Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Bronson
With respect to brakes, rotors really don't warp. Over time, pad material imbeds itself in the face of the rotor. This material then create a grabbing point on the rotor by the pads. This grabbing creates a pulsating sensation often times referred to as a warped rotor.
There are basically three options here:
1) Bed the brakes. Being soft of the brakes all the time compounds this problem. Occasionally (once every three months or so), the brakes need to worked hard 3 to 5 nearly successive times to burn off that pad material on the rotor. In my cars and the 4Runner, I do 3-5 nearly successive 45 to 5mph panic braking, never fully stopping, and giving adequate time to cool the brakes after doing the panic braking. I typically do this in a vacant area.
2) Machine the rotor. If the pad material is really imbeded or is widespread, then you may need to machine the rotor to remove the material.
3) Replace the rotor and pads.
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I agree. Brake pads are designed to transfer the pad material onto the rotor and back onto the pad, again and again. It is not a simple pad slowly wearing over time phenomena. The reason you say the rotor warping comes and goes is exactly because pad material has stuck to one area more than another and then later it gets cleaned away. The worst thing for rotors is to have the hot pads squeeze against them at a stoplight as this will leave an imprint of pad material in one spot. Try to slowly roll a bit at every stop to avoid that uneven transfer.
