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Warmonger brake info/install thread

I shouldn't need to send pics I hope. I'm working on making it right. And I'm not driving it until I feel confident it's right, which WILL be by Friday.
 
Well Im done. Backs took more time than the fronts for sure. Grinding the calipers and rotors isnt hard, but it takes time. Everything is on with no contact between the parts, so hopefully when the road test happens I dont have any problems. There were no surprises from the back, as War covered everything very well. You just need patience to get everything fitting correctly.

Now the question is, should I re-install my stock rear toe arms and start driving or wait until my TCAs get here (which hopefully happens soon!)? If they take another week, Im going for a drive. I cant wait any longer!
 
Probably a good idea for anyone doing this to adjust your brake lines. Make sure they ain't gonna rub nothing.

Yeah, perfect time to throw in the stainless steel brake lines from BAT for about another $100. Also put some kind of clear tubing on them or zip tie some rubber around key areas so the stainless doesn't rub anything through.
 
Well Im done. Backs took more time than the fronts for sure. Grinding the calipers and rotors isnt hard, but it takes time. Everything is on with no contact between the parts, so hopefully when the road test happens I dont have any problems. There were no surprises from the back, as War covered everything very well. You just need patience to get everything fitting correctly.

Now the question is, should I re-install my stock rear toe arms and start driving or wait until my TCAs get here (which hopefully happens soon!)? If they take another week, Im going for a drive. I cant wait any longer!

So what happened? What do you think?
 
I will be putting my stock rear toe arms on tonight. That will be perfect, as I will have empty road to go out and begin the bedding process.

IIRC, 10 threshold stops from 30 to 10 with cooldown in between and then 10 more from 60?

I will be upgrading to stainless lines soon. Maybe I can get them ordered this week.

I should have some impressions by tonight or tomorrow.
 
I think mine are OK. Only under very hard (pedal to the floor) braking does the driver side grab and jerk the wheel. I'm thinking this may be more to do with how the pads are making contact with the rotor right now and should improve as they wear down. Without ABS, I wouldn't even brake as hard as what is needed to cause it to happen. There are no weird sounds, clearances look good, etc. So I think it's OK.
 
I think mine are OK. Only under very hard (pedal to the floor) braking does the driver side grab and jerk the wheel. I'm thinking this may be more to do with how the pads are making contact with the rotor right now and should improve as they wear down. Without ABS, I wouldn't even brake as hard as what is needed to cause it to happen. There are no weird sounds, clearances look good, etc. So I think it's OK.

The wheel shouldn't jerk at all unless the road surface is unever or the brake force is uneven. Are both pads contacting the same? If not then take it easy on braking, do lots of medium pedal stops rather than hard ones.
 
Just finished my fronts...took about 5 hrs (damn place gave me the wrong pads), going to get the backs done in 6 hrs I hope since I have school tomorrow :S Wish me luck!
 
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The wheel shouldn't jerk at all unless the road surface is unever or the brake force is uneven. Are both pads contacting the same? If not then take it easy on braking, do lots of medium pedal stops rather than hard ones.
Both pads aren't contacting the same. I don't even have a need to brake as hard as it takes to jerk the wheel. I'm driving 5 hours Friday, so I'm sure they'll bed in better and wear the pads to close to full/full contact by then. Then I'll test them out on the tail of the dragon. Even without them making full contact and just having the front done, I'm liking them. I'm sure the carbotech pads are helping that as well. My old pads were cracked and looked like crap (though were almost new).
 
Just finished my fronts...took about 5 hrs (damn place gave me the wrong pads), going to get the backs done in 6 hrs I hope since I have school tomorrow :S Wish me luck!

Damn it!! I have a warped rotor. I was sanding and sanding the inside of it thinking that it wasnt seating right. Turned it around, sure enough a new OEM rotor warped. Ill get it machined tomorrow.
 
Machining helps anyway, reduces the mass of the rotor and you will NEVER need all that rear rotor thickness anyway. Probably never need rear rotors again, lol.


Make sure when you mount it to the hub that it is loose as this warpage could just be it not seating properly. Also make sure there is no rust on the hub face. I use two lugnuts to hold the rotor in place with nothing else mounted to the rear and spin it whill looking at the edge against a background to see if the rotor is showing any runout.

I wire brushed my rear hubs, cleaned them with cleaner then painted them with the black 1500* barbecue paint, then after it dries I put grease on the studs near the base.
 
Both pads aren't contacting the same. I don't even have a need to brake as hard as it takes to jerk the wheel. I'm driving 5 hours Friday, so I'm sure they'll bed in better and wear the pads to close to full/full contact by then. Then I'll test them out on the tail of the dragon. Even without them making full contact and just having the front done, I'm liking them. I'm sure the carbotech pads are helping that as well. My old pads were cracked and looked like crap (though were almost new).

So when you reworked them last night did you make improvements? If so that explains the uneven contact and then yes driving it will let them bed in level again.
 
Machining helps anyway, reduces the mass of the rotor and you will NEVER need all that rear rotor thickness anyway. Probably never need rear rotors again, lol.


Make sure when you mount it to the hub that it is loose as this warpage could just be it not seating properly. Also make sure there is no rust on the hub face. I use two lugnuts to hold the rotor in place with nothing else mounted to the rear and spin it whill looking at the edge against a background to see if the rotor is showing any runout.

I wire brushed my rear hubs, cleaned them with cleaner then painted them with the black 1500* barbecue paint, then after it dries I put grease on the studs near the base.

I thought it just was not seating right until I put my other one on there. The one that is bad just spins and wobbles back and forth. I think its warped pretty bad. I have no idea why though.
 
So when you reworked them last night did you make improvements? If so that explains the uneven contact and then yes driving it will let them bed in level again.

Yeah definitely made improvements. There is still uneven contact but through a day's driving, it seems to be improving already. I don't think it's perfect though I THINK I've done everything to make it as it should be. I will have the wheels off tomorrow to bleed the brakes and I'll check everything once more. If something does go wrong, well I guess it'll just happen, but I can't see that happening as everything is tight, clearances are now good, and noises are non-existent while normal braking and driving. I just started hearing a new noise, but it's nothing really weird and I'm thinking it's just the pads on the outside starting to hit the rotors as they should. We'll see. Like I said already, I'm liking it, already an improvement over what I had. If it all holds together this weekend (many in the SE forum know how I drive) we'll know it's plenty good.
 
First impressions: Well, I stop faster! My reverse butt dyno says significantly faster. I havent driven my car in so long I really cant compare it all that well, but it is definitely an improvement, and it is definitely NICE! And this is all during break in. It should get better. . . .

I didnt drive much, as I seem to have some rubbing issues. Here are the symptoms and then Ill tell you what I think.

I think its from the front (on the right). My front calipers fit very tightly over the rotors with the new pads. While driving, the rubbing noise isnt constant (as in its not the whole rotor touching, just part). It does sound a bit metalic, but not like I think rotor on caliper bracket would sound. As soon as I apply the brakes, it goes away. It also seems to go away over about 35 MPH? Or, if I turn right I think it goes away then too.

I think its just the new pads making contact with the rotor. They were pretty tight going on. I didnt seem to have any rubbing issues when I checked during the install, but some gaps were pretty small.

I have finished my low speed bedding. I will do higher speed tomorrow I guess. It was dark out, and I couldnt see if this was something I might worry about or not. Plus, Im missing an exhaust hanger so my exhaust is bouncing around a bit and knocking on my subframe connectors and it was driving me nuts.

On another note, my SVT is back on the road after breaking the subframe on August 17th! Damn its been a long time!
 
Some noises are acceptable with brakes. It could just be the new pads or it could be a small problem. I'd take the wheels off and check for weird wear (like my picture) and for wear on the edges of the rotors. If everything looks OK and it's stopping OK, I'd probably give it a little more time. Sometimes, brakes will always make noise. You'd think my escort is long over due for brakes but the pads are nearly new. It's just the nature of the pads I have on it though and it makes noises while driving and stopping, so you just have to determine if it's a problem or not.
 
Well, drove the car today and the noise was gone :shrug: I couldnt see any sign of funky wear/rubbing on the rotor. I guess it might have been the pads after all. Finished high speed bedding, these brakes are great! They do an excellent job at making sure your seatbelt retainer works.
 
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