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Truck Rotors

Discussion in 'General' started by ryoung57, Mar 23, 2019.

  1. 418

    418 Expert #59


    I think realistically pad material judder accounts for a small amount of brake issues. I don't think it's too hard to warp rotors (or thickness variation, whatever you wanna call it) on almost any vehicle, most OEM's skimp on brakes.

    "Most of the time" is a pretty bold statement.
     
    ducnut likes this.
  2. Steak Travis

    Steak Travis Well-Known Member

    Heard a grinding sound the other day on front left tire.
    Saw this. I thought maybe I installed the pads wrong but it looks like they are installed correctly looking from the outside in. I’ll inspect further when I remove the wheel.
    Anyways - can I get by with just replacing the pads? Can I just replace the pads and one rotor? Or do I need to just do the entire front end again. I’ve had these rotors
    And pads on since May 2018. There is some wobble at high speed in the steering wheel.
    [​IMG]
     
  3. pickled egg

    pickled egg Tell me more

    Have to replace the whole truck. I recommend a Ram 5500 with overload springs, emissions delete a twin turbo setup.
     
    AC1108 likes this.
  4. Steak Travis

    Steak Travis Well-Known Member

    Naw I’ll get a Toyota with a rusty frame instead
     
  5. MELK-MAN

    MELK-MAN The Dude abides...

    likely accelerated issue with lots of towing. I've changed out rotors on my excursion a few times (200thou miles, nearly all towing) .. maybe it's a ford thing as i know some guys with f150's that warped rotors AND have had to replace calipers. Had one of mine start to lock up and it had been replaced. NOT ideal. Luckily was on way to pick up the trailer prior to leaving for a race so we swapped out before we had to hit the road vs change on side of the road or in a parking lot..
     
  6. NemesisR6

    NemesisR6 Gristle McThornbody

    Back when I bought my 2005 F150 brand new the OEM rotors warped to nearly intolerable levels in the first 10K miles. Had a shop replace them with new OEM units, which also warped in the same timeframe.

    Came to understand that the poor design of the OEM front units, which was a one-piece rotor/hub assembly (rears were two-piece), would warp because the rotors would expand/contract on the hub. With nowhere to go, the rotor would warp in short order.

    Did the next brake job myself at 25K miles or so and replace the front units with a two-piece design. Not a single issue for the remaining 75K miles I owned the truck.
     
    MELK-MAN, Bruce and ducnut like this.
  7. Steak Travis

    Steak Travis Well-Known Member

    I have a 2010 fx4 that this is about my 4th set of brakes at 166k.

    They seem to “warp”so fast
     
  8. Gecko

    Gecko Well-Known Member

    Being in the Northeast, I have to replace my Excursion's calipers (and because the calipers invariable lock up, the rotors too) just about every time I change pads. I've never owned any other vehicle where the damn calipers rust, corrode and lock up as much as the Excursion's do. I've gotten pretty quick at it, but it makes for a fricking expensive "brake job."
    .
     
    MELK-MAN likes this.
  9. bleacht

    bleacht Well-Known Member

    Owned? What did you replace it with?
     
  10. fastedyamaha

    fastedyamaha Well-Known Member

    Have you tried painting a set and see if they last longer? Might be worth it to try this experiment next time you replace the calipers.
     
  11. NemesisR6

    NemesisR6 Gristle McThornbody

    2015 F150 XLT with the 5.0 V8.

    Knock on wood, this truck has been flawless in the first 60K.


    With the 2005, the brakes were the only nagging issue, but at least I was able to remedy it. Only other thing was the cam phaser noise, but that wasn't a big deal. Other than that, it was a great truck, but the 2015 is a world above, especially the motor.
     
  12. K51000

    K51000 Well-Known Member

    Folks, all these people who think they have warped rotors? Probably less than 1% actually do!

    It's nearly always actually what this post said, and/or sticky caliber mounting pins (they need to slide too).
    I did stay at a Holiday Inn express last night
     
  13. Gecko

    Gecko Well-Known Member

    Its not so much the exterior as it is either the pistons or the guide pins of the calipers that rust/corrode and cause them to lock. When installing, I always check that the guide pins are well greased and the boots properly set (same with the pistons seals). I use rebuilds. They say the cause is shoddy re-manufacturing. However, I've used rebuilds on all my other vehicles without issues. They "say" oem's last longer, but I just can't bring myself to foot the bill for them.
    .
     
  14. Venom51

    Venom51 John Deere Equipment Expert - Not really

    If you want shit to last you need to move. It's the environment yours lives in and not the materials used to build the OEM or re-man parts. In 30 years of driving I have never had to replace a caliper on anything. As a southerner I was largely unaware of just how harsh the rust belt environment is to a vehicle.
     
  15. GRH

    GRH Well-Known Member

    Just did the same to the wife's Ford Edge, the brake pedal seems to have gotten lower and lower recently so I changed everything and re-bled the lines, much better now, the front calipers cost $20 ($70 with a $50 core), vehicle loves sway bar end links too, I'm on #3 now, that rattle it makes drives me nuts
     
    ducnut likes this.
  16. ducnut

    ducnut Well-Known Member

    I just replaced all four calipers, rotors, pads, and hoses on an ‘07 Ridgeline that had been overseas and back. The ocean air destroyed the thing. It took a big punch and 2lb hammer to knock the pads out of the caliper brackets, everything was so rusted. I’ve never seen anything like it.

    In the rust belt, brake line, fuel line, and coil spring replacements are regular things, as well. Anywhere chloride can settle and stay wet will corrode to nothing.
     
  17. ducnut

    ducnut Well-Known Member

    Any vehicle with the sway bar end-links attached to the struts will go through them like tires. That way of attachment has become vehicle engineers’ favorite method, unfortunately.
     
  18. Gecko

    Gecko Well-Known Member

    No, no ... I get that. Lived in this environment all my life. I've had lots of vehicles just rust away. The Excursion's no exception ... the doors, door jam, running board, frame, etc. Heck, I had a brake line on the Excursion let go on the highway due to corrosion (learned a new use for vise grips that day). Like you, in 40 years of driving, I had never had to replace a caliper on anything ... until owning this Excursion. Now, it seems, I'm making up for lost time.
    .
     
  19. gixxerboy55

    gixxerboy55 Well-Known Member

    Most people do the whole axel. But you must replace pads and rotors together or at least turn rotor otherwise the pads will not seat.
     
  20. Spitz

    Spitz Well-Known Member

    We cut rotors all the time. Some warp, some vary in thickness, doesn't matter after it's done in the lathe. If you're replacing pads you're better off doing SOMETHING to the rotors, either machine or replace. Those pads need to break in. Breaking in on a smooth glazed rotor isn't great. We don't like doing although we end up doing to due to customer's requests (no warranty attached). Pads have to float in the brackets and yea, obviously the caliper has to float as well if that's it's design. We see a lot of pads seized solid in the brackets. We actually bought a sand blast cabinet exclusively for the purpose of blasting caliper mounts as grinding them made a shit ton of dust and didn't do near a good of a job.
     
    ducnut likes this.

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