Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

Ed,

I sent you a PM a month ago, and two PM's two weeks ago. One of the PMs was about some problems I am having with your brake kit I bought from you. I am still waiting for a response. It cant take but 5 minutes to send a PM to me! You're on tgo every so often drumming up new business, so I dont see why you cant help me. "Service after the sale" is important to a lot of people too!

-Justin

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Just out of curiousity (not tryin to step on ed's toes) but what sort of problems are you having with the brake set up??? Maybe there is an easy answer that we can help you with in the mean time.

I havent dealt with Ed personally, but I would. He has a pretty good rep around here.

Anyway post up your issue and we'll see what we can turn up!

Justin

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

I agree Ed seems to have an excellent reputation which is why I chose to deal with him, it just seems impossible to get PM's returned.

After driving my car for awhile everything seemed fine and I was very pleased on how my car stopped! Its almost as much fun hitting the brakes hard as it is making some WOT blasts I started to notice that when slowing down that at about 15mph or under my drivers front brakes make a grinding noise. I've heard this noise on other cars with brand new brake pads that eventually goes away, but this noise is not going away and its only on one side. I dont know if its characteristic of these pads I have (I think he said they're ceramic?) or if I have a problem with my brake setup. Visually, everything looks ok to me, but I didnt make the setup so im not sure if im missing anything :shrug:

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Does this happen when stopping while goin straight? Or only while the wheel is turned alittle bit?? What else do you have done to the car...lowering springs, bigger wheels...anything like that?

My car makes a noise like that sometimes, but its because Im using 4th gen 17" wheels and Im lowered. Its just my tire scrubbing the inner fender well alittle bit. Not saying thats your issue...but just saying.

Ide say get that wheel up in the air, and have someone sit int he car and hit the brakes while you spin the tire. See if you can see an interference or replicate the noise while the tire is in the air. If you cant replicate the noise like that...it might be something that only happens when the front end dips during braking. So Ide start looking for clearance issues with things like the brake hose, or rubbing on the caliper, or anything of that nature.

If you've done all that already...then maybe there is something alittle more involved happening, and Ed is going to have to help you figure somethin out.

Good luck man! I know what you mean about the stopping power be almost fun...haha. I like pulling down hard when someone is in the car and they make that "ugghhhhhh" sound from the G forces and the seat belt. haha.

Justin

Mongoose

iTrader: (2)

I know for a fact that Ed has been super busy as of late with his regular job, a new baby and trying to keep the masses happy with brake kits so just be patient with him. If you indeed have ceramics it could just be the nature of the pad. I have semi-metallics on mine and every now and then I get some grinding noise as well, could just be the nature of the beast I suppose.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Im running ceramics up front...and semi's in the rear. I dont have noises from actual braking. I run ceramics up front in my jeep as well. From Morse... You really should have grinding... unless something got between the pad and the rotor, in which case you should get that outta here before it chews things up.

J.

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

The car is lowered, and has 17" Ronals on it. The noise happens when going straight, but moreso when turning left and stopping. Never had a tire rubbing issue before so im not sure. I'll pull the wheel and spin the rotor as a friend hits the brakes and see what I find I guess.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Definetly check out the tire clearances though... Keeping in mind that the car will nose dive..even under slow braking. The slower you are going the less it will dip in the front.. but if you are only 1/2" away from something while sitting static, you will be into it under even light braking.

I would leave the tire on, have a buddy work the break, and spin the tire. YOu will be able to get the tire/wheel to spin faster this way than doing it by the rotor. If you hear something, and its not the tire hitting something, then take the tire off and just spin the rotor. Take it step by step and eliminate all the possibilities before moving on.

Let us know what you find!

J.

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

My apologies, I've got 45 PMs in my inbox and I'm doing my best here fellas..

I'm going to your PMs after I reply here..

First off, have you pulled the wheel off and taken a close look at it? If not, do it NOW. No sense in driving around when you don't know what the problem is, we can't give advice or suggestions until we know what the problem is. Make sure all the bolts are tight and that all looks well. Look down the rotor at the pads and the abutments and such, make sure the brackets are tight and that nothing is loose. I use red Loctite on the bolts so they should not be loose at all, and all clearances are checked before I ship. I ship all kits assembled as was yours so I make sure all is tight on my end, please get with me if you think you notice something wrong.

You have my number....but I'll include my home number in my reply and I'll be up at 7AM, call anytime after that. I'm busy but I'll take care of any issues. Enough said.

Ed

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

yes Ive pulled both wheels and compared the two. They both look fine and I dont seen any evidence of any rubbing on the rim, or the tire hitting the fenderwell or anything like that. Its also not a constant grinding, its a pulsing type noise like a warped rotor but I dont have any signs of a warped rotor, so im at a loss. I'll check again and call you tomorrw!

-Justin

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

Did you check and see if the brake hose was out of the way when the tire was on? Its not hard to let it contact the tire, and as it drags along the side wall you will hear noise from it. And it would most likely pulsate due to the tire not being 100% perfect all the way around...

If you are very sure you arent rubbing anywhere...Ide pull the caliper and check under the pads for debris. Also make sure tehy are seated in the caliper all the way...

J.

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

Please do..if it's a pulsing issue my guess is that the rotors may be slightly warped. I used the rotors you sent me as requested. Check for runout or any obvious alignment issue and they may need to be turned.

Ed

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

Its not pulsing, thats why I didnt think it was a warped rotor. It just makes the scrubbing noise at the same interval as if you had a warped rotor and your brake pedal would pulse. Plus, whats runout?

I should be home soon and I will try to check this tonight, if not some time this weekend.

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

Not pulsing..that's good.

I thought of this on the way in tonight. The LS1 and C5 setups use stainless steel brake pad shims in the abutments. If one of these hit the rotor somewhere it will squeak like crazy, look into these. You could unbolt the caliper from the guide pins and remove the pads only, then spin the rotor and see if the clips (shims) make contact with the rotor. These could be doing it.

Ed

RUNOUT
Though you may not take the time to check it, many experts say you should always measure rotor runout before the rotors are removed for resurfacing. Why? Because if there is runout in the hub, it will make the rotor wobble as it spins. This, in turn, can lead to uneven wear and pedal pulsation.


Rotor runout can be caused by several things: variations in manufacturing tolerances, sloppy resurfacing procedures, a buildup of rust and corrosion between the rotor and hub, and uneven torque on the lug nuts.

As a rule, rotor runout should be less than .003 inch on most vehicles. Aiming for .002 inch or less runout is even better.

On 1997-2002 Chevrolet Malibu, 1997-1999 Olds Cutlass, 1999-2002 Olds Alero and 1999-2002 Pontiac Grand Am, GM says .0015 inch or less of lateral runout is needed on the rotors to prevent pedal pulsation.

If runout is excessive, try indexing the rotor on the hub to see if a change in position helps.

Once you know how much runout is on the vehicle, you can compensate when you cut the rotor on a bench lathe. Mount a dial indicator on the knuckle or caliper support and measure rotor runout. Note the location, amount and direction of the runout. After mounting the rotor on the lathe, check runout again with a dial indicator. If it isn't within .003 inch (and at the same location and direction) of what it was on the vehicle, adjust or shim the rotor mounting until the runout is duplicated.

Thin, tapered steel shims are also available for some vehicles to correct runout. The shim is installed behind the rotor with the thickest part 180 degrees opposite of maximum rotor runout.

The other alternative is to eliminate the runout using an on-car lathe to cut the rotors in place.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/bf110322.htm

Boosted_SS

^^^ I completely agree!!! i was reading this and i was thinking the same thing. i had this issue on my 99 Grand Am GT1. when i put new rotors on it worked awesome but as soon as the rotors rusted alittle they would rub the metal shims on the caliper mounting brackets. very annoying!

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

Didnt get a chance to check this weekend. Had to work, plus there was a death in the family so I will be out of town Plus I have to do some research on this Runout measurement stuff so I know what/how to do it.

Boosted_SS

my bet is on the shims

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

I'm sorry for your loss.. please keep us posted on what the issue is.

Ed

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

well, I took the wheel off. No scrubbing on the wheel. Both sides of the rotors looked good, and I didnt see anything obviously wrong. I disassembled everything, and didnt notice anything wrong with the calipers or pads, or any rubbing/clearance issues. What I did find though, was that the outer wheel bearing went bad. There was plenty of grease in it, but the rollers had some pitting on them. I know I was supposed to get all new bearings, so im hoping that was just a bad one off the shelf. I replaced that bearing, put it all together, and the noise went away.

the real pisser is it went bad after about 200 miles Im wondering if I should just replace all the bearings with new GM bearings. I want this car to be a driver. I take it all over the country to shows and meets and whatnot. I dont want stupid wheel bearings to cause a problem. What do you think Ed?

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

I replaced the wheel bearings anyway. The out bearing on the passenger side had the same pits, but not as bad. Were these new bearings, Ed? I should have taken a picture to show you guys!

ebmiller88

iTrader: (7)

Absoultely not used bearings. I would never have installed a set of used bearings in a kit I build. I used new Timken or SKF bearings as I always do and they're top of the line and I've never had an issue with them. I'll cover the cost of your new bearing and I'll contact you this afternoon about it.

Ed

Justin89Formy

iTrader: (26)

well, I gotta say "hats off" to Ed! I just got a call from him stating what he said in his post. I was happy to have him call and offer. I understand that sometimes bad parts happen. Hell I used to work at Advance Auto, Autozone, and Napa when I was in high school and college, and you see some weird stuff go bad.

Anyway, thanks again for the offer Ed. I'll be contacting you soon about my rear brake stuff.


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