losiglow

iTrader: (1)

It's safe to say that just about everyone has come across the pulsating brake issue, which is usually solved by replacing the rotors whether it be warping or unever pad material on the rotor. I've had this issue on nearly every Honda vehicle I've owned sans my '09 Pilot. However, it seems to be chronic on my 4G. When I purchased it, it had the OEM rotors on it. It was already pulsing. Not too bad, but bad enough to change the rotors and pads. I went with Centric cryo-treated rotors with Akebono pads. About 6 months/10000 miles later (yes, lots of miles for 6 months), they began pulsing. Eventually it got alloying enough that I replaced them with some Power stop rotors and pads from RockAuto. Those lasted only a couple of months before they began pulsing and were the worst of the lot. With both the Centric and Powerstop, I attempted to "resurface" the rotors by riding them really hard down a steep hill to sort of "re-burn" the pad material onto the rotor, but it only got worse. I even took them off, lightly sanded them, and reinstalled. No dice.

Has anyone else had a problem where no matter what rotor/pad combo they use, they still get pulsing? I don't want to purchase another set of rotors just for it to happen again. I learned that cleaning the hub and the surface where the wheel contacts the rotor is a good idea, which I've never done before. And that you should wash the rotor with soap and water prior to install. Which I've also never done. I suspected the calipers might be the issue but they seem to work fine and the pads aren't wearing unevenly (e.g. front more than rear or vice-versa). I lubed the pins and pistons up pretty well last time. Is it a good idea to get new calipers after 160K miles? In the past, all my calipers have lasted as long as I owned the vehicle. I know that sometimes a bad wheel bearing or suspension components like a tie rod can cause it but they seem pretty solid. No movement of the hub or noise from wheel bearings.

Any other ideas? I'm tempted to shell out some $$$ and go with an EBC Stage-4 setup with the slotted rotors and redstuff. But I'd rather not spend upwards of $400 and have them start to pulse as well. Maybe it's just a case of the front heavy TL being hard on rotors? And that going with something high quality like EBC would help solve that?

Ideas?

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I'm thinking of going with this setup:


Does anyone have experience with their yellowstuff? It seems it's higher performance but also higher dust.

Teddybear

I've used Hawk LTS with Stoptech Cryo Slotted rotors. They lasted a decent amount of time, but my caliper was getting stuck, so it wore the inside pad and rotor twice as fast. That combo squealed a lot on light to medium moderate speed braking. But overall i was happy with it. Pulsing didn't come until near the very end of the pad and rotor life. Cold stopping in winter was a bit sketchy, but once it warmed up, they were great.

Current setup, also on LTS pads, but i couldn't wait for the Cryo Slotted rotors, so i got EBC GD3 Sport slotted and dimpled rotors. These have much more noise overall vs the Stoptech cryo slotted, but they don't squeal as much. They make a clicking and whirring noise. Looks to me like the pads are eating this rotor slightly faster than the cyro rotors. Cold stopping is a non issue.

My next setup, i'll hoping to try the yellowstuff and GD3 rotors. Only concern is cold stopping in the winter. I've heard mixed reactions. I'm ok with squealing, whirring, and clicking noises. I'd rather be able to stop harder than quieter.
Redstuff is ceramic, much like Hawk Ceramics. I believe yellowstuff is closer to HPS or HP+..... i wish hawk made HPS for our TLs...

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

reading the post, then reading teddy bear's answer.... I immediately thought of sticking calipers. perhaps, the calipers are lightly sticking to the rotor???

because it would suck to replace rotors and pads, just for it to happen again.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Nailed it.

168K miles and I've never pulled the caliper pins to clean and relube. I'm ashamed of myself. The top ones were ok. But the bottoms were bad. Really bad. The drivers side, which I determined to have warped both sets of rotors the worst, took nearly an hour to remove which involved first turning the pin while in the caliper mount with a ton of WD-40 followed by about 10 minutes of pounding on it with a screwdriver and mallet to get it to come out.

Sorry, giant picture. Both look bad but the top one was still lubed up and popped right out. The bottom is obviously toast. I cleaned all four (two from each side) to a nice shiny finish with a drill and wire wheel brush, cleaned out the pin holes with a Dremel with a small wire wheel and brake cleaner, then lubed the pins up with silicone and reinserted. I'm guessing the bottoms were worse since the salty water in the winter drained downward.

From what I understand, sticking pads or uneven pad contact with the rotor can cause problems like excessive heat or non-uniform pad material on the rotor. After shopping around, I just went with some plain jane Raybestos "Advanced Technology" rotors, which are supposed to be their performance rotors if such a thing exists from Raybestos, along with some Akebono pads. I've used them a few times on friends and families cars and always had good luck. We'll see how it goes.

revray

Had badly warped rotors on my 2012 TL Tech after a quick stop situation where a b**** purposely swerved in front of me. Hit brakes very hard, actually imprinted the pad in the rear rotors.After that, when running at 80, car would shudder because the brakes were lightly rubbing on rotor.
Replaced front rotors with Napa premium rotors, replaced all pins and greased. The old pins were flattened a little on bottom. Have not had an issue since, I did not do the rears as I can not feel the imprint. I recommend the Napa brand. Have always been fantastic without a huge price. I use the same rotors on my '13 Nissan 370Z. Great product at a price that will not break the bank.
Good Luck!

Note: I use Permatex high temp brake grease, silicone will not stand up to the heat. Now whenever I get into the brakes, I always pull, clean, and lube the pins. A few minute job will save lots of money in rotors and pads.

Maks

Mine were almost the same with uneven inside pad wear. Front rotors were also a pain to take off. New inside pads also did not fit easily in the caliper bracket. My solution? Wire wheel to clean all the rust from everything as well as a grinder to take some rust off caliper bracket to allow pads to easily slide. Also lots of anti-sieze to the face of the hub!

Blaze9

I changed the caliper guide rods on my left side, but did not on my right. I did re-build(clean/grease) the right side. Even though I did that the wear on the right was much more than on the left. Just had to do a change because of a pretty stark difference in material amount. I have slots and the right side slots were gone while I could still see slots on the left side! Crazy how un-even the wear was because of that...

TLTesh604

Porter Chidester

This forum is amazing, I can't believe I only just found it. My rotors were pulling the wobble on me and I just swapped the EBC slotted rotors and redstuff pads onto the front last week. So it looks like tomorrow I'll be pulling them again to clean and lube the pins. Thanks for saving my investment for me.

Maks

Get a wire brush that goes in your drill. Will be far more effective then a wire brush. Also get all the rust off the wheel hub.

Porter Chidester

thanks man, good tip I can handle that

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the rear calipers have pins too. I think it's pretty universal. But I'm not brake expert. Obviously! Well, maybe now I am.....

revray

The rears will also have the guide pins. I cleaned and lubed mine when replacing the brake fluid. Was a little worried as you were, had to spin the guide pin to get it to release from the rubber boot. No ripping. Gave lots of lube to ensure they moving correctly. No issues.

Good luck.