rotor replacement/vibration - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

bill23435 · 06-29-2005, 06:57 AM

Help,

I am planning on replacing my front rotors and never had done this before. I have a 1994 Camry 4cy with 155,000 miles. I noticed some vibration in the left front when breaking hard and odly it rained today and the vibration is gone. Anyway I pulled the tire off last week and the Pads have plenty of life left they were replaced about two years ago and that was the first brak job done on the car with the rotors being turned. I also had the wheel bearings on that side replaced about the same time.

My question is is it normal procedure to replace the pads while replacing the rotors even if they look good? When I brake along with slight vibration there is almost like a grinding noise but I know nothing is grinding the vibration is most noticable though. I figured rotors were cheap and a good place to start for the fix. Any help insite or instructions on how to replace the rotors will be greatly appreciated.

***Knailgun*** · 06-29-2005, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill23435

Help,

I am planning on replacing my front rotors and never had done this before. I have a 1994 Camry 4cy with 155,000 miles. I noticed some vibration in the left front when breaking hard and odly it rained today and the vibration is gone. Anyway I pulled the tire off last week and the Pads have plenty of life left they were replaced about two years ago and that was the first brak job done on the car with the rotors being turned. I also had the wheel bearings on that side replaced about the same time.

My question is is it normal procedure to replace the pads while replacing the rotors even if they look good? When I brake along with slight vibration there is almost like a grinding noise but I know nothing is grinding the vibration is most noticable though. I figured rotors were cheap and a good place to start for the fix. Any help insite or instructions on how to replace the rotors will be greatly appreciated.

replace pads AND rotors when you do it...sounds like you may have an inner pad on it's way out...rotors aren't real cheap, but not to bad...set aside about $125 for everything

bill23435 · 06-29-2005, 08:21 AM

OK thanks I have not looked at inner pad but outer looks new. Rear brake shoes are the originals so I probably need to look at them with 155000 miles on them also or maybe just leave well enough alone

Mike Gerber · 06-29-2005, 03:10 PM

You may be able to cut the rotors again. Take them off and take them to a shop that does machining of rotors. They will put a special micrometer on them to see if there is enough meat (thickness) left to cut them again. If you can cut them again and there is enough pad thickness left on all the old pads, then just sand the pads lightly and replace them in the same positions they were in before with respect to which wheel and which side (inboard or outboard side) they were on. This will allow the pads to seat better to the new rotor surface.

Mike

bill23435 · 07-28-2005, 11:45 AM

I replaced my front rotors and pads and power bleed the break system on my 1995 5 speed camry. I still get what appears to be vibration/noise from the left front. I also lifted the front end and grabbed a hold of the tire and the bearing play seems to be good. The car has 156600 miles on it and the cv axles have been replaced along with the struts about 20000 miles ago. One thing I noticed was that with the car lifted and in gear I could rotate the tire about two inches in each direction. Could it be a manual transmission problem? Any help is always appreciated.

Cyorke · 07-28-2005, 11:53 AM

It is normal to be able to rotate the wheel a little bit. you can only rotate it a little because the differential is preventing it from turning anymore unless the other wheel is off the ground. In that case one tire would rotate towards the front and the other would rotate towards the rear. IF you are still having vibration problems it is possible tht you have some suspension or steering problems. THere are a number of things you could be having probelms with. It could be controls arm bushings shot, inner or outer tie rods, or maybe even ball joints. Jsut some things to think about. May want to get the Haynes manual and see wht it says about checking specs on how much freeplay they allow on those itmes and test them according to the manual.

Mike Gerber · 07-28-2005, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill23435

I replaced my front rotors and pads and power bleed the break system on my 1995 5 speed camry. I still get what appears to be vibration/noise from the left front. I also lifted the front end and grabbed a hold of the tire and the bearing play seems to be good. The car has 156600 miles on it and the cv axles have been replaced along with the struts about 20000 miles ago. One thing I noticed was that with the car lifted and in gear I could rotate the tire about two inches in each direction. Could it be a manual transmission problem? Any help is always appreciated.

I had a strange problem with my 94 XLE 4 cylinder when it was new and still under warranty. I had a pulsation only after driving about an hour. The dealer could never find it. I found it myself. After driving for about and hour when the pulsation began, I quickly returned home and like you jacked up the entire front end of the car. I then tried to rotate each front wheel by hand. One side (I don't remember which) was noticeably harder to turn than the other. That caliper piston was sticking causing the pad on that side to drag on the rotor. That in turn was causing the rotor to warp temporarily from the heat generated, causing the pulsation. When things cooled down everything returned to normal. I took it immediately to the Toyota dealer and the tech varified that my diagnosis was correct and apologized and said it wasn't doing this when I brought it in last. They ordered a new caliper and new rotor for that side and after everything was installed the problem disappeared. They never could explain why the caliper was doing that. Just one of those freaky things. I only mention this as I too have a 94 and it is an easy check for you to do yourself.

Good luck diagnosing the problem.

Mike

bill23435 · 07-28-2005, 04:11 PM

Thanks I will have to check that. It only happens to me when braking and it sounds more like a bump,bump,bump,bump,bump,bump, whem applying the breaks.

Cyorke · 07-28-2005, 04:19 PM

Do you feel a vibration when braking or just the noise. Do you seem to feel it in the pedal more so than the steering wheel or vice-a-versa. If it is more in the brake pedal it could be the rear drums that are warped. Typically you feel steering wheel vibration from the front brakes and pedal pulsation from the rear brakes.