Issues after brake change, Rumbling from the front Options

[red94celicagt]

Hey guys, I just changed my brakes myself today. Front axel and rear axel. The front passenger side rotor is worn and in need of repair, but mind you before this change I had no issues (besides the issues of overworn brake pads).

So everything goes fine, I jack the car up, pop the wheels off, unbolt the caliper, pop out the old brake pads and pop in the new ones and fasten it all back up. I do this for all four disks.

I drop the car down and begin to drive, taking it easy on the brakes and attempting to properly "seat" them by driving at a constant speed and then braking at a constant pressure, nothing sudden. For the first 10-15 miles I feel no problems at all.

A few hours later I take the car out and drive about 10 miles to pick up my girlfriend from work...still no problems. When I'm taking her home, however, I begin to feel a slight knocking from around my pedals...right where the front axel is. THe steering wheel has a slight vibration as I'm coasting, and when I begin to brake it slowly goes away until I accelerate again. I should also note that this only happens when I begin driving faster than 20 mph, and I've yet to try it out going faster than 40 mph. My first thoughts were that it is just the new pads hugging the rotor, and since I did not replace any of my rotors they might be slightly warped so that was the cause...but as I think about it more and more I wonder if it could be something more serious.

I leave for college in the morning and im facing a 250 mile drive. Is this something that will go away as the pads get more worn and seated comfortably or is it something I should get fixed asap?

Thanks for your time and I hope I can shed some light on this situation.

[Coomer]

So you changed pads on the front and rear? Your vibration is most likely from warped rotors like you said. You can get them turned for fairly cheap, but I do not know if that compromises the structural integrity of the brakes...I doubt it does by much, and is probably certainly safer than driving with warped rotors.

[coldbluesteel]

I have turned my rotors before, it's totally ok to do. Quick question... did you remove the shims?

[LewFX]

should always trim or replace rotors when replacing pads. get them trimmed and hope you didnt glaze the pads. if you brake and car starts leaning one way its warped rotors. theres another test involving the ebrake handle, pulling up while driving really slow and seeing if it grabs the rotor tight or loose

This post has been edited by LewFX: Sep 15, 2006 - 10:16 PM

[Bitter]

it may cost almost as much to have the rotors cut as it does to just replace them, especially if you have to drive your car there and pay the labor for removal and reinstallation.

[coldbluesteel]

yeah if you glazed the pads your gonna have to resurface them. You could rub them on the cement, it's ghetto but it works.

[LewFX]

yeah if you glazed the pads your gonna have to resurface them. You could rub them on the cement, it's ghetto but it works.

gently sanding them works too

[red94celicagt]

awesome thanks for the quick responses...looks like it was due to warping.

Would there be any other causes or is this the pretty sound cause?

Also, if it is the problem can it wait/last 200 some miles? I can get it fixed once I get down to college, but I cant do anything about it before then =/

[Snodalo]

hey maybe its your axel and it has nothing to do with your brakes?