Rickoo

2007 Tahoe LTZ. 90,000+ miles. On my third set of rotors. Had dealer do brake pads and rotors all around at maybe 50k or so. At around 70k rotor(s) warped and I couldn't stand the pulsing when braking. Not sure whether it was front or rear. Didn't really matter to me. Was convinced the dealer used crappy parts.

I changed all four rotors and pads again. Myself this time.

Now, around 90k+ have warping (pulsing) again. Calipers seem fine, they let the wheels spin freely when brakes are not applied. Guide pins move freely. I'm wondering why this happened so early. I used upper line of Raybestos rotors last time.

Now I want to do them again. Only want to use rotors that won't warp too soon. (Anyone know why this is happening?)

Looking for a recommendation on good quality rotors that won't warp so easily? Anyone else have this issue?

kevinkpk

Only Thing I can add, is don't use the same brand you have been, I have 185K on the original set, albeit mainly hiway

mulmur1

First off, I would suggest that you stop racing the Corvettes and ZL1 Camaros. Your Tahoe just wasn't made to be a performance vehicle. I am sure that someone here can hook you up with something that will perform better on the track.

You are definitely on the low end of the lifespan on brake rotors. I have used both the AC delco and Raybestos high end rotors and had good results. My biggest issue over the years has been rust,. It may be worthwhile stepping up the rotors a bit and getting something that can handle more heat than the standard rotors. The warping is due to excess heat.

Please take a look at Summitracing. They have some rotors that may be better suited to handle the heat. You may want to call them and discuss your problem.

2007 CHEVROLET TAHOE Disc Brakes - SummitRacing.com

EBC makes rotors that may suit you.
2007 CHEVROLET TAHOE EBC 3GD Series Sport Rotors GD7372 - SummitRacing.com

Hopefully this time, you will get some additional life out of the rotors.

Rickoo

Well, not much into racing the Tahoe. I'm pretty easy on it as a matter of fact. Older driver who is pretty conservative.

Really wondering why this is going on. Maybe a caliper IS sticking somehow. Doesn't seem like it. Again, wheels spin freely without the brakes applied. Brake pads are wearing properly. Nice and even and still have plenty of surface left.

$288 a pair? whew... could go through three sets of Raybestos for that.

73shark

Might replace the brake line hoses as they can have the inner wall collapse and act as a check valve keeping the pad on the rotor.

Also there was a lot of opinions that the early rotors came from China and weren't durable.

bandit_601948

get a good set of cast iron rotors ! i always had good luck with auto zone rotors ! heat is a big factor on brake rotors ! if your going to change the pads, which you should, then clean the slides where the calipers bolt to and put a light coat of high temperature grease on them so the calipers can slide back and forth easy !

SWHouston

That is a good possibility. Also, there may be something in the MCyl or ALock System which is slowing the return of the Fluid too/as well.

You might get it up on a Rack, crank it up, and have someone apply the brakes and then see if the wheels turn easily after releasing the petal. Keep in mind that there is some level of drag at first because there's no return spring/method. But they should release quickly after a slight turn. I know you said you've tried this already, but you might try applying varying petal pressures to see if there's any change here. ie: hard, medium, light, with a check/rotate after each, to see if there's some little nitch which hangs things up.

You might also consider where (environment) you're driving your Hoe, Any real sandy, high dust type conditions, will cause additional wear. This is a weak point though, you're going through Rotors at almost an unexplainable rate.

PS, and you're probably not going to like this, but...
You're not one of those guys, who drives with one foot on the throttle, and the other on the Brake Petal...ummm ?
I really don't like to ask questions like this to someone so new on the Forum. I don't want to cause hard feelings, but I guess it's me this time.

Rickoo

lol....no problem. But no, I'm not one that rides the brake. One foot driver for me.

One thing that just dawned on me, I had a wheel bearing go bad and replaced it a few months ago. When I did this, I also noticed the left front stabilizer bolt was broken. Replaced both sides at the time I did the left front wheel bearing.

Could a bad wheel bearing or stabilizer bolt/bushing maybe cause a rotor to warp? Wondering if the left front rotor is the warped one. Any way to easily tell which rotor is the warped one? Maybe heat from the bad bearing?

mulmur1

If you have a dial indicator, here is a video on checking brake rotor runout. If you don't have a dial indicator, you can find one at Harbour freight or one of the auto parts stores in your area.


Your wheel bearing problem definitely would not have helped your brake problem. I had a very bad bearing / hub on a 2500 and the rotor was fine.

Shark's comments about new flex lines is a good one. Your truck is old enough that the flex lines are swelling and not allowing enough fluid to pass. Unfortunately, depending upon where you live in the country, when you start replacing flex lines, you may have to also replace the steel lines. Often the hard lines are rusting out quite early in the areas where road salt is used.

Hopefully your next set of rotors will last a lot longer.

Rickoo

Awesome info. Thanks. Will definitely check run-out on the rotors and see which one is warped. What is the max tolerance I should call good?

Video showed about a thousandth. Is that the max I should see?

Hoping I don't have to screw around with brake lines. Not sure I understand how brake line swelling or corrosion could cause brake pulsing?