jtgs400

iTrader: (1)

I've been having slight steering wheel shake whenever I brake. It wasn't bad enough to be dangerous but was annoying. So to tackle this problem I decided to turn the front rotors and replace the pads. After I got the rotors back from the shop I noticed that I could still feel slight grooves in both rotors but since I needed the car asap, I thought it wouldn't be much of a problem so I just put them back on. After I got everything done I took the car out for a test drive hoping the shake is gone as well as the steering wheel shake I get at 60-70mph.

The first thing I immediately noticed was that the brake pedal had to be depressed almost half way before I even feel any bite from the brakes. The car stops just fine once the pads begin biting. As for the s/w shake I initially thought it was gone but after a few stops it becomes worst than before. Braking mildly from 60mph is just horrible. Another thing is that the car doesn't shake at all, just the s/w. Also the s/w at 60-70 is still there.

So after I get back I checked the rotors and saw that the pads were only making slight contact with the rotors where the grooves and imperfections were. There was slight rust building on the rotor surface so that's how I was able to tell where it was making contact. The untouched surface still had rust on it.

So what should I do now? Take the rotors back and have them do it again cause they probably did a half *** job the first time or just upgrade to cross drlled or slotted rotors instead? Or drive the car for a few more days and let the pads settle in with the rotors first and go from there?

LMSguy

Yes It sounds like they did a bad job on the turning.

If they are too thin to do again I would try and get them to buy you a new set of rotors.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

1) you need to take the rotors back and make sure they are surfaced clean and flat
2) you have to make sure your pads are good, and flat too. you might need to cur the pads to make sure it's flat
3) after you put eveything back, you don't just go out and drive. you have to bed the pads on the rotors again by doing couple of high speed 60-10 very hard stop (screaming smoking stop). this is a must to make sure things are ok
4) make sure your rotors are still good within the limits for surface. after certain limits you can't just surface the rotors, they are gone. also, make sure the kind of rotors you got are "surfaceable", meaning you can actually turn them

jtgs400

iTrader: (1)

This whole thing has turned into a complete nightmare. Continuing from my first post, I decided to take the car in and redo the rotors (different shop) and flush the system fluid. After their inspection they said that one rotor is completely shot and the other is still do-able but very close to the limit. They recommended replacing the shot rotor, all new pads, and resurface the other rotor along with the my request to flush the system. The total was $430 for everything but I decline because I would rather get my own rotors and replaced them in pairs so I just had them do the flush.

For my new front rotors I picked up a pair of Rotora from Carson Toyota on Tuesday and a new set of pads the next day. I got around to putting everything on last night. The good news was the shuddering and steering wheel shaking is gone or below being noticable. But there was still the mushy pedal feeling I was getting. Actually if I press long enough on the brakes, it will slowly go all the way to the floor. Unsatisfied I removed the left caliper and pumped the pedal to see if the pistons were actually working. Disregarding all common sense, I pumped one of the pistons right out of the caliper . So in an effort to get the piston back in, I also ripped the rubber boot sealing the piston. So I said *&$# it and ordered 2 rebuilt calipers with overnight delivery so they should be here tomorrow. I'll be hitching a ride to work and back til Saturady cause I have absolutely no pedal pressure so I can't brake at all let alone being able to shift into gear.

One last thing...I think I may have gotten air into the system during my first attempt or I may have plainly damaged the calipers somehow because I was already getting the mushy pedal feel before doing the flush. I was hoping the flush would get rid of the problem but it was still there afterwards.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

damn that's pretty bad... sorry to hear that... but yeah, never pump the brakes hat way i guess.

anyway, i think you will need to rebleed your whole system agai, i think air must have gotten in. make sure the whole resevor is still full, don't drain that one.

after the new pads and rotors, did you do the break in process?

chicagoblknazn

That sounds like a big mess, man.

I hope it all turns out well.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

So it sounds like your rotors were pretty bad already and the shop did them anyway instead of letting you know that they needed to be changed.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us

JellyBean

Messes like that happen to the best of us. Look at the flip side: you just became a brakes expert. Spirits up.

chuckb

hopefully once you get all the air out and install new rotors and calipers, you'll be good.
good luck.

BTW- my car had bad brake pulsation when I bought it with 21k miles. the dealer turned rotors via warranty and it's been fine since