Warped rotors

[tdaye]

Whats the deal with the rear rotors on the Cutlass?? I've put new ones on one side 2 times in the past 3 months because of warping! now it's warped again. Any solution for this??

[SigEpCutlass]

Welcome to owning a W-body. It's unfortunately very common this happens, especially before GM upgraded the rear brakes in '94. You best bet might be to try doing a '94+ brake upgrade. Do a search and there should be plenty of info for you.

 

Are you using GM parts or OEM equivalents?

[tdaye]

OEM, but I have never heard of warping in such a short time! and only on the one rear side of the car?

[SigEpCutlass]

Just re-read your question...

 

So have you been only changing one rotor? That could be your problem. You should be changing the rotors in pairs.

[tdaye]

I changed all 4 rotors, all 4 calipers, all brake pads the master cylinder,rear KYB struts, mounts and boots all at the same time as I installed my first flex-a-form spring... and the rear left rotor keeps warping after just a few weeks.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I would do 94+ upgrade. The brakes on my 95 are 10x better then they were on my 88 GP...

[tdaye]

I'd hate to have wasted all that money on replacing all the brake parts right now though, had I thought of that before I started the restoration I would have.

[SigEpCutlass]

Are you certain that the left rear caliper is working properly? Sounds to me like it might be the problem.

[tdaye]

The brakes seem to work great and the sliders in the calipers are working fine...as they should being new. I also had all the park brake cables changed when I had all the other shit done and both rears grab fine with the parkbrake on too.

[SigEpCutlass]

What generally tends to happen is both in the rear would warp. I had that happen with my old rear brakes. Even still, having only one warp is suspicious. Either way, I think you should either check out that caliper or get it replaced. I don't see how the problem would be happening to only that one rotor if there's not something screwy going on with that caliper.

[tdaye]

checked out the caliper, it's working fine. My last Cutlass I had for 3 years and never had a problem with warped rotors

[ns87]

if you are interested, this is a brake upgrade page

http://www.tpsgarage.com/TGP/brakes/rear_brake_upgrade.htm

[SigEpCutlass]

checked out the caliper, it's working fine. My last Cutlass I had for 3 years and never had a problem with warped rotors

 

I'm not sure to tell you. Anyone else have any ideas?

[tdaye]

maybe they are just crappy rotors! but it still doesn't tell me why it's only the one side

[Intlcutlass]

A smart man once said:

 

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

 

Rotors warp because of heat.

Heat is cause by friction.(in brakes)

 

Your Caliper is bad. Either the sliders are froze, or the piston is not retracting completely when you let off the brake, OR.... You had stated in prior posts how you have been calibrating your rear brakes with the parking brake... Are you sure that has completely disengaged?

[tdaye]

for sure, I can be outside the car with the wheel off watching the brakes work with someone pumping them, when they release the pedal the brakes release fully and I can spin the rotor, and the sliders are working fine, I've had the caliper off 3 times to change the rotor and checked it all out. Also seeing as ALL the brake parts are less then 2 months old i'm going to guess that I must be buying cheap rotors or something, is there an upgrade to the stock rotors without changing the calipers? My garage says they are made of cheap quality steel but can't tell me why it's only the one side that keeps warping.

[Intlcutlass]

Nope... Only new/used calipers from 94+

 

 

 

It's worth the effort.

 

http://www.tpsgarage.com/TGP/brakes/rear_brake_upgrade.htm

[CPSMonteZ34]

You can also do the good ol' eyeball test by running the car through a nice stretch of road with very routine braking to put the system through its paces. Drive along a couple of miles with as little braking as possible and coast safely to a moment when you can pull over and stop (again, using as little braking as possible). If there is rubbing, chances are the affected rotors will have excessive heat against an outstreched hand to the wheel. In your case, with aluminum wheels, you could probably just touch those to find out how much heat is there. If you can't feel that heat, a squirt of a bit of water will tell you. If it instantly boils and steams off, those rotors have some rubbing.

 

All-in-all, the majority of the time these rotors warp is simply because the rotors aren't that great to begin with. They can only tolerate mild use, whereas heavier braking will kill them in no time. Been there, done that. BTW, in my case, the calipers weren't that bad when my rotors went. If your calipers are that new, I wouldn't focus too much blame on them.

[tdaye]

Intlcutlass i'm sure it is, but i just spent $100 per caliper, $20x5 on rear rotors, new rear pads and all my park brake cables wich was over $170, so I'm not willing to take them off yet hahaha and I'm sure it's not sticking at all, i've had the wheel off a few times to check, the rotors spin freely when the brake is not pushed.

[tdaye]

took the brakes and rotor off this morning (Sat) and changed the rotor with one that i know was true, it showed to be warped too! so i guess it turns out it's not the rotor at all. I lowered the car to about 1mm above the ground and spun the wheel and could hear and see that the tire looked slightly warped as well, so I guess that axle is so slightly bent and it's not the rotor...after having it changed a total of 3 times...shitty my garage didn't see it