So I was tired of moans and squeaks from my brakes. They needed to be changed anyways. So I bought $160 worth of Raybestos Ceramic brake pads, and had all 4 rotors turned.

I put it all back together, its all nice and quiet and feels good, but by 30 miles later, I seem to have 2 or 3 warped rotors. You know, that typical moaning rotor sound at lower speeds.

The thing is, these pads don't have to be "broken in," at least they're not supposed to!

First of all, what did I do wrong?

Second, after I buy new rotors, what process should I do to ENSURE I don't have to do it all again? Like to brake in new rotors or something? Thanks.

BTW, changing rear disc brakes sucka so much I can't stand it. Why couldn't they design it like the front ones that are so easy? Dammit.....

 

Warped rotors often are not warped at all. Rather there is a build up of material. If the rotors get hot enough you get a material forming called cementite . Rotor turning generally cannot cure this. Blanchard grinding may remove cementite deposits, but only if the deposits are not too deep. Cementite, unfortunately, is invisible to the naked eye.

For more info on so called " Warped" rotors, see this article by the legendary...and sadly..late Carrol Smith.

The Warped Brake disc and other braking myths

 

Did you properly torque your wheels? That can cause warped rotors.

 

Huh...rear pads are so simple to change it is laughable. Undo the top carrier bolt ( Not the caliper mounting bolt ) and the whole caliper pivots on the lower pin, allowing super easy access to the pads.

Two minutes per side to change pads.....if that. You must be going about it the wrong way.

 

If it isn't cemenite buildup than I'd doublecheck torque specs.
If not torque specs, than I'd doublecheck the resurfacing job.

 

Not when the damn piston won't go back. And both my bleed screws were stuck because the previous owner never used them. Talk about a messy pain in the ***. Plus the caliper and the mounted part wouldn't line up because the sliding bolts were rust or something, so I couldn't get the pads over the rotor. And the passenger's side doesn't swing down far enough, it hits part of the axle. Maybe it was easy on yours, but it certainly wasn't on mine, and I'm far from incompetent in such areas.

"Laughable" my ***; way to come off as a jerk. I'll invite you next time.

 

Considering my pads are non-metallic, I'm guessing it's not cementite buildup. It could very well be some other material, though. I don't think it's the torque specs, either.

Regardless, I'm going to have to get a new set of rotors, and will probably shoot for average quality, like 150-250 range for the set. I'll probably buy Delco premium ones or something similar.

This being the case, am I going to need to re-break in my pads on the new rotors, or are they already broken in enough? Is there a procedure I should follow to break in the rotors? Thanks.

 

Cementite buidup can occur with any type of pad. It's an actual molecular change in the rotor material.

 

Well you didn't say any of that in the first place!! Basically you're blaming the mfg of a poor design because your calipers were corroded and rusted all to hell.

Short of all out racing calipers, where you just pull a retaining pin to change pads, these are about as simple as it gets.

Thanks for the compliment ....I was just trying to be helpfull. Seen lots of guys who change rear pads the hard way. You can be assurred I wiil not bother to help you any more. Have a nice day.

 

Admittedly, I hadn't thought of the possibility that the cementite was from the rotor, I was thinking from the pads. I guess I was stuck on the idea that the pads do the depositing, forgot the rotors had Iron and Carbon too, heh.

Question about getting new rotors still stands if anybody wants to take a shot. Thanks.