Need opinions! Second warped rotor.

[jay579]

Here's my story.

I'll try to make this short. In early December went off the highway at about 50mph. Their was moderate body damage(hit a few small highway saplings) majoritively in the rear. The frame is fine. They replaced a wheel bearing and a strut to the driver rear, where the damage was.

Since I got the car back, I have felt a slight shake in the steering wheel at all times, speeds, brakes on and brakes off. The road surface makes only a minor difference. The shake is there 95-100% of the time. I had the wheel balance looked at and everyone is perfect; I saw every wheel on the balancer with my own eyes.

Also, in the last month and a half I have warped a front rotor twice. Let me reassure you, I am not hard on the brakes. Really, I'm not hard on the brakes, I don't over tighten lugs, nothing. I have never warped a rotor in my life, never-the-less twice in two months. I feel that something must be happening in suspension to cause this.

Everything is stock brakes and suspension wise. I am trying to connect the dots. Is the shake/vibration and warped rotor a related matter? Any ideas anyone?

Also, I owned the car 8 months before the accident, no problems, none.

Thanks 247.

 

[tripledigits]

A warped rotor should cause a vibration only under braking. Sounds like you've got a bent wheel or bad tire, assuming the balance is OK.

 

[jay579]

I do get a vibration/wobble under braking which goes away when I let off the brakes. But this is separate from the always there steering wheel vibration on or off brakes.

I don't have a bent wheel or a bad tire.

 

[ericrapp]

Is it in alignment. i would assume that one was done already.

 

[Rotus]

could be that you bent the caliper carrier and that is putting pressure on the pad whether you have your foot on the brake or not. I'm sure this heats up the rotors beyond their normal op temp, so they warp.

 

[jay579]

Is it in alignment. i would assume that one was done already.

Yup, your correct. An alignment was done an the car tracks straight.

 

[jay579]

could be that you bent the caliper carrier and that is putting pressure on the pad whether you have your foot on the brake or not. I'm sure this heats up the rotors beyond their normal op temp, so they warp.

Good thought, I like where your going with this. Do you think this could cause a vibration when I'm off the brakes?

 

[whitey4311]

Well since you went off the highway I believe you when you swear you are easy on your brakes. As a matter of fact you might want to start using them, lol.

My speed3 had the front rotors turned at 11k miles for a slight vibration with light braking only at 70-80 mph. Now I have almost 20k and I am starting to feel it again.

I seriously am very easy on the brakes and they still look to have 3/4 life on them at nearly 20k miles. Not sure why these rotors are so prone to this but I wont keep turning them or they will be gone.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

That shake could be your warped rotors contacting the pads a lot. Maybe your caliper is not retracting the pistons enough or anymore for that matter.

CHeck both inner and outer pads on all 4 wheels.

Check for bent wheels like others have said.

Check that your caliper brackets are straight, all 4 of them.

 

[Boother]

How do you know your rim is not bent? A rim can be way bent out of round and still balance on a tire balancer fine.

Check your steering rack and tie-rods too. If either are damaged, it can create vibrations too.

Vibration without the brakes applied indicates that this is not a brake issue.

 

[Mid_Life_Crisis]

You went off the road at 50mph. You need to crawl over every part in your suspension checking for any damage, no matter how small. Bent parts, bad bushings, etc. The rotor problem more than likely is a symptom, not a cause.

 

[Rotus]

Good thought, I like where your going with this. Do you think this could cause a vibration when I'm off the brakes?

I would think so. The calipers have some float built into them, but they may be out of spec now. Take some measurements off both carriers, e.g. distance from point a to b, x to y, etc and compare side to side.

 

[jay579]

Well since you went off the highway I believe you when you swear you are easy on your brakes. As a matter of fact you might want to start using them, lol.

My speed3 had the front rotors turned at 11k miles for a slight vibration with light braking only at 70-80 mph. Now I have almost 20k and I am starting to feel it again.

I seriously am very easy on the brakes and they still look to have 3/4 life on them at nearly 20k miles. Not sure why these rotors are so prone to this but I wont keep turning them or they will be gone.

LOL! Yeah, I know I should use my brakes. I was running the stock summers in december and knew I was not being smart. So, I ordered a winter wheel/tire setup from tire rack. The next day I went off the road. I pushed it a little too far. Live and learn.

 

[happy and angry]

This October when people are talking about needing winters or not, I am pointing to this thread when I tell people to buy the proper rubber.

 

[astraelraen]

How do you know your rim is not bent? A rim can be way bent out of round and still balance on a tire balancer fine.

Check your steering rack and tie-rods too. If either are damaged, it can create vibrations too.

Vibration without the brakes applied indicates that this is not a brake issue.

I agree with this. I bent one of my rims and you couldn't see it on the balancer. I had it replaced and the vibrations stopped. You could even roll the wheel on the ground and it wouldn't wobble or anything. If you looked at the area that impacted the curb you could see the curb rash and the edge of the lip was slightly pushed in, but it wasn't very much.

It doesn't take much to make a wheel vibrate.

 

[alwayzamd]

I realize this thread is a month old, but I didn't see a resolution.

Have your wheels/tires balanced on a Road Force balancer. They apply road force and can detect bent wheels. My guess is a bent rim for the vibes.

As far as rotor warp goes, I would pay money to someone who can show me they warped a rotor under normal conditions. If you have vibrations upon braking, it's due to excess pad material not being evenly distributed on the rotor.

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

 

[Super Unique]

No one has stated if they checked the rear spindle to see if that got bent or damaged? and the wheel that was on the corner of impact might not be the only one that got bent out of shape somewhat. Get a runout gauge and check all 4 tires for lateral runout @ the outer edge of the wheels. this will tell you which corner of the car has the problem, then work it out by checking tire/wheel/bearing and/or spindle. This problem can be found, it just takes more than your average knuckle scraper.

 

[whitey4311]

I realize this thread is a month old, but I didn't see a resolution.

Have your wheels/tires balanced on a Road Force balancer. They apply road force and can detect bent wheels. My guess is a bent rim for the vibes.

As far as rotor warp goes, I would pay money to someone who can show me they warped a rotor under normal conditions. If you have vibrations upon braking, it's due to excess pad material not being evenly distributed on the rotor.

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

So I read the article but how do you get rid of the excess pad on the rotor with out turning the rotors?

Mine is shaking a tinny bit again at 75-80 mph with light braking. I am not going to keep resurfacing the rotors for this but it is annoying. I really am not wanting to take the rotors off and sand them either. Perhaps I will just deal with it and wait until I need brakes and have them resurfaced.