Gonna tackle my front brakes

96 Vortec · October 17, 2001

I have posted about my problem before. My front brakes act as though the rotors are warped. Here is the odd part, they only do it sometimes. Sometimes it brakes perfectly normal, and others the whole front end bounces up and down.

Since moving to KC I have replaced the front pads and had the rotors turned twice in 3 years. I seem to wear through pads rather quickly. Especially since I have only put 50,000 miles on my truck in those three years.

What do I need to be looking for? Friday I plan to pull the tires off and check everything, again. I'm thinking about having the rotors turned. Of course if they are very close to the limit, they will be replaced. Both times they have been turned the mechanic said he thought it was the first time they had ever been turned and they didn't shave very much off of them.

When replacing the pads, what is the correct way to press the caliper piston back in? I'm wondering if I did something wrong before and screwed up the ABS.

Thanks for the help. Anymore, I just want to figure out what the hell is wrong and get it fixed. :yingyang:

76BBSub · October 18, 2001

I had a '96 GMC that had a similar problem. The rotors warped EXTREMELY quickly, even after I turned them. They looked like they were heat damaged when I took them in the first time. I also had the dealer work on them once before the warranty ran out. Both front wheel bearings went bad, one less than 20K miles, one a little more. I changed the bearings and packed them with Mobil 1 synthetic grease. Replaced the pads with Performance Friction carbon-metallic brake pads, which improved the stopping distance noticably, and seemed to help the warpage problem. I traded the truck in before I could really test the longevity of the new setup, but in the 12K miles or so after turning the rotors, replacing both wheel bearings, and adding the new pads it seemed to be better. I also wore through the original pads very quickly, and I never towed or carried much of a load.

You may want to think about replacing the rotors, I think there was a material problem that year based on what happened with my truck. I definitely recommend changing the pads, I have had great luck with Performance Friction pads. I have the Z-rated pads on my '74 Corvette, stops straight, true, and fast.

As for the ABS part, I don't know about that. I never did figure out how to bleed brakes with ABS. The sensor seemed to kick in even with the vehicle turned off, maybe disconnect the battery? I'm sure someone here can help with that.