Brakes Pulsating After Cutting Rotors

[moto377]

My brakes have been pulsating for awhile on my 2000 4Runner Limited. I pulled the rotors off this morning and took them to NAPA and had them cut. I put the brakes back together and took the car for a test drive AND THE BRAKES ARE STILL PULSATING!?!?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Andrew_I]

Moto i believe you need new rotors because once rotors become heated to a certain point they lose some of the hardening properties and may no longer withstand the pressure that the calipers apply. I developed a shimmy a while ago as well but decided to pick up new rotors at my local auto parts store and they were super easy to remove/install.

 

[Tomsriv]

Sounds like they didn't remove enough material. It could also be your rear brakes. I replaced everything on the rear brakes and it is a lot better on my 2000 4runner sport. I replaced the front rotors with Brembos and hawk pads and they warped again after 3 months. I am ordering these tonight http://www.toyotacatalog.net/M1WebG...UniqueID=F969030D-1534-41B6-BC1A-1E2333E494A7

These are great SUVs but they have a design flaw in the under sized/under cooled brakes.

 

[JustAnotherT4R]

i would say just do the Tundra brake upgrade! its a great mod. prolly the best mod i did! well worth the bucks. no more warp rotor and stopping is very good. if i got rear ended twice, it tell you how much of braking power it does on a 4runner.

mine was under $200 for caliper & cross drill/slotted rotor with pads. i did the install myself so that saved me a bunch of $$$.

just gotta wait for them deals on craigslist and ebay.

 

[moto377]

I think they took off enough material since the entire rotor surfaces (both sides) where cleanly cut. Assuming the rotor was held square in the lathe, it should be good.

A friend of mine who is a mechanic at a Toyota, GM, etc dealer (he works on the GM side) has a dial indicator kit that mounts on the studs and used to check rotor flatness. If they are out a couple thousands, you can begin to feel pulsating. He is bringing it home this Tuesday for me to use. One possibility is that the surface that the rotor mounts to is dirty, a little rust, etc and causing the problem. I'll let you guys know how the dial indicator tool works.

I didn't think about the rear brakes. I might pull the drums and get those checked while I'm at it.

What Tunda kit did you go with (last post)...?

Thanks!

 

[Tomsriv]

I didn't think about the rear brakes. I might pull the drums and get those checked while I'm at it.

I forgot to mention, the easy way to check if it is the rear brakes is to pull on the e-brake handle (with the button held down of course) while you are driving. This activates only the rear brakes.

 

[unlimited96]

did u install new pads ?

if not than the old pads are warn to the old rotors.
you need to replace the pads and cut the rotors again.

if you answered yes to the first question then take it to a shop who can turn the rotors on the car.

on-car lathes are much more precise than standard brake lathes.
we never have comebacks using the on-car lathe.

 

[JustAnotherT4R]

i went with a 2006 sequoia/tundra 231mm calipers. had to cut the dust plate 1/4 inch each side. bolts right on. bleeding my brakes was the hard part of this mod. my 16" wheels did fit with 1" wheelspacer up front.

 

[azacher]

Brand new pads and rotors are super cheap, why didn't you just replace 'em when you noticed them pulsating in the first place?? You're gonna have to sooner or later, and it seems like a big PIA to have to borrow dial indicators, keep pulling 'em off and on, yada-yada-yada. Plus having rotors turned is risky and more of ten than not doesn't turn out right anyways...

 

[Sams984Runner]

You need to replace your Brakes whenever you machine/cut your rotors. Otherwise, you;ll have the same vibration.

I did that once in my old Maxima and i had to change the brake pads as well. I need to do the same for my 98 Runner, coz my rotors are in bad shape and the whole truck vibrates vigorously while stopping. Good luck

 

[Logans994runner]

Big issue is when putting your wheels back on make sure you don't over tighten your wheels with a Air wrench do it by hand and tighten to 75fpt

And make sure you use a star pattern when locking down. Over tighten wheels will cause warping of rotors

 

[gizmopt2002]

I usually recommend against cutting rotors. Why? Not worth it, and it probably means you need better brakes. Because of frequent highway driving (traffic comes out nowhere here) I want to replace all the rotors and pads. Unfortunately I share this car with my mom (hey better than no car ) And my dad thinks it was better to cut and get new pads, wrong my friend, warping will never go away forever. So $300 wasted and they are just as bad as before, but hey I offered to do a complete brake job if he would just pay for at least a quarter of it, but NOO he wants OEM. I chose Frozen rotors and Hawk pads, and alot of member are very satisfied with them. Def alot in the beginning, but pays itself off in the long run.

 

[Tomsriv]

I usually recommend against cutting rotors. Why? Not worth it, and it probably means you need better brakes. Because of frequent highway driving (traffic comes out nowhere here) I want to replace all the rotors and pads. Unfortunately I share this car with my mom (hey better than no car ) And my dad thinks it was better to cut and get new pads, wrong my friend, warping will never go away forever. So $300 wasted and they are just as bad as before, but hey I offered to do a complete brake job if he would just pay for at least a quarter of it, but NOO he wants OEM. I chose Frozen rotors and Hawk pads, and alot of member are very satisfied with them. Def alot in the beginning, but pays itself off in the long run.

In the old days the rotors had a lot more metal on them and they could be cut several times. Cars built in the last 20 years don't do well with rotor turning. The reason they use thinner rotors is simply weight reduction to improve mileage.