AgRunner06

Well I got the 4runner back from the shop today after the wreck...it's still not right but that's for another thread . Anyways, now that I have new steering components, the warped rotors is much more noticeable. The rotors on there now are only like 10-15K miles old. When they were brand new, the warped within 10K miles. Is there a sure-fire way to prevent rotors from warping?

My pads are low now so I'm going to go ahead and do it all again . Pads will be Performance Friction of course but I'm not sure which rotors I should go with. What do you guys suggest? Also, do I need to replace those grease seals? Those buggers were $30 at the stealer and mine now aren't that old.

I also think I'm having trouble with my rear brakes adjusting. I've done the braking in reverse without much success which leads me to believe that they aren't adjusting at all. Should I oil the adjuster and see if that makes a difference? Is there anything back there that I should clean?

Thanks for any help you guys offer.

Ag

Amir904

get the brembos from tire rack...

firemedic

Only suggestions I have are always use new pads w/new rotors, make sure proportioning valve is adjusted/working, if you have your rotors "turned", they may warp more easily, also make sure your lug nuts are torqued properly and evenly.

Pretacopower

If your going to do it all over again, I just recently installed Powerslot rotors with Hawk PF pads and they work GREAT. I highly recommend them, although they are a little on the expensive side.
As far as adjusting the rear drums the "easy" way, I also tried it with no luck. In fact, my e-brake seemed to have more slack after trying it. I've read that the proper way is to turn the adjuster screw on the backing plate. I'm going to give it a shot this weekend.
Good luck!

Cebby

I have the Powerslots on my 2nd Gen. No more warping so far.

AgRunner06

Could you guys also tell me how long you have been running your setup without warping?

Thanks

Sicarius428

Brembos did the trick for me when I warped mine with some aftermarket break pads. Check out tirerack. Mine were only about 100 bucks for both fronts.
Kevin

LarsDennert

You will get vibration if the drums are not adjusted properly. The ebrake is supposed to do it but only if it is adjusted properly itself. Use it early and often. Braking in reverse does nothing on a Toyota except stop the truck. You are confused with a Chevy you once owned? You can see if the vibration is coming from the rear by applying the ebrake while driving. If you can feel a little of that vibration, it's definately the rear.

84sr5yoty

I think it all depends on what type of brake setup you have and there are 2 styles that I know of. Bendix and "leading and trailing." Bendix style brakes are adjusted by hiting the brakes in reverse while leading and trailing type brakes use the parking brake to adjust the rears. My 2wd had leading and trailing, yet my factory service manual indicates that some models ( I think 4wd) have the bendix style.

williemon

On my 90 runner I use the stock rotors and pads from the toyota place. I made sure I installed them correctly and did not have them turned down. Make sure you handle them gently while installing and use a torque wrench to torque the bolts in a star pattern. Start with snugging the bolts, then go in the star pattern to the proper torque in 3 steps. IOW do 1 star at a light torque. Then set the wrench for a bit more torque and do another round, then set the wrench for the proper final torque and go another round. Make sure the bearings are setup proper and install the tires using a star pattern and a 2 step process with the torque wrench up to about 80 to 90 lbs. This is how I have done it and it worked well for me.

The previous owner had turned the stock rotors and put semi met pads on. They warped within 3 months after I got it. I replaced them with Raybestos rotors and raybestos organic pads. Didn't use a torque wrench and got warping in about 5 months. Had them turned and redid them. Warped within 2 months. I then went with the OEM rotors and pads, installed them as described and I went a step further and modded the rotor vents on the rotor back plate. You can see some of it by looking at the pics on my webshots page. I cut some metal out so it had larger vent slots and I ground down and formed the metal to make better smoother airflow areas. I then pulled the scoop out some to make it grab more air (so I feel).

All this work resulted in over 5 years of use with no hint of warping. When the time came to replace pads, I would buy new OEM pads and just put them on. No turning or anything. Now I just in the past 2 years replaced them due to a mishap that allowed the pads to wear to the backing plate and score a rotor. I replaced both with new OEM rotors and pads using my above described process. So ive got over 1 year on the newer rotors and all is well. No warping. BTW, my rear brakes have never worked as well as they should. I think the LSPV is bad and I also think there has been an issue with the master cylinder also since we bought the runner. Ive never got into those areas but I plan to one day.

MTL_4runner

Got any pics of this?
I am sure it would help to see as well as the explanation.

Mystickal

Also, make sure that WHENEVER your wheels come off, that the lug nuts are tightened down by hand, NOT an impact wrench. Just about every shop tightens lug nuts with an impact wrench because it's faster, then they use a torque bar (again, attached to an impact wrench) to torque all the lug nuts down. Most shops, even if asked not to use an impact wrench to put your tires back on, will still do so. Anytime my tires are off, I either tighten the lug nuts by hand and then use a torque wrench, or if done by a shop (or out on the road, ie flat tire) I will loosen the lug nuts and tighten with a torque wrench as soon as possible.

Since doing this, I have never had a problem with warped rotors on any vehicle. FWIW, I only hand tighten them snug, then torque them down one time to the correct value - I don't do the 3 step process described above. However, that would be the best way to make sure that torque is evenly applied (that is how we used to do apply torque inside a missile launcher that I worked on - it was time consuming, but vital to ensure that everything was properly sealed).

~Bill

Bennito

Have you verified the rotor is physically warped? (I dont' know how to do this)

Google: rotor warp deposit

You'll find a plethora of webpages and message threads regarding pad deposits on the rotor causing the "shuddering" that people often think is warped rotors. You may simply try rebedding your pads (and adjusting your rears).

Based on low pad level, maybe replace the pads then try rebedding. For a bonus, clean the rotors while you're working on the brakes.

(not saying you don't have rotor warpage, just that perhaps its not as common as we all believe it to be)./

MonsterMaxx

I've found with brakes there's nothing better than the factory pads.
Less crud on the wheels and they don't tear up rotors.
Mine last 40kmi and the rotors will last 3 sets of pads.

I get Factory stuff from Glen Burnie 800 848 4451

Tools R Us

This is a good writeup on brake judder;

http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/...otors_myth.htm

3car

Ok. Does "you get what you pay for" ring a bell? All metal is not created equal, and neither are brake rotors. The performance friction pads wear well dont they? If they're not wearing, guess what is. Buy good rotors, Wagner, Reybestos, or if you really want to go all out, Brembo. But...stay away from chain store rotors that say almost nothing on the box except "CHINA". Heat warps rotors. Do you tow a trailer? Do you come to a stop gradually, or wait untill the last minute and lock er' down?

Bennito

Great link. My favourite quote below. In general I'd like to see some more data so we can verify these claims of rotor warpage (not existing). Conventional wisdom got to where it is for a reason.

In fact every case of "warped brake disc" that I have investigated, whether on a racing car or a street car, has turned out to be friction pad material transferred unevenly to the surface of the disc.

AgRunner06

So basically after reading this article, I can just have my rotors turned and put new pads on without having to worry about warping returning as long as I perform the recommended break-in. After reading this, it seems like it would be pointless to buy new rotors. Is this correct?

Can some of you guys read this article and tell me what you think?

AgRunner06

Anyone?

gwhayduke

I've always wondered if shot-peening the rotors before or after turning would relieve the stress in them and prevent them from warping. Guess I'll have the chance to experiment one of these days.