I was wondering how hard it was to warp your disc brakes.

When slowing down from high speeds I can feel a little vibration in the brake pedal. It doesn't feel like it is coming through the rest of the car. Are my rotors warped?

Can you warp brakes from spraying them with water when they are warm? Like when you drive to the car wash and wash your car.

Thanks for the input.

 

That's how ya do it. When they cool down too fast they warp. Same goes when you brake hard for a long time (freeway stop) then go back up to speed. The air cools the rotors down a lot then they warp. I have the cross drilled rotors and they are supposed to not get as hot and cool down better than stock so they don't warp (hopefully)

 

I have the same exact problem.....when slowing down from freeway speed my wheel gyrates pretty bad.

I think I warped mine from towing my boat and putting a huge amount of wight on the brakes over the years.

I am going to have them replaced soon...anyone know how much I am looking at to have it done?

 

How much did those rotors run you?

 

I think I payed about $320 for both rotors and the semi-metallic brake pads from North West Off Road. Some may say not to buy from them, but I feel that that's only for their springs, I've had no problem with their rotors at all. The install isn't very hard, it just takes time to repack the berings and hubs.

 

Also be carefull about shops using impact guns, mine got warped that way

 

The best thing to do to avoid that is by making sure your back brakes are well adjusted and that your using a good pad. That's why i always go back to Original toyota stuff. The problem is that once you have a warped rotor, they're pretty much shot. Typically the metals, once overheated are trashed. SUre you can turn them and they're good for a while but it will come back. Mine are doing the same thing now. When i bought the truck it had warped rotors. I should have bought original equipment to begin with But of course i didn't. I went to Advance and got Bendix. They sucked. Warped with in a short period of time and howled like crazy.

 

A slight vibration in the pedal does not necessarily mean you have warped rotors... The pads might have some uneven wear, but I dont think it should be something you need to worry about. You can tell that your rotors are warped when the steering wheel shakes violently and braking power is greatly reduced. I wouldn't worry about it, but be careful when you're spraying water on warm rotors, because it can lead to premature warping.

If the problem continues to bother you, have a shop check them out...If they have a decent amount of thickness left in them, but they are definitely warped, have the shop turn them on a lathe. If not, you are better off buying a new pair of rotors. Oh ya, its better to replace the pads when replacing rotors, because if you dont, your [possibly unevenly] worn pads will cause new rotors to warp in no time.

While we're on the subject, I've seen a lot of posts that hype up cross drilled/slotted rotors. This is BS.. believe me. I drove a prelude vtec before this car and was into auto-x. Most autocrossers swear that a good set of brembo blank rotors, new pads, stainless lines, and good fluid are all you need. Cross-drilled and slotted rotors are only MORE succeptible to cracking and warping. Especially in a heavier vehicle such as a 4runner, this is an important thing to remember.

if you have time, refer to this link, its got a lot of good info

 

About as hard as rolling a gutter ball on your first trip to a bowling alley.

 

No kidding.