I own a 2001 nissan maxima se. The rear calipers are extremely rusty. It also looks like the rear calipers are not applying enough pressure since the rear rotors are not smooth and shiny like the front ones. Do the front and rear calipers apply the same amount of pressure or do the front brakes do more work than the rear?

 

when you brake..the weight is put onto the front ones and they usually wear out twice as fast as the ones on the back... but i thought the ABS keeps correcting this and makes sure equal pressure is applied on all four discs...someone correct me if i am wrong...

 

what type of set-up do you have? some pads just cause too much brake dust..

 

yea supposidly ABS is suppose apply equal pressure but i guess thats just under extreme braking...

the only TRUE ABS i've seen that i like the effects are on Range Rovers..

 

Everything on the car is oem.
I've been looking at other maximas at work and noticed that their rear rotors are pretty smooth and shiny.
I think the rears need adjusting. I'll see how it goes.
Thanks for the help

 

I'm assuming you mean rotors and not calipers. They do have less braking force but should easily keep the rotors shiny after braking.

If your rotors are rusty one or both of your calipers may be frozen and need to be replaced.

 

The ABS system does not adjust the balance of force to rear vs. front. Most braking systems have different sized pistons in front and rear calipers and some also have proportioning valves. I doubt your rear calipers are "frozen". Try bleeding the system and see if it gets better. Also, is it the entire rear rotor or just the outer .5" of the rotor that doesn't look shiny? Is it a problem on both sides of the car or just one?

 

I thought maxima's were having a problems with rears as in a lot of people replace thier rear brakes before thier fronts.... iunnno if i remember this correctly from another thread.

 

I haven't read much (if anything) about that . . . I know lots of people have problems with their OEM Nissan front rotors warping.

 

ABS-
What do you know about rear rotors being rusty only on the outer half inch?

I just replaced my rears at 52K, and even though my pads looked pretty thick, all four rear rotor surfaces have 1/2 of rust on the outer edge. I don't know why...

 

Yes, I've seen this on my car too. I"m not sure what causes it, but it could be a problem with the design of the rear caliper or the way the pad is sitting in the caliper . . .

 

How the pads are sitting in the calipers... yeah I would guess it might be that. Or crooked calipers from the factory?? Still you'd think the pad would eventually wear down until it touched the rusty outer part.. We'll see how my new rotors work out.

If anyone else has a theory on why your rear rotors have 1/2" rust on the outside swept surface, I'd be interested to hear. I don't know if it will happen again to me.