Very weird braking problem w/ new centric rotors & stoptech front pads

[JoeFromPA]

Hey all,

 

I recently installed new front centric rotors and stoptech pads. They've gotten ~2k miles on them now and have performed great.

 

Over thanksgiving, with the great weather, I thoroughly washed the car. The car then sat for 2-3 days.

 

Today, my wife and I take it out. Immediately, the braking feels off. The front driver's side feel like it's severely warped, or the caliper is sticking, or the brake pad is somehow kicking back against the caliper piston. You can feel the kicking of it through the steering wheel at all braking speeds and it's BAD.

 

Now, understand, this came out of nowhere.

 

So I get out of the car and inspect the front rotor. About a pad's worth of wipe-space is rusty - like it hadn't yet wiped clean. The rest of the rotor wiped clean quickly after being washed and sitting.

 

So, ok, maybe there's some extra build-up there. No problem, it'll come off...

 

We then proceeded to run errands and put 25-30 miles on the car. Lots of stop and go.

 

STILL has that rusty/unwiped part of the rotor causing kick-back. It seems to be very slowly getting better. I tempted to do a minor break-in procedure, but I didn't early on because the shudder coming from that rotor was so severe.

 

...

 

I've had tons of rust-stuck brakes before - I've had rust so thick it took 5 miles before I couldn't hear it even when the brakes werent being used. I'm familiar with this. However, it's usually an even coating of rust and simply grinds when braking.

 

But by all appearances, somehow the rotor/pad formed significant deposits directly where the pad lies. And even after multiple significant braking events, it's BARELY going down. By the end of 25 miles, I think we've got some improvement.

 

Has anyone ever experienced this themselves? It's crazy to have this happen during 60 degree weather, with no rain, and simply from one washing of the car and 2-3 days of no driving.

[jamal]

sounds like the caliper is sticking.

[JoeFromPA]

The rest of the rotor was cleaned off by the pads and it is braking on and off.

 

If the caliper was sticking, either the rotor's face wouldn't be cleaned off....or it would be and I'd be getting constant dragging.

 

This is a pad's-width of rotor that is maintaining enough rust/corrosion on it's surface after 25 miles of driving to exhibit significant shudder.

[jamal]

still seems like a stuck caliper. it's not much work to jack up that corner, pull off the wheel and caliper and check. I can't think of anything related to the pad or rotor itself that could be the cause. but other thoughts include something loose or a bad wheel bearing.

[JoeFromPA]

I can visually see the part of the rotor that's not getting clean. And this was sudden (i.e. overnight). So I'd be curious how a wheel bearing could be doing this - I mean that non-sarcastically.

 

I just had the rotors off 1 month ago, cleaned and lubed the caliper slide pins, etc....caliper was perfect. But yeah, might have to pull the wheel and inspect.

[jamal]

a bad wheel bearing will cause pad knockback and keep it from coming in full contact with the rotor, and I've actually seen it happen before: one corner's brake wasn't working right, made no noise, but the wheel had A TON of play.

[AZP Installs]

Double check your caliper. Sliding calipers have a bad habit of sticking on one side and not another. Even when you clean everything it can still happen. It might have cleaned one part of the rotor and is now stuck in its position. The kick back could be the pad just touching the rotor slightly. Its hard to say without seeing it but I would check it out.

 

-Jake

 

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[JoeFromPA]

So, I'm not sure if anyone truly understood what I was saying: the rotor face (outside rotor face, driver's side) was 80% cleaned off by driving - but it had a pad's width of rotor surface that was still notably corroded on the surface. I.e. surface rust that hadn't been rubbed off. It was ONE spot, where the pad had been sitting.

 

If it was a wheel bearing, then the pad would still clean the rotor off completely. It was a stuck caliper, I wouldn't have gotten that ONE section of rotor that wasn't being wiped clean.

 

Bottom line: One part of the rotor (the part where the pad had been when it sat) apparently corroded SEVERELY enough that after 40 miles of driving, it was still causing severe vibrations due to an uneven braking surface.

 

Update: Another 60 miles of driving cured it. The rotor surface is now wiped clean and it brakes just fine. This, to me, points out something i've never even heard of happening - the brake rotor surface became so corroded where the pad had sat that it took an enormous amount of braking to wipe the surface clean again. Bear in mind - after 40 miles of driving, I could still visibly see through the wheel the surface of the rotor that was corroded. Ugh!

 

It appears that the brake system itself and the wheel bearing is functioning just fine as well.

[robinlsb]

Double check your caliper. Sliding calipers have a bad habit of sticking on one side and not another. Even when you clean everything it can still happen. It might have cleaned one part of the rotor and is now stuck in its position. The kick back could be the pad just touching the rotor slightly. Its hard to say without seeing it but I would check it out.

 

-Jake

 

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AIM: AZP Installs | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber

"Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!"

 

++1000. You can clean the carrier till the cows come home, but that will not cure a sticky piston. Once the bore or the piston is even slightly deformed, it will stick at the most inopportune times:mad:

[AZP Installs]

So, I'm not sure if anyone truly understood what I was saying: the rotor face (outside rotor face, driver's side) was 80% cleaned off by driving - but it had a pad's width of rotor surface that was still notably corroded on the surface. I.e. surface rust that hadn't been rubbed off. It was ONE spot, where the pad had been sitting.

 

If it was a wheel bearing, then the pad would still clean the rotor off completely. It was a stuck caliper, I wouldn't have gotten that ONE section of rotor that wasn't being wiped clean.

 

Bottom line: One part of the rotor (the part where the pad had been when it sat) apparently corroded SEVERELY enough that after 40 miles of driving, it was still causing severe vibrations due to an uneven braking surface.

 

Update: Another 60 miles of driving cured it. The rotor surface is now wiped clean and it brakes just fine. This, to me, points out something i've never even heard of happening - the brake rotor surface became so corroded where the pad had sat that it took an enormous amount of braking to wipe the surface clean again. Bear in mind - after 40 miles of driving, I could still visibly see through the wheel the surface of the rotor that was corroded. Ugh!

 

It appears that the brake system itself and the wheel bearing is functioning just fine as well.

 

At least everything is working properly now. If enough rust formed, I could see it not cleaning it off right away. The vibration was basically a high spot from the rust. Next time I would do a bed in procedure and see if that gets rid of it faster

 

-Jake

 

http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/91072632.jpg http://www.pbase.com/paisan/image/133406601.jpg http://upload.pbase.com/image/137566671.jpg Call directly for your best Whiteline Price! | We also carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us.

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[iNVAR]

When you thoroughly washed the car, did you use brake cleaner? And if so, did it get all over your rotors?

[JoeFromPA]

I used wheel cleaner (if that's what you meant) and it probably did get thoroughly all over the rotors. That was my first bottle of wheel cleaner in ages, so I'm not familiar with what it can do to rotor surfaces much, but I did thoroughly wash it all off....I know how corrosive that stuff can be to paint, so I make sure it all rinses away.

[iNVAR]

Oops, yeah, I meant wheel cleaner, thanks for reading through my dumbassedness, haha.

 

Hmm, maybe it left residue on the rotors, or it reacted with the pads or something.

 

Next time you wash the car, try not using any wheel cleaner and just use car wash soap + water and see how it goes. Just this round.