The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Car question
taeric
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Registered User, ClubPA regular
So, I'm driving the other day and my brakes start making a pretty bad noise. So, I get a ride to the store and get replacement brakes. I may be going back to get new rotors, but I'm going to inspect them first.
On doing this, I find something interesting. My front brakes are absolutely fine. They are barely 20% worn. The first rear brake I took off was at about 40% left. The other one, completely gone. I haven't taken the rotor off, yet, so it may be damaged on the inside, outside is fine.
My question, though, is how does this happen? I have always seen the front brakes go sooner. And usually they are uniform. Not one side having more wear. Any thoughts?
On doing this, I find something interesting. My front brakes are absolutely fine. They are barely 20% worn. The first rear brake I took off was at about 40% left. The other one, completely gone. I haven't taken the rotor off, yet, so it may be damaged on the inside, outside is fine.
My question, though, is how does this happen? I have always seen the front brakes go sooner. And usually they are uniform. Not one side having more wear. Any thoughts?
taeric on
0
Posts
To be clear, the pads per tire are perfectly even. It is just that the pads on the rear driver side wore much faster than any of the others.
Also, would it have been affecting my gas mileage?
From my (limited) experience no, and yes respectively.
IWhen did you last bleed the system? If there a bit of crud in the line, or different thicknesses of lines, you might
get uneven wear. (But I'm not sure that's true, or easy to fix!)
Bleeding the lines should be easy enough, but I don't exactly have a garage. if it comes down to that, I will have to take it to a mechanic. Which... well sucks.
note: this is a pain in the ass.
I did it once on my old RX-7. Bitch fought me every step of the way. Ugh.
Anyways, some cars do wear on the back first due to design. I know my Passat Wagon does. Most do not.
Thanks for the help everyone!
On the side that looks to have had the stuck rotor, I am waiting to see how things look when I get the tire off. You are right that I need to use a tool to get it measured, but it is cheaper to just buy new rotors than it is to take the whole car into a shop. And I'm of the camp (at the moment) that machining the rotors is a waste when just replacing pads.
Last time I needed rotors it was only $30 each, and the machine shop on the other side of the city was going to charge around $20 to machine them. Also, the calipers have had such a high core price to trade back in that it was far easier to just replace them and go all new. I also drive a 5 speed though, so my brake wear tends to be lower than people with autos and the extra cash for doing the brakes seems worth it to me.
Most of the times I've had to do my brakes the calipers were sticking enough that they would need a rebuild anyways. Replacing the caliper and taking the old one back for the refund on it was cheap enough that the hassle of doing a rebuild wasn't worth it.
similar to this is CV joints, I've replaced them a couple times on cars and honestly, repacking/rebuilding a cv joint is a pain in the ass when you get enough back for the old one that the new one isn't too costly.
Regarding machining your rotors, it's almost always worth it as it will improve the rotar/pad mating surface to a substantial degree, which will make the pads break in more evenly and faster.
Regarding the uneven rotor wear, it's probably some sort of caliper problem.
You said the car has <50k on it? You don't have a warranty? Your rotors should definitely last longer than that.
And yeah 46k. I am completely blown away by the fact that these things are messed up like this.
A fair number (and by that I mean ~95%) of mechanics like to use their impact wrenches to tighten lug nuts, and some of these are way too powerful for the job. One of my buddies at a Toyota dealership has a 500ft/lb unit he uses to remove suspension bolts.
Now, this is gonna hurt, but I recommend that you stop trying to work on it yourself. Call up a shop and tell them that something is wrong with your brakes, and you think the previous shop may have screwed up somehow. You want to have a licensed professional go over the situation and note down everything on a work order, this way you have a paper trail in case you need to seek damages from another shop. (Since this keeps getting worse, you should do everything you can to protect yourself from having to replace your entire brake system)
Take it in, get a diagnosis done of all the problems going on, get an estimate for repairs. Then pull out your service records and call up the last shop that worked on the brakes and/or any other suspension part. Tell them what's up, and ask the manager what he'd like to do to resolve the problem. If it's a dealership, getting huffy on the phone with the service manager can sometimes score you free repairs, especially if they are definitely at fault.
Either way, though, I heartily recommend having a licensed professional go over the setup. Your brakes are far too important to save a few bucks on if there's an actual problem.
Oh and btw- the reason there are warnings about overtightening lug nuts is because it will easily warp the rotors, leading to extremely premature pad wear and in bad cases cracked rotors. Which is why I recommend having a shop go through everything.
This is basically what I was looking to confirm.
I'm not against the rest of what you are saying, I am in a bit of a bind though. The pads are completely gone on that side, to the point I can not drive it. A bit more complicated, I have already replaced the pads on the other side. (No, I have not driven it yet. I just didn't have time to do both the other day.)
To get even more amusing, with my new situation/job, I don't particularly need a car. I am going to be looking to sell this thing as soon as I can get a decent offer, so the fact that the brakes have completely crapped out on me is really annoying.
Also, the "other shop" is the dealership. Is it worth it to call them up and bitch about this? I'm loath to do this, as the bastards tried to get me to replace all of the brakes last I took it in, when clearly only 1 was even close to needing replacing.
I would take a look through your service records, and pull out the receipt from the last time it was in for brake work.
You have guaranteed proof that at the very least they screwed up putting one of the wheels on the car. You should only have to apply ~25% or so of your body weight on a decent-sized (meaning 1.5-2ft) wrench to loosen a lug nut. Standing on a wrench means it's over 200ft/lbs, meaning they screwed up there.
If your last receipt shows that they recommended getting a service done, and you opted not to, and that has led to your current problem with the worn pads, then you're SOL on that front. They did their job by telling you there's a problem and recommending a fix.
On the other hand, if all that receipt shows is that they recommended all your brakes be replaced as a matter of course, then you have some ground to stand on. (BTW it's industry standard to always replace both sides at the same time - if you're replacing the left, you do the right as well. Most shops recommend replacing front/rear at the same time as well. This is in general a good idea)
Either way, your rotors should not be worn to the point of replacement at under 50k miles, so I'd have a mechanic check it out. Pop for the tow and play it safe.
This is actually the second tire I've had issues removing. The last one took 4 of us to get off. (Had a flat)
At this point, I don't really care to "get back" at the place. I simply want the brakes back to working so I can sell. I am incredibly pissed that they seem to have hosed things so badly, but I am content knowing I won't have to deal with them again. But this is why I'm curious about what to do. I have not seated the pads I replaced, yet. I was planning on getting the other side replaced before I did this. Knowing this, though, I am thinking of just paying to get this brake replaced. (I already have the replacement pads, just need the tire off, rotor inspected, etc.)
My only concern is that since I was not planning on replacing a rotor, I realize those are also best replaced in pairs. Should I swap back to the old pads to keep from seating the new pads?
I'd call up the dealer, talk to the service manager, and see what he can do for you. A tip: dealers have to deal with this statistic all the time. A fully-satisfied customer tells 3 friends about their experience, while an unhappy customer tells 7 friends.
So throw a hissy fit at the service manager and see where it gets you. Especially if you have documentation from a shop showing that the rotors require replacement, you should be able to get some free stuff (or a refund on previous work).
I don't know how it works in Georgia, but in California I'd tell you to call the bureau of auto repair and get them involved, they can mandate refunds and whatnot. Call up your BAR's customer hotline and see what's up. A quick Googline shows 800-869-1123 as a hotline for the agency, call 'em up.
Oh, and if you're replacing rotors, always replace the pads.