What else can cause rotors to keep warping??

[Smokedawg]

My buddy's car keeps warping rotors every few thousand miles. He kept taking it back to have them ground etc.. like 4 times before telling me. He thought a set of cross drilled rotors may help so he had them put on the last time. 1K miles later, they were warped also. I told him it could be the calipers so he went and ordered a set and I swapped them out for him. Had the rotors turned down, now 1K miles later he said when he hits the brakes he is getting a lot of vibration so I imagine they are bad again.

-Smoke

 

[ALMOSTFINISHED]

What torque sequence does he put his wheels back on with? also how much torque does he secure them with? Maybe the hub face of his rims are uneven somehow and it is warping the hubs of the rotors. He can try swapping the rims /tires front to rear and see if that cures anything. just some ideas

Nick

 

[scarless]

Is your friend torquing the lug nuts to 85-105 ft-lbs in a star pattern? If he is over or under torqing, it can cause the rotors to warp. Make sure he isn't getting any fluid leaking on the pads. If that is okay, check the bearings and spindle for run out. You'll need a dial indicator to check it, or you could just put new bearings and races in to see if it fixes the problem.

 

[autoXr1]

In addition to the above. Braking habits also contribute to this. For example, if you're one to run on the highway, hit the offramp, hit the brakes...heat them up real good, then come to a stop and hold the pads tight against the rotor for a time...like at a stoplight. This scenario, and others like it causes the rotor to cool in an uneven pattern which may lead to warping. In town driving will wear the pads and rotors prematurely, but don't often lead to warping because these surfaces generally don't get that hot. It's the "highway" car with those high speed decellerations and sitting at a stoplight that doesn't necessarily wear things down, but tends to warp the rotors.

Just another idea.

 

[bmorrisj]

how about replacing those rubber sleeves on the calipers with some stainless steel ones?

 

[90mustangGT]

Let me add...

What kind of pads is he running? Some times the nice premium ceramics arn't that good because they reflect heat back into the rotor.

Are the slides lubed? If one is stiff, it will heat the pads more.

Does it have rear drum brakes? Are they working? If so are they adjusted? If the rear brakes are not adjusted properly they will make the fronts do more work, which means more heat.

Is he following proper break in procedure?

 

[Matt90GT]

Warping rotors is a weak point in the fox brakes from 79-93. The rotors share the heat of the bearings, thus have problems warping. I have heard you get what you pay for in the rotors, meaning higher quality and price units last longer. Also as suggested the torque sequence needs to be equal on all 4 studs.

Other than that, do what many others have to solve the problem. Upgrade to 5 lug with the Sn95 parts up front. Proven solution there.

 

[Smokedawg]

Sorry guys, this car isnt a mustang. Its a Pontiac. The rotors are Brembo Cross drilled. I tighted the wheels last time in a star pattern to 100ft/lbs. These rotors are the type that come off after you take the wheel off, so you dont have to remove the spindle nut and bearing to do so...

-Smoke