I installed new pads about 20k ago and throught nothing of it, untill on the way home last night i herd a grinding comming from the driverside front when braking, took the wheel off and long and behold my rotor has a grinding mark on it, the stupid pads i put in did not have the squeel ***** like all other pads to tell you when they are low. but i should have look myself and saw they were getting low.

the grind on the rotor is about 1/3 of a CM in width and 1mm in depth (roughtly) rough to the toutch.

Anyway do i need a new rotor or will the new pads conform?

-aPeG

 

Just get the rotors turned, aka. machined, (they'll check to make sure they will be thick enough after turning to be in spec).

 

Are you saying that the pads you installed only lasted 20K? What kind were they? That doesn't sound right.

 

i got the original pads from 'Canadian Tire' its a store in Canada obviously not that much different then autozone (in terms of quality), i tend to drive my car hard but i was suprised to see they only lasted that long?

i am going to price shop and see if i can pick up some brombo rotors and some higher quality pads. if the price it to high i am going to see if the current rotor is thick enough to be 'turned'

thanks for your help

-aPeG

 

The only way to tell is by using that tool that measures the thickness of the rotor. If you are within spec, then a resurface should be good + new pads. Start taking your brakes apart.

 

get some nissan pads i learned my lesson with cheap pads....put them on one day and my car flowed right thru a red light while other cars were comin...i pulled over and made a u-turn (illegally of course) and went to the nissan dealer and brought some pads...then i went back to autozone and told dem where they can stick their pads!

 

Make sure your calipers aren't sticking. Unless you race/autocross, 20k is LOW for any brand of pads (IMHO).

 

I'm assuming these are the front pads...correct?

My guess is that the rotors were not properly turned before the pad install. OR, the rotors are too warped to turn. Warped rotors are the fastest route to premature wear on the pads.

BTW, y'know what is the biggest cause of warped rotors?

Improperly torqued wheel lug nuts!

If they are not all the same torque (between 72 and 87 ft-lbs) then make them that way after you replace the pads and rotors (if they need replacing).

 

well the decision is made... not easy but i got ceremic pads and brembo slotted rotors for a little over $200 canadian. thats a price i can afford. I have a VERY strong feeling that the rotors were warped beacuse sometimes i could feel pulse braking on hard stops.

I plan on doing this myself but left my haynes in the US, I have done brakes a milion times but this will be my first rotor swap, anyone have a quick guid for this? from the looks of it i have to bend a pin out, is it reusable?

thanks again for all your help, once its all said and done if the total damage is only $200 canadian i will be VERY happy

-aPeG

 

No pins need to be bent. You'll need to remove the two bolts that hold on the torque member - its the bracket the prevents the rotor coming off - it doesn't "hold" the rotor, just blocks it. If the rotor doesn't break free from the hub, just tap it a few time with a mallet or piece of wood.

So to summarize:
1. remove wheel
2. remove caliper (you can leave the brake line attached)
3. remove torque member and pop off old rotor
4. put on new rotor (be sure to wash the new rotor down with brake cleaner - it may be coated with oil to prevent rust)
5. put the torque member back
5.5 make sure to clean all the retaining springs and pad mounts thoroughly
6. lube caliper pins (be sure not to put too much grease) and put the top side of the caliper back on - pivot it out of the way.
7. mount shims/anti-squeal and new pads
8. use c-clamp to compress the piston in (front caliper pistons are compressed, rear caliper pistons are screwed back in). make sure the master cylinder reservoir cap is off and also make sure the fluid doesn't overflow.
9. put caliper back down over new pads and secure the lower bolt.
10. you are done

 

I went with the Stillen cross drilled rotors and nissan pads the work well..

 

i've got nice groove marks on my rotors right now.

i gotta make a weekend soon and change em out. I've got brand new nissan OEM pads + entire set of brembo slotted rotors sittin in the garage since last year

 

How-to with pics: http://www.motorvate.ca/mvp.php/300 .

 

I'm not trying to impose on your thread but if I hear no grinding I would usually just change the pads. When would it be necessary to get the rotors cut?

By the way I did about 3 brake jobs before on different cars and just curious.

 

There are several schools of thought on this:

1. Some will recommend that you cut the rotors each time you replace the pads (eventually the rotors get too thin to cut and you have to replace them).
2. If you feel pulsating in the brake pedal when you brake, then the rotors are warped, so you definitely want to either turn or replace them in this case.
3. Others will tell you to replace the rotors because turning them makes them thin and more likely to warp again.
4. If there is severe scoring on the rotors from pads that wore to far or seized calipers (etc.), then you probably want to just replace the rotors.

I've done brake jobs without touching the rotor, had the rotor just cut and done jobs where I've ended up replacing the rotors for one reason or the other (as mentioned above).

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks. That clears up alot. I just love how shops like Minekei will allways have you cut the rotors.

 

Am i missing somthing?

I removed the caliper, then removed the torque member, but to old rotor is still on there and i cant pull it off, did i miss a bolt? should i sprey it down with liquid wrench?

 

I would just get new rotors. Yes, you can have the rotors turned, but doing so robs you of thickness and in turn can cause your rotors to crack easily and in general become unreliable.

 

nope...you have to bang that sucker pretty hard. I remember, it takes A LOT of force to take them off, especially after years of use...they're very hard to take off. I used a heavy duty hammer and they eventually came off. WD-40 didn't seem to help. Hope this helps.

 

Spray some PB blaster or liquid wrench through the little holes - its just rust-bonded. Get a rubber mallet and give it a few whacks (around all sides) - it will break loose.

 

thanx MaximaPWR i will try the hammer now

 

got it.... you wernt kidding, that took a real beating before it came off.

again just want to thank you guys for your help, from here it should be smooth sailing (i hope), just have to reasmeble (with the new rotors & pads) and do it all over again for the passanger side lol

-aPeG

 

Take your time to clean the caliper pins, relube, clean the pad retaining clips, the pad seating surfaces. Careful not to get any anti-squeal or oils on the pad surface. Don't rush - a quality job will result in no squealing and good performance. Make sure you flush the brake lines with fresh fluid.

 

How many bottles of break fluid do I need to completely replace it?

 

I always use one of the larger castrol LMA brake fluid bottles... its 1 quart I think.

 

The rest of the work went flawlessly, you would not believe what I found on the other side!

Since I discovered the grinding on the driver side I figured that’s the problem rotor but you can’t replace just 1, when I took off the passenger side OMG, this rotor was in horrible shape! Badly warped and had 2 cracks!

Extra bonus, I would always get steering wheel vibration @ 70-80mph I figured it was a wheel balancing problem, but now that the new rotors are on vibration = ZERO. I put it through the test not a single shake from 0-100.

Could not be happier with the new rotors.

-aPeG

 

Glad to hear you got it done.

 

Good, glad to see you did it. I too was surprised at how hard I must have struck the rotors with the hammer before they even moved.

And yes, as is the case with you, I also noticed zero vibration after replacing worn OEM rotors with new brembo slotted ones.