Warped Brake Rotor?

1265 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Slipgate, Feb 6, 2015

wayfst

Discussion Starter · Feb 3, 2015

I have a shaking or vibration when applying the brakes from a moderate to high speed. The front brakes were done by the dealer 2 - 3 years ago but only 7 or 8 thousand miles, maybe less put on the car since then. The dealer says warped rotors are causing the vibration which means they probably didn't turn them when they did the brakes.

Is it better to replace the rotors or can I have them turned, assuming they have never been turned and if they have that there is enough left to turn? It seems I read somewhere that it is better to just replace them on a cadillac but I can't find that thread so don't know if I read that or not.

Any issue's with O'rielly or Autozone rotors? I did read on this forum that all rotors are made in China. Probably at the same plant...

What about the pads? There should be alot of pad left (haven't looked yet), if so is it alright to reuse them or might warped rotors have damaged them in some way that is not easily visible?

Thank you for any and all advice. This is my folks car and I want to do it right (unlike the Cadillac dealership)

Brian

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Ranger

· #3 · Feb 3, 2015

Rotors are made of cast iron. They don't warp. http://www.hendonpub.com/resources/article_archive/results/details?id=1787 You probably just have a pad material build up on them. You MIGHT solve the problem by a couple of hard brake applications, but DO NOT come to a stop or just drive for a 1/2 mile or so while lightly applying the brake to heat and clean the rotor.

Turning may be an option, but I just replaced a set on my daughters car because when I checked the numbers, there was only .006 between the serviceable number and the discard number. I just replaced them.

As you said, rotors are all made in China. This is one case where I would not hesitate to use an AZ part. Right or wrong, I don't put O'Rielly in the same boat as AZ.

If there is a lot of pad left, go ahead and reuse them. They are NOT damaged. Personally, I'd use over 50% as a criteria.

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Ranger

· #7 · Feb 4, 2015

Here is something else to consider. Admittedly, this is Not common, but I recently had a vibration in the front end (I could feel it in the steering wheel). It was between 38 and 40 MPH give or take a MPH or two. Tried everything, brakes, rotors, hubs & tires. Believe it or not (I had a hard time believing it) it was a hung RR caliper. Replaced the calipers and all is well.

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