bought new hub seals, some circlips that I hope are the right thickness, and some Red Line CV2 grease that I plan on packing the wheel bearings and spindle bearings with, as they still spin smoothly, but haven't been serviced since the brake job at 90,000 miles.
My main question comes down to brake pads.
I have read several places that the OEM pads and AKEBONO pads (which are supposedly an OEM supplier) can cause pulsations in the brakes if stressed or overheated from towing, etc.
Can someone offer some strong recommendations for pads that I might be able to source locally (in Denver)?
If I don't hear different or better, I will be going with OEM or Akebono again and just have them turned again in another 100,000 miles if they have enough material and no grooves..... but, I would rather have softer pads that dust the wheels and need to be changed more often than pulsing brakes, so please speak up if you have some good experience with other brands from a more common auto parts store or performance pads. I would love to be able to change these tomorrow; I can wait if I have to.
Thanks in advance!
I did my brakes at 90,000 miles and installed the following:
Disc Brakes Australia rotors - 4000 series slotted rotors
Part numbers:
Front DBA - 4788S
Rear DBA - 4789S
Brake Pads
Akebono Pro Act
Part numbers:
Front ACT772
Rear ACT773
I now have 190,000 miles on the same brakes, and they have developed a horrible, jerking pulse at light pedal and heavy pedal, along with the shaking steering wheel. I have looked and they have a ton of material left on the pads, and the rear rotors are very smooth overall and have virtually zero wear, as in they measured 17.96mm (using Mitutoyo Digital Micrometer) on the one side I had time to measure; they start at 18mm stock thickness and can be turned to as thin as 16mm, although I will have the minimum turned off of mine to get them true and flat again.
I did not have time to measure the front rotors yet, as I am going to try and do that tomorrow; they start at 32mm thickness and can be turned to as low as 30mm, but again, I hope to turn the minimum to get them trued up.
Here is where I need some advice or help.....
I have attempted to "re-bed" the brake pads and rotors and get them hot enough to re-deposit pad evenly on the rotors, and it didn't work, in fact, it made it worse. I had them very hot, but couldn't seem to smear the "sticky spot" off of them and even them out.
I have had to make a few "oh-$H!T" panic stops because of crazy drivers and circumstances, and although I did pull a light trailer a few times, I never over-worked the brakes or got them hot during towing. I think the pulsations may have occurred because of the panic stops.
I am taking off work tomorrow, if I can, and I am going to have the rotors turned if they are all above minimum specs, which I will check with my digital calipers. I have found a local shop here in the Denver area that will turn slotted rotors, as many will not.
I have bought new hub seals, some circlips that I hope are the right thickness, and some Red Line CV2 grease that I plan on packing the wheel bearings and spindle bearings with, as they still spin smoothly, but haven't been serviced since the brake job at 90,000 miles.
My main question comes down to brake pads.
I have read several places that the OEM pads and AKEBONO pads (which are supposedly an OEM supplier) can cause pulsations in the brakes if stressed or overheated from towing, etc.
Can someone offer some strong recommendations for pads that I might be able to source locally (in Denver)?
If I don't hear different or better, I will be going with OEM or Akebono again and just have them turned again in another 100,000 miles if they have enough material and no grooves..... but, I would rather have softer pads that dust the wheels and need to be changed more often than pulsing brakes, so please speak up if you have some good experience with other brands from a more common auto parts store or performance pads. I would love to be able to change these tomorrow; I can wait if I have to.
Thanks in advance!
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