Damn rotors!

[Subaru_Nation555]

For the past two months I have been living with a vibration when braking in both the steering wheel and the brake pedal. I went to the mechanic and got new front rotors. Problem solved...for about 2 weeks. Then the problem came back-slowely at first but now the vibration is worse then before. Its much more pronounced at highway speeds but still evident at lower ones. I had two shops check out the tie-rods and the ball joints to make sure those are not a problem as well. So what's the deal? I don't drive like a maniac, there is no reason why this should keep happening. Can unevenly worn pads cause this problem? I want to do a WRX brake conversion but I need new tires more then I need new brakes. Any ideas? Thanks.

[vrg3]

Is it possible that your calipers are sticking and so overheating the rotors?

[mikec]

Are you braking heavily and then keeping the brakes applied once you've come to a stop? You might be able to see if you've got some pad imprints on the rotors without taking the wheel off.

[Subaru_Nation555]

Is it possible that your calipers are sticking and so overheating the rotors?

That happened about 10,000 miles ago and as a result the front left caliper was replaced. Its possible that one of the calipers is doing that again. If that were the case would I smell the brakes overheating? Would the car pull to one side if only one caliper was sticking? If I can find a cheap set of WRX brakes I'll just say good-bye to the god awful SS brakes for good-they have been nothing but trouble. Anyways is there a way to check about a sticking caliper-perhaps disassembling it and cleaning? Thanks Vikash.

Are you braking heavily and then keeping the brakes applied once you've come to a stop? You might be able to see if you've got some pad imprints on the rotors without taking the wheel off.

Didn't notice that happening but I don't brake like that too often. I'll keep an eye out for that though. Thanks.

[vrg3]

The simplest check that I do for sticking calipers is to just drive around without really using the brakes, then pull over and check to see how hot the wheels are. If a wheel is hotter than it should be it could mean the caliper is sticking.

A better check: if you undo the lock pin of the caliper, you should be able to slide it inboard and outboard without too much effort.

Mike's thought about your braking habits is a good one too... I usually try to coast the last few meters when I come to a stop, and if I'm stopped for more than a short time I creep forwards a little to change the position of the rotors.

[mikec]

Same here Vikash.

Thats a good idea for checking to see if you have a sticking caliper. I'd never thought of doing that.

Sacha, when's the last time anything was done with the calipers? Have the sliders been lubed in the last little while?

[Legacy777]

10 bucks says it's your pads. Did you bed them in properly after the rotors were replaced?

What type of driving do you do? What type of pads are these?

[Subaru_Nation555]

10 bucks says it's your pads. Did you bed them in properly after the rotors were replaced?

What type of driving do you do? What type of pads are these?

My driving is a mixture of very casual and the occasional hard trip around town but nothign too crazy. The pads are EBC Greenstuff which suck. I tried to bed them in properly (several 50ish-5mph stops?) but maybe not.

[vrg3]

After the bedding in process, did you give them enough time to cool off while rolling?