Rotors Keep Warping

Tiny
BRWILLI1
  • MEMBER
  • HONDA ACCORD
I have a '99 Honda Accord EX sedan 4-cylinder v-tec with 177k miles on it. At 145k miles my rotors warped (shaky steering wheel while braking), so I replaced them (first time they had been replaced) and the brake pads. The problem left for about three months before returning. I then replaced the rotors again, and again the problem went away for about three months before returning. At this point I replaced the master cylinder, front rotors, and pads. The problem again went away for about three months and now is back. The front wheels seem to be hotter than usual after a short trip while the rear wheels seem to be cooler than usual. My neighbor said all of the braking is probably coming from the front wheels (little or none from the back wheels) and causing the front rotors to overheat/warp. Is this possible? How could I test/fix this? When I replaced the pads and rotors, the calipers are very smooth and I lube up the sliders. Could this be an ABS issue? Any ideas?
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 AT 10:08 AM

4 Replies

Tiny
BRUCE HUNT
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,754 POSTS
Your problems afflict a number of vehicles. About 75% of all braking is done by the front wheels. Take a look at the systems and you will note the increased size in the front versus the rear disc system. I don't believe this is a ABS issue. Consider the following to help:

How you drive is a factor. The faster and more you demand from the brakes, the hotter they become. So maybe an examination of our driving habits could help.

There is a spray treatment that can be applied to the brakes caliper to assist with heat build up.

Finally, I would look at the quality of the pads that are being used. Consider stepping up to ceramic.
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Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 AT 11:34 AM
Tiny
LOSTINMARS
  • MECHANIC
  • 222 POSTS
Are you torquing the lug nuts to the proper spec? If you over tighten them the rotors will warp pretty darn fast.
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Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 AT 5:52 PM
Tiny
BRWILLI1
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
This last set of brake pads I put on was ceramic and I always torque the lugs to spec. I may look into the coating you mentioned. I understand driving habits have something to do with it, but I drove 145k before they warped the first time. It seems like my driving habits may not be too bad.
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Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 AT 9:47 AM
Tiny
BRWILLI1
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
If the braking was 100% front - 0% back (instead of 75-25), would that cause this problem? Any ideas on how to determine if the back brakes are doing anything?
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Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 AT 9:51 AM

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