Warped rotors - Page 6

Gearman1987 · 07-14-2004, 07:45 PM

Dropped off my Titan this morning at the dealer - 10300 miles - Picked it up later in the day to find NEW Rotors & NEW Pads - No Hassles or BS about turning the rotors - I was kind of shocked so I went out to the truck to check the rotors to see if they tried to sneak in a turning - nope - got new ones. Now lets see if we end up with new calipers too?! The brake problem is the only issue I have had so far.

homer · 07-14-2004, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearman1987

Dropped off my Titan this morning at the dealer - 10300 miles - Picked it up later in the day to find NEW Rotors & NEW Pads - No Hassles or BS about turning the rotors - I was kind of shocked so I went out to the truck to check the rotors to see if they tried to sneak in a turning - nope - got new ones. Now lets see if we end up with new calipers too?! The brake problem is the only issue I have had so far.

Glad to hear that you were treated properly! Question: how was your brake dust problem after 10K + miles, and are the new pads the same as the originals or have they been replaced by a new and improved design? I'm curious to know if you have to start all over again with this horrendous brake dust problem.

BearBrawn · 07-15-2004, 05:24 AM

I had my pads and caliper bolts replaced at 5000 miles for the shudder.

It has returned - though not as severe...

I did notice the effects are heat-related!

We had one surprisingly mild temp morning a couple weeks ago and I had ZERO shudder!

Later on that day once the heat got up around 100 - the shudder was evident again.

The calipers are the biggest culprit - I believe...

stevemis · 07-15-2004, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearman1987

I was kind of shocked so I went out to the truck to check the rotors to see if they tried to sneak in a turning - nope - got new ones.

I'm curious how you were able to determine the rotors were new? Properly turned rotors look exactly like new rotors to the naked eye, especially if the view of the rotors are obscured by the caliper and wheel.

-Steve

Half Shovel · 07-16-2004, 04:56 PM

My truck is going in for brake repairs on Monday. My plan is NOT to accept turned rotors at 4700 miles.

HS

chazz1202 · 07-16-2004, 05:00 PM

Good Idea.

**goathead** · 07-16-2004, 05:46 PM

how do you tell them that you dont want turned rotors? warranty work is usually up to the dealers discretion, especially when it comes to TSBs and the fixes that nissan mandates. i can understand wanting new rotors, especially if it is not the first time for the "fix". i just cant see demanding new rotors on a vehicle w/ anything less than 10k miles. maybe im wrong in this assumption.

steve

Half Shovel · 07-17-2004, 09:04 AM

After 10K miles, you might be right - it might be tough to demand new rotors. However, I DID get new rotors on my 2000 Tundra at 32K miles. They had replaced them at 10K and the problem came back at 32K - replaced them again.

If you look at the TSB listing (available in the FAQ), the bulletin instructs the dealer to replace the rotors if there is less than a certain amount of rotor left. That means the dealer has discretion on this.

I'll be insistent, to the point of letting them know that their precious little survey results depend on it.

HS

lcbrownz · 07-18-2004, 08:57 AM

Has anyone had their brake pads replaced with the Akebono ceramic brake pads? Several brake parts dealers seemed to be aware the Titan brake problem and trying sell their ceramic brake pads about $35.00 over the price of the OEMs. They claimed to reduce brake dust, have shorter stopping power and longer life. It seems some titan owners have had their brake rotors and pads replaced at least twice. Would it be wiser to go aftermarket than waste time and effort with Nissan?

NinjaMom · 07-18-2004, 09:31 AM

My rotors warped at 4500 miles. My service department stated that they thought I would have been in sooner!

I was told that I had received the upgraded brake pad kit and everything seems great so far.... but it has only be 4 days too.

The part number on my receipt is: 41060-7S026

ss007 · 07-18-2004, 10:30 AM

Pagerdaddy is the brake kit something you have to buy or does the warrenty cover it?

NinjaMom · 07-18-2004, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ss007

Pagerdaddy is the brake kit something you have to buy or does the warrenty cover it?

I got my brake kit covered under warranty.... I am not sure if it is the same one that Pagerdaddy is talking about though.

*calgary_redneck* · 08-24-2004, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nj1266

I hope I can shed some light on this. Tundra owners have been through the same problem that you guys are having.

Let me start by saying that machining rotors is BULL CRAP. Rotors do not warp. It is an old wife's tale that needs to be debunked. I have been racing cars for 5 years and I have not seen a warpped rotors yet. Here is what happens: Your brake pads get overheated for various reasons and then they transfer brake material unevenly to the rotors. When the brakes cool down the brake material sticks to the rotor. When you drive and hit the brakes you get the wobbly impression that is very common to all of you. Machining the rotors destroys their structural integrity. What needs to be done is to sand the excess brake material off the rotors and use NEW brake pads. In essence, the brake pads are the problem and not the rotors.

The 00 to early 03 Tundra had the same problem. Toyota issues a TSB to machine the rotors and replace the pads. IT DID NOT WORK. Then Toyota issued a new TSB in early 2003 replacing the calipers, rotors, and pads with new ones. The new calipers had larger diameter pistons in them. This fixed the problem.

The Tundra had too small front brake calipers and was overheating the pads. This caused brake material to transfer unevenly to the rotors. This cuased the wobbly feel that you get when applying the brakes.

I suspect that the Titan has the same problem. I know that Nissan will issue the same crappy TSB that Toyota did the first time. I guarantee you that machining the rotors does not work. It is a band aid. Nissan needs to redesign the front calipers and use bigger pistons. This will help the pads apply equal pressure to the entire rotor surface. It prevents pad overheating and pad warppage and uneven pad material transfer.

This is the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever heard Rotors do warp if you don't believe me put a dial indicator on the rotor of one of the vehicals in question I garantee that you will find fairly severe warpage. It may also interest you that the manufactures also give a spec for maximum run out and thickness variation. As for warped rotors the only way to fix them is with machining or replacement. As for draggin calipers causing the warpiing I have a hard time excepting this as the calipers would have to be dragging very badly to generate that kind of heat. All modern cars are equipt with low drag calipers which are specifically designed to reduce drag from the pads when the brake is not applyed to boost fuel economy. I also have a hard time with the statement that brake lining material infuence rotor warping. As for rotor warping as someone previously stated the most frequent cause is lug nut over torquing as well as uneven torquing.

nj1266 · 08-25-2004, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgary_redneck

This is the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever heard Rotors do warp if you don't believe me put a dial indicator on the rotor of one of the vehicals in question I garantee that you will find fairly severe warpage. It may also interest you that the manufactures also give a spec for maximum run out and thickness variation. As for warped rotors the only way to fix them is with machining or replacement. As for draggin calipers causing the warpiing I have a hard time excepting this as the calipers would have to be dragging very badly to generate that kind of heat. All modern cars are equipt with low drag calipers which are specifically designed to reduce drag from the pads when the brake is not applyed to boost fuel economy. I also have a hard time with the statement that brake lining material infuence rotor warping. As for rotor warping as someone previously stated the most frequent cause is lug nut over torquing as well as uneven torquing.

You are DEAD WRONG. Keep machining your rotors and you will have the same problem over and over again. The problem is not the rotor it is the overheating of the brake pad. Rumor has it that Nissan will issue a TSB for a new brake pad. Why is that? Because the old pad was overheating and transfering uneven material to the rotor. The old pad was overheating since the material used has a lower resistance to heat. The new pad will have a higher resistence to heat and it is possible that pad material will not overheat and transfer unevenly to the rotors.

I suggest you read the following article about rotors and pads before you give your uninformed opinion on the subject. The guy who wrote this article has been racing cars ofr ages and has written many books on racing.

http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/...otors_myth.htm

BearBrawn · 08-25-2004, 03:50 AM

I had the TSB work repeated last week @ 8K miles - first attempt @ 3600 miles didn't last long...

The local dealer service manager used a new machine that Nissan sent them - turns the rotors while they are still on the vehicle.

Feels much smoother so far - but we'll see before I reach the dreaded 12K mile mark.

.