I am possibly going to replace a warped rotor on my 84 f250 4x4. the brake calipers and pads are about 2500 miles old. 2 questions here... 1: should the pads be replaced, too? 2: should the rotor on the other side be replaced as well, including pads, or leave it as the " if it works don't mess with it"? there are no vibrations, pulling, juddering, or any uncomfortable road sensations when driving or braking. when up on jack, spinning the wheel, it drags about an inch then spins freely. so, still checking out this situation and seeking advice.

 

You can just replace one side. And if the pads look good you can re-use them.

It's a pretty good job on the 4x4. All the 4x4 hub stuff needs to come out, pull the rotor(after you take the caliper off and hang it with a piece of wire) and then you have to drive the studs out with a piece of brass or something, and then the hub will come off the rotor.

 

Maybe it just needs to be turned?

 

thanks, franklin. good to know I can save a little money. the rotor replacement is better than a turning, since there isn't that big a difference in cost. and being very far from the nearest machine shop.... as for the studs...bin der dun dat. this possibly warped rotor was new and installed by us. here is one more question... the first 50 miles on the new rotor and brakes, we were hauling our horse trailer down a long grade and did smell hot brakes. so I will wait to blame the Chinese until getting a real good look at this rotor.

 

I'll bet it warped when you pulled down the studs. You did torque them all to the same value...correct? Easiest way to warp a rotor like ours is to just whail on he impact when you drive he studs through the hub. Same with a push on rotor on a fwd car. Torque one but much over factory torque and boom. Instant warped rotor.

 

anything is possible at this point. didn't whack the studs hard, they went in nice with the small mallet and greased splines. probably eliminate guesswork and replace this rotor just to be safe. haven't had it apart yet because of weather, so will know more in a bit.

 

I would tend to blame the Chinese. I have gone round and round with another vehicle I have. I replaced the rotor several times and it kept warping. Finally last time after it warped, I did get it turned. It has lasted awhile now, only recently just having a slight warp to it.

If I wasn't so cheap I could probably spend twice the money and get a quality rotor that would not warp so bad. If you run into the same problem, you might do the same as I did and next time get it turned instead of getting another one. Or go ahead and buy the best quality rotor you can find.

 

you know, this has been fairly recently that we have had such trouble with quality control, and being totally thrilled to even see " made in USA" on a label. we are on our third starter. this rotor, which, I guess, is only slightly warped, for whatever reason, was the $40.00 kind. cheap? budget constraints? yeh. still going for another 40 buck one even though it is such a pita to change these things out. so will check and / or replace bearings, too. this truck is our only vehicle and horse hauler, so safety and maintenance are priorities. thank you for your feedback and suggestions.all very helpful.

 

Safety and maintenance are priorities, so you're again using $40 Chinese-made rotors that don't last?

 

I've recently had problems on another vehicle as well. Rotors kept warping so I went to a high-dollar US-made lifetime-warranted rotor. It warped but lasted three times as long. Hopefully they'll honor the warranty, although I don't yet know how much warp they have as they are pretty smooth when driving around town. The warp shows up when they get warm after driving for 30 minutes or so.

And, while I do agree that rotors can be easily warped by over-tightening, these have always been tightened to ~40 ft-lbs and then to spec (65) using a torque wrench. So I do think we are seeing poor quality control.

 

well, I would love to get the $80 dollar kind....anybody got 40 to throw in on it? yeh...i hate it too. it IS illogical.... but.... the truck does have 4 brand new tires, so that's a start.

 

I had a theory that after some heat cycles, the rotor would find the place it wanted to be and stay there. So far I think my theory is correct. After it got hot and warped, it did seem to settle into that position. It's like the factory should go ahead and heat the rotor a couple of times before they do the final machining.

 

Or, maybe machine them while warm. These Bosch rotors haven't gotten any worse after the initial warping, but when they get warm they are obviously not true. And, once warped they tend to hit the pads, which keeps them warm and warped.

 

Not saying this caused the issue, but brakes need a little bit of "break-in" to seat pads and rotors together?