jbaker Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Help, I think I did something wrong - How do I fix improperly burned in pads? The new Earl's ss lines are on as are the Hawk HPS pads. This noob had quite a time with a few things, but I'll save that for another thread. *shout out - thanks, fast4popper for the help getting that stuck rotor off. And, btw, getting rid of that stuck rear parking brake has been the best performance mod yet (ok, maybe the only one I have done...) Thus far - even without a rotor upgrade the lines and pads are a worthy investment for anyone in need of replacements. Here's my question... After the install I picked up the Hawk box and read the recommendation for bedding the brakes. I'm doing this from memory, but I recall something like 6-10 moderate brake pressure stops from 30-35 MPH and half that number of agreesive brake pressure stops from 40-45 MPH. I did this but now have what feels similar to a warped rotor, and what I understand to be a spot on the rotor that received more transfer of pad material than the rest of the rotor. Is this going to cause excessive heat buildup at that part of the rotor and cause warping in the long run? Is there a fix? jbaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocoop Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Did you make sure you put the pads on the correct sides of the rotors? Was it hard to slide the caliper back on once you put the pads on the rotor? If you put the pads in the wrong place then they might have been too tight and overheated the rotors and warped them as soon as you started driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badkarma Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 usually without bedding you will just cause the pads to glaze over. Also the bedding process helps to cure the compounds in the pads. If you break them in to fast you can cause the pads to crack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelleyperformance Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 thats all very correct. but what i think happened is you didnt allow adiquit cooling time between stops. this can severely heat up your brakes (esp stockers) and warp them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 thats all very correct. but what i think happened is you didnt allow adiquit cooling time between stops. this can severely heat up your brakes (esp stockers) and warp them. I think they want 3-4 minutes between stops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelleyperformance Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 ya it usually says "with sufficent cooling time in between stops". for the moderate stops, id go with 1 min maybe 2. for the heavy stops, drive the car for a few minutes between each one... rotors can heat up REAL fast, sometimes they get so hot they warp the caliper (my case lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaker Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) First, thank you for taking the time to comment and help out. I'm not sure where to go from here. There's no cracking in any of the rotors. As for 'enough' cooling down time...I'm not sure. I did follow the directions, but clearly there is something that isn't correct, so I won't be too confident that I bedded them in correctly. In short, after reading and talking to a few folks I do believe there is uneven transfer of the initial pad material on at least one of the rotors. But I have been unable to identify what the possible solutions are. Do I need to have all of the rotors turned again? Also, I'm pretty confident I had the rotors all clean when they were installed, but I guess there's always a chance a drop of brake fluid came in contact with them when I was bleeding the lines. Obviously I can't be too sure as something isn't right. I guess this would mean, rather than an excess of pad material buildup, maybe there is a place on the rotor where no pad material is sticking? What do you guys suggest? Take it somewhere? Edited November 7, 2007 by jbaker (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 check each pad to make sure they are worn evenly and that there are no burrs or cracks.....It may be best to do a light cut on the rotors to start fresh with a clean surface.......make sure you bed the pads properly this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaker Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 check each pad to make sure they are worn evenly and that there are no burrs or cracks.....It may be best to do a light cut on the rotors to start fresh with a clean surface.......make sure you bed the pads properly this time Good suggestion...I think I will proceed down this path. I did't replace the front rotors, so maybe I should just buy new ones instead of dropping cash on the old ones. Then I can have the rears (which I did replace w/ new ones) turned if the new fronts don't take care of the problem. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireman31 Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Good suggestion...I think I will proceed down this path. I did't replace the front rotors, so maybe I should just buy new ones instead of dropping cash on the old ones. Then I can have the rears (which I did replace w/ new ones) turned if the new fronts don't take care of the problem. Thanks! Have the fronts ever been cut before? If not I would cut them as long as they don't have any signs of rotor rot. If they have been cut before or have signs of rot, I would replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaker Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Have the fronts ever been cut before? If not I would cut them as long as they don't have any signs of rotor rot. If they have been cut before or have signs of rot, I would replace them. Yeah, I had the fronts cut and was already forced to replaced the rears. So I'm likely going to do what I should have done to start with ...and replace the fronts. This was supposed to be one of those 'start and finish last Saturday' kind of things that has lasted way too long. To recap...let's start with the stuck parking brake on the driver side rear - that quickly explained the noise I was hearing, but took a 7 ton puller to get it off. Then it took me nearly two quarts of new fluid to realize that the rear bleeder valves weren't sealing if I used a pump to suck fluid through. I had no clue where all of that air was coming from! Turns out once I bled them the old fashioned way I was done in 30 minutes. So anyone that uses a vacuum pump to bleed brakes - make sure you know that the threads around the (stock) bleeder valve are sealing well, or you may have fully bled the brake lines but are getting air in the line from the bleeder valve itself. Starting to think I should have just taken it to a shop to start with! Thanks again for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbaker Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 (edited) Have the fronts ever been cut before? If not I would cut them as long as they don't have any signs of rotor rot. If they have been cut before or have signs of rot, I would replace them. Sorry, removed due to double reply / post. Edited November 7, 2007 by jbaker (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PladdPezzPunk Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 brake basics........... bleeder screw threads NEVER seal. it's the bottom of the bleeder, bottoming out in the flair that creates the seal, always start new pads with a fresh rotor surface. if you resurface the rotors, scuff the pad surface with some 80 grit sand paper so they seat flat again. Instead of "their" break in procedure, try about 10 60-40 stops. (accelerate to 60, decellerate to 40) this will allow the rotors to cool quicker due to the wind from driving going through the vents. Just count to 10 slooooooooooooooly between brake applications and slowly increase pressure to heat the rotor and pad together. Generally if the rotor warps during this proceedure, the rotors are either junk (due to rust on the vent fins and in-ability to dissapate heat, or the rotors are a junk casting (either cheap or inconsistent alloy) Hawk pads are difficult to seat "Properly". They really don't do crap for breaking untill they get hot. (also they should make some noise, it's the nature of the pad. If they are quiet, chances are they are not seated correctly) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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