hmmmm. i bought the truck with some warped brake rotors a few years ago. not to mention all the scarring and what-not on the rotors. so last year i changed em out, with some cheapo-chinese ones. well, it didn't take long to warp those either. any ideas?

i do realize that maybe after i changed em out, the short period afterwards that they seemed perfect could have been my imagination, and maybe im on the wrong end of my truck. but is drum warpage, (as in out-of-round) even possible?

i make these assumptions without measuring warpage on the rotors. i guess a dial indicator and base are on my Christmas list. i just assume brakes cause the truck does the wiggle dance when i push on the middle pedal

 

Drums can get out of round, but doesn't happen as frequently as with rotors. Usually happens when heavily using the brakes causes overheating and hard spots to form on the rotors.

 

I had a gm truck that one of the brake drums was not centered when it was turned,it caused a vibration that was pain to locate.It had been on the truck for several years but didn't cause a problem right a way.

 

thanks guys. i drive pretty flat most of the time, is it possible that maybe my calipers aren't sliding corectly or something? but if that were the case then i would lose brake force with pad wear. . . . . . . . .shoot

 

would my 20 year old shocks cause the shake-it-while-i-brake-it-symptoms?

 

Your 20 year old shocks certainly aren't helping!

Also, how old are your brake calipers? If one (or more) piston is sticking in the caliper, it will not apply even force to the rotor, resulting in warping in a short period of time. I'm not quite sure how to check for this, but I bet the FSM knows.

 

thats a good call, calipers are factory, it's been a while, but arent they single piston calipers?

 

There is some good information in this link that pertains to your problem.
Stoptech

 

that is awesome and very much appreciated. that was seriously my kind of article.

so the next question: which pads should a guy use on his truck worth 2500 bucks? im not an autozone fan for much but my pads are the lifetime ones from there. cheap as hell and replaced for free. is it time for an upgrade?

i never even thought to attribute crappy pad wear to messin up a disc. my thinking was 180deg from that. messed up discs were causing crappy pad wear lol

 

Personally I run Carbotechs because they are an amazing pad that doesn't fade easily, but they are quite expensive, like 100+ a pair, but hey they last about 60k miles and I am not easy on them.

Maybe try hawk HPS, they are a bit cheaper and seem to have decent reviews. Just make sure you have your rotors turned and you properly bed your brakes.

Glad you enjoyed the article.

 

I run the Oreillys pads on my pickup.. The highest end ones are still only like 20 bucks lol.

 

Last time I did the front brakes on my Tacoma I used Toyota rotors and pads just because I was there and they had them in stock. I am happy with they way they work.

As most of the rotors are made in China now it does not even pay to turn them unless you can do it yourself.

Another thing make sure your wheel bearings are adjusted to specs. they can cause wheel vibration when braking .

 

I use Hawk HD pads & Rotorpros drilled/slotted rotors exclusively now. Best brakes my truck has ever had.

I used OEM Toyota rotors & pads before; they last a long time (got over 100,000 miles out of my last Toyota rotors).

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but if the LSPV is not working properly or needs to be adjusted, there's a chance your front brakes are doing all the work. This would obviously increase heat/wear.

Sounds to me like there's a few things going on here.

 

good point BMcEL. . . . . i dont have an easy test coming to mind. i do know that i can achieve a good 4 wheel lock-up in snow though

any ideas to make sure the rears are doing the right am,ount of work? i've never seen anything in my manual. . . . . . but after reading some of the threads started on here i dont think it will be fun to get into if its bad.

 

no abs btw. and if i do have it it doesn't work. ask how i know. actually, better yet, please dont ask

 

YOu would want a vernier calliper to measure drum brake inside diameters. I used to use a digital foot long calliper accurate to half of a tenth of a mill(1/1000 of an inch).

I bought new drums on ebay for like 50 bucks or something like that.

I did have to adjust my LSBPV after lifting. This is done by simply bending the linkage that couples a metal axle or suspension bar or something like that to the "nodal loocking sack" that is the LSBPV

 

If you read the paragraph on my page titled chassis, I list all the break related things i did on my truck. look at it for ideas if you want. I went with drilled rotors and vented brake dust covers.

http://www.craigginsberg.com/safari-battle-cruizer/

 

good stuff guys. thanks a bunch!