Re: Can anyone tell the difference between rotors and pads (truthfully)?

"Hugo Schmeisser" <invalid@invalid.c0m> wrote in news:v--
[email]dndBXpOSYOJvZRVn-pg@magma.ca[/email]:[color=blue][color=green]
>> I found out from another thread that brake rotors can't warp[/color]
> There are many causes of brake pedal pulsation.
> [url]http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf100326.htm[/url][/color]


Wow!
That was the most excellent brake-pedal pulsation article I have ever
seen.

I had googled - but I hadn't seen this article. I read it over and over
and over. Thank you thank you thank you. I learned quite a few new
things today from that Babcox braking article.

One is that I have been measuring runout all wrong! For example, I
didn't clean BEHIND the rotors before measuring the runout. And, I
didn't have the dial guage stem at an oblique angle to the rotor and
pointing in the direction of rotartion (I had put it perpendicular)! The
Babcox article suggests that the repeatable "blip" I experienced might
be simply due to vibration induced by that erroneous perpendicular
placement. The article also explained that thickness variation is
generally the ultimate precursor of the severe high-speed brake pedal
pulsation I'm experiencing. By thinking warped rotors, I was heading off
in the wrong direction.

Likewise with the friction material and rotor recommendations. Given
there are no known friction material standards, and believing the
performance oil article at
[url]http://www.performanceoiltechnology.com/brakingsystems.htm[/url], I can come
to the conclusion that one can't believe the parts guy who says "these
are ceramic", "these are semi metallic", etc. as it's all just
advertising!

For example, the manufacturers can call the SAME friction material
either:
* Non Asbestos Organic Friction Material (NAO)
* Semi-Metallic friction material
* Low-Metallic friction material
* Cerami-Metallic friction material
* Corrector Lining
* Euro-Met
and more.

Since all those names are for the same set of brake pads, it's pretty
clear the advertisers have had a field day with we poor mechanics.

So, what am I going to do?

1. Test runout again with the dial guage pointed at an angle and this
time I will first remove the rotors, clean BEHIND the rotors, index the
rotors by high spot and low spot and hub runout and torque down three of
the six lug nuts, rotating three times to get the lowest runout.

2. If runout is outside of 4Runner specifications (0.028 inches), I'll
purchase new rotors and pads and hardware (even though the pads are fine
even after more than 50,000 miles).

I'll ONLY buy OEM pads and rotors (anything else seems like a gamble
since there are no standards for the performance of those materials nor
can we even believe simple material designations such as "ceramic" vs
"metallic"). That really leaves nothing but OEM as the right choice.

In general, I go Internet (remembering the punitive almost 9% uncle
sam). For my 1988 Nissan Maxima, there is a great dealership in another
state that all Nissan owners use who charges at least 20% to 40% less
than any dealership (including shipping). There's no other way to go for
a Nissan as he's truly the do it yourselfer's friend so much more than
the local dealership ever will be.

Do Toyota home mechanics have a similar the-only-right-choice Internet-
aware mechanic's friend dealership like Nissan has?

"Hugo Schmeisser" <invalid@invalid.c0m> wrote in news:762dnaOjgI7dBprZRVn-
[email]iQ@magma.ca[/email]:[color=blue][color=green]
>> Do Toyota home mechanics have a similar the-only-right-choice
>> Internet- aware mechanic's friend dealership?[/color]
> This is the only one I'm personally aware of:
> [url]http://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/[/url][/color]

Hello Hugo,
Time and time again, you're the voice of reason with answers!

I checked prices today for new OEM rotors & I was amazed at the results!
I called three local dealers and a half dozen Internet suppliers.
Predictably, the dealers were at list or above list ($107 per rotor).
One local Toyota dealer was way off base at $123 per OEM rotor.

Likewise the lowest Internet dealership was about $72 dollars.
But a few were at or near the local dealers' prices for OEM rotors.

The [url]www.1sttoyotaparts.com[/url] was close (at $76 dollars) to the lowest price.
So, I now have my two preferred Internet-aware Toyota dealers that I can
now deal with forever without having to perform much further research (I
want to keep THEM in business by giving them my business!).

Thanks for being the voice of reason and answering the question asked.
Because of you, we now have a good answer for everyone!

Stu