Need New Brakes

**luckyg817** · 05-01-2014

Hey guys. Time for me to change out my brakes and I also need new rotors as they are pretty warped. (Steering wheel vibrates when I brake on the highway) My ultimate plan was to upgrade to cts-v or gxp brake setup but i'm in a financial situation so that will be put on hold for a good while. My question is what rotors should I go with? My budget is to keep each rotor under $65 each. Would the duralast brand from autozone hold up pretty good? I'm not looking for performance or anything really. Just want the vibration to stop and no problems with braking. Are there any benefits to store brand "premium" rotors to consider?

**Scottydoggs** · 05-01-2014

get napa premium rotors, should be around 50 each rotor, better then duralast.

or order centric rotors on line.

or if you want f bodys or other over sized brakes, cut these rotors, and buy cheap pads to get you by till you got the new upgraded brake set up.

cutting your old rotors about 10 to 15 each, cheap pads 30 bucks at the local parts store.

**luckyg817** · 05-01-2014

Where would I take the rotors to get cut? Machine shop? Is that the same as turning them or whatever you call it?

**Scottydoggs** · 05-01-2014

same as turing the rotors, call your local parts stores, some still do it, my local napa does. advance also says they do but call first to make sure. not all stores do it.

they should also measure the old rotors to make sure theres enough meat left to cut them safely. after they are cut drive on them nice so they last, warped rotors that are cut tent to warp again if you beat on them. so plan your new set up asap. this is the cheap get me by route for sure. works well if you dont beat them to death with hard braking.

**luckyg817** · 05-01-2014

Oh yea that's probably not going to work. I'm looking at like another year before I get out of this situation so best bet would be to just get the cheaper rotors right?

**Scottydoggs** · 05-01-2014

you'll get a year or 15,000 miles out of them easy if you dont hot rod them.

**luckyg817** · 05-01-2014

Oh ok. Well then I will call around and see if they still turn rotors around here cuz I know autozone doesn't anymore. I have lifetime warranty on these pads so really it would just be the cost of turning the rotors. Should I go ahead and replace the caliper hardware also while I'm at it?

**Scottydoggs** · 05-01-2014

just clean and re grease you old hardware. its fine. i dont buy new unless the old stuff is really messed up.

clean the slider pins and the hole they slide in the caliper with brake cleaner, re grease good. then a smear where the ends of the pads slide in the metal shims at the ends, so the pads slide free in the caliper bracket. good as new.

**luckyg817** · 05-01-2014

Cool. Thanks a lot man! You're always a big help.

**Scottydoggs** · 05-01-2014

no problem. im all for saving money.

**luckyg817** · 05-11-2014

Hey scotty I need your help. I ended up buying new rotors all around with pads. I spent $150ish total which was great. Now the problem is my rear passenger side is making like a grinding noise while im driving. Almost as if im applying the brakes while driving and I feel a bit of a drag when I let go of the throttle. After I changed the rotor and pads, the caliper was giving me a hard time getting it back in and lining up with with the caliper bolt holes. So I kind of forced it and gave it a good whack. Now my thinking is telling me that the only moving part in the caliper that controls the pads if u will, is the piston right? If its not going back in as far as it should, it will cause the pads to make contact with the rotor at all times until the pads wear down enough to where it wont do that anymore right? Meaning that side pads will wear out sooner than the opposite side. Also when I park after driving it, you can smell a burnt rubberish kind of smell. Am I in the ballpark of being correct or what?

**Scottydoggs** · 05-11-2014

take that caliper back off and see if the piston will go in further. then hit the brake pedal, but not a lot, just a little to see if it moved back out. then push it back in. if it take a lot of forrce to get it back in that caliper maybe on its way out, or its brake line maybe failing.

make sure the caliper bolts/slider pins are greases and the caliper will move back and fourth while bolted on the rotor.

**luckyg817** · 05-11-2014

Well when I tried to back it in when it was giving me a hard time, I could easily turn it but the piston didnt really seem to back in that much or at least not very noticeable. Can you keep turning it until it stops on its own or will it just keep turning?

**Scottydoggs** · 05-11-2014

you have the turn in style? 04 up?

if so id do the brake pedal push to push the piston back out. make sure its clean around the piston. dont over push the pedal or the piston may pop out, it can on the older cars, not to sure on the 04 ups.

**luckyg817** · 05-11-2014

Yea its the turn style. I'll try that tomorrow. Kinda pissed me off. Haha. But does it pretty much sound like the caliper though? Cant really think of anything else. Didnt see any kind of leak from the brake line and also when I jacked the car up afterwards, the wheel doesnt spin as much as the other side and you can hear the grinding.

**Scottydoggs** · 05-11-2014

also make sure the e brakes not messed up and holding it. maybe un hook its cable see if it spins freely like that. clean grease the e brake linkage too.

and the rubber brake line, they fall a part on the inside and dont let fluid flow back sometimes. never heard of a back doing it but it can happen up front.

**luckyg817** · 05-11-2014

Do you have a pic of the ebrake cable? I did stop using the ebrake cuz it would feel like it would stay stuck on sometimes.

**Scottydoggs** · 05-11-2014

found this pic, then it turned out to be bills regal build on boniepro lol
http://www.bonnevillepro.com/forums/...p?f=36&t=12038

i dont have this year brake but id think the cable hooks to the rusty part on the spring somewhere.

**luckyg817** · 05-12-2014

I'll check the brake out today. Check to see if the piston is working properly and will disconnect the ebrake line to see if it will let the wheel spin more. If the ebrake line is the culprit, how do I go about fixing that? And how would the ebrake interfere with the braking if it's not engaged?