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Originally Posted by Steve Tarring
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3) Ease up on the brakes and let the vehicle move slowly so as to avoid the brakes pads from resting in one place on these "hotter the hell rotors".
If an owner fails to do the later he risks a phenomenal called "Pad imprinting" This is where most adherent friction or street brake problems start. What happens is the pad faces can bond to the friction faces of the rotors after this type of stop and when driven off, an uneven deposit of pad martial can results. What's worse under braking now when the pad(s) encounter this uneven build-up of pad martial, local temperatures can reach 1200F to 1300F degrees. If this continues, iron which contains inclusions of silicon-iron carbides and high percentages of carbon can develop deposits of "Cementite" (Fe3C) in the rotor's iron matrix.
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Good explanation of pad imprinting. We drivers of Titans are not alone in this. My old Dodge Dakota, my 1500, and a buddy's Chevy were also subject to this. I learned to do exactly as you say: stop short, then allow the truck to slowly roll forward when stopping really hard from highway speeds.
You CAN reverse pad imprinting to some degree by making a panic stop, then rolling forward slowly to redistribute the heat. You have to do this at least three times. It used to work really well to do that in my old Dakota. That sucker would get pad imprints just too easily.
Our Titans are also subject to rotor warp through incorrect installation of tires and wheels. I got my snows swapped onto the truck a few years ago, and the idiot kid used a 'torque stick' - a real no-no. Ye gods, did I have pedal feedback. I went back to the shop and asked them if they used torque sticks to install tires... and of course the answer was yes. I told the manager to get into the truck with me and I took him for a ride around the block.
Long story short: After completely loosening and precisely (two-step method) re-torquing the wheels, the problem went away. You might give that a try, see if it works for you. Maybe us old wrenches do still know a thing or two.