BlackBoost

Picked up my truck yesterday from a service and brake job. New pads in the front and the rotors were machined again (3rd time!) because of pulsing.

Drive home maybe 20 minutes of city driving, and I see this from the front passenger rotor:




Not sure what to think of it. Something got stuck in the pad causing deep grooves? That's a bit of a coincidence... Seems to be only wearing on the outside of the rotor as well, and it's discolored (likely from overheating). It smelled very hot as well, and I could hear the rotor going "tink tink tink" as it was cooling down. The other 3 look normal and have normal wear, smooth and shiny, no discoloration.

I also noticed the brakes felt a little soft, however, I've been driving the wife's Nissan SUV all week and it has excellent brakes and handling, so it could be just noticing the difference...

Any thoughts? I called the dealership and the service dept sounded surprised, and now I have to bring it back Monday. Very inconvenient.

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

They put the pads in backwards. As in the inboard pads are on the outside. Done this exact thing myself.


Pads with the ears go on the inside

chimmike

Rotors don't warp.
And machining them is crap, IMO. Replace 'em.

http://www.hendonpub.com/resources/a...etails?id=1787

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-su...nd-other-myths

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

Not the problem here. Tech installed the pads backwards. So the pad only contacts the outside edge of the rotor

digitaltrucker

Been there done this!

BlackBoost

Wow, I really hope this isn't what the dealership did! So you've seen that happen from backwards pads?

This is the dealership's decision, and what is covered under my maintenance plan (FMPP). It did fix pulsing brakes for about 20k. Had it done at 50k, 70k and now 93k. I'm guessing they won't be able to machine the rotor a 4th time and will likely be a replacement this time... If I wanted the rotors replaced from the start, I would have had to pay for it, which is a waste to me since I paid for my maintenance package...

BlackBoost

And that would cause the grooves too? Is this what's compromising the braking power then?

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

Yep. Did this exact thing myself. And that was the problem

BlackBoost

Interesting video, and really crappy engineering! Why would you design it to even fit backwards? Why not make it much more obvious which is which? Hell, even an "inside/outside" stamp or label could prevent this!

msgtord

I had a vibration on a previous vehicle. Had the tires road force balanced. Vibration still there. Manager tried to blame the rotors.

I got the truck home and jacked each wheel, took it off and expected and cleaned the matting services. I put the wheels back on, hand tightening the lug nuts as tight as I could while shaking the wheel to ensure a solid contact.

I then tightened the lug nuts to half torque using the star pattern. After the final torque, I took it for a test drive on the smoothest road in the area. Vibration gone.

I went back to the tire shop and told the manager what I'd done.

His response was "we don't have time for that".