STONER

I'm told my GS430 needs rear brakes. The story I got was pads and turned rotors. So I ordered pads. This weekend I went to get tires put on and had the guys measure the rear rotors. I'm not sure of the units on rotor thickness, but he said they had 12 whatevers left. The guy said that turning rotors eats up about 11.75 whatevers, so I ordered the Brembo blanks.

Question 1: I bought the blank Brembos and stock pads. Is this combination fine?

Question 2: Does this sound like an accurate assessment regarding the turning of the stock rotors?

Semi-related Question 3: The visit to the tire place revealed one of the front rims was bent, (probably happened the same time the lower ball joints got damaged), When I left the place after having the tires mounted and balanced, there is a vibration that was not there previously, particularly at 65 mph. I am waiting until after I do the ball joint job to do an alignment, but could the ball joints be causing this vibration and the new tires just magnified it? I've read about the "road force" (I think) balance, Are there any chain stores that do this, or do I need a speed shop? Should I go back to where I had the tires mounted and balanced and ask them to check the balance again?

Thanks in advance

Andy

STONER

anybody home?

ILOVEGIRLS

iTrader: (3)

i had the same problem. i got the tires rebalanced 3x before they said the wheel was out of round. they moved the bent one to the rear and that seemed to solve my problem.

STONER

they actually swapped the bent one with the spare, so all four wheels should be true. That's what is bugging me. I think there was less of a vibration with the bent wheel mounted, than when I left the place.

morris

iTrader: (2)

check your tire pressure, in the past low psi has caused vibration problems for me. But if the bent tire is gone then the only possible problem is balance. Have them rebalance the tires or do both front ones if the vibration is up front. Or both rear if it is in back. If they rotated tires that could also have moved a poortly balanced tire from the rear to the front where you will feel it more.

Just a couple of ideas.

STONER

I went to a buddy's house yesterday and installed the rear pads and brembo blanks. What a snap, If you have the tools at your disposal I definitely recommend doing this yourself.

Interesting thing, when I jacked up the car to begin the lower ball joint job, both of my boys did the 12-oclock 6-oclock chack and said that it didn't feel lose at all. The 3-oclock 9-oclock test I'm told is for the tie rod ends, and there was a little play on the left front. I haven't sent the parts back to Sewell just yet, but (if the case is proven that I don't need ball joints) I am so frustrated that you can't get an honest mechanic anywhere it seems. I have taken it to a place nearby my office to have it checked again providing them with the possibilities presented by my friends. I'll update as I get news.

FYI, the whoe reason I think there is something up with the front end is a slight vibration throughout the mph range, and a sort of light clunk when I drop down uneven pavement. I know what a Lexus should sound like over these small bumps and my doesn't.

All comments welcomed

Adam2562

iTrader: (2)

same here.. mine has a clunk too... and they said at lexus i need 3 bushign on each side of the front .. so i'm gonna do that sumtime..

STONER

just got a call from the front end shop recommended. They said the ball joints were "wasted" so apparently the 12 - 6 oclock shake does not tell all. I didn't think that it necessarily would but... that's all for now. I'm going to do the ball joints this weekend or early next week.