Hey guys, i have been driving my cav for some time now. I just put on new pads for the calipers, but my car still bounces up and down when i come to a stop. The brakes feel fine but the car bounces every time at a stop. It feels like it is coming from the passanger side wheel. I have also noticed that my brakes make the squeeling sound sometimes if i brake hard. But the brakes have just been replaced, and i still have the sound. Any ideas of what is causing the bouncing and sound? Thanks.
97 Chevy Cavalier
2.2L 3 spd
Automatic
Did you inspect the rear brakes as well?
If not first thing you need to do is find out what brakes are causing the pulsation.
Okay find an empty parking, or a empty road. And do say about 20-30mph, and pull the e-brake, I dont mean yank the thing, just apply it normally and keep your foot on the brake pedal but dont hit, do you fell the car or pedal pulsating?
If no, than we know for a fact the fronts are causing the pulsation.
If yes, than lots of brake dust is is there, sometimes a rock can somehow get in there and get between the drum and shoe, I know it doesnt sounds like its true, but yes I have seen it before quite a few times.
With the fronts, the pads normally, not always will make themselves wear into the rotors.
By the way I suppose you read the warning on the pads oackage. You must brake slowly for the first few hundred miles. If you brake to hard the lining could not wear right, and that can cause a pulsation for a but.
After sometime you can do a few hard stops to see if that wears the pads into the rotors, since the pads are less stronger than rotors. You need to do a few hard stops from say 40mph to see if they will wear into the rotors.
I dont mean do like 90 and do a panic stop, do about 40 or so and hit the brakes hard till it stops, not like tire squealing hard, but do it with some force ya know.
Now if your rotors are out of round by just .003 ( thats 3 sheets of paper by the way), you will have a pulsation.
Good luck.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
Any place i could take it for them to check it?
97 Chevy Cavalier
2.2L 3 spd
Automatic
the front you will feelin the brake pedal , the rears you feel in the seat
[quote=97cavie24ls(JDM&00s/c sedans™)]the front you will feelin the brake pedal , the rears you feel in the seat
Umm no WTF are you talking about?
You will fell either in the pedal, somtimes the steering wheel, I have seen some cars so bad the dash and seats do shake when braking.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
Simple, your rotors are warped, replace them, it's an easy inexpensive job.
They run like $14 a piece, the only hitch is the socket piece you need to remove the caliper, and most every parts store has those readily available.
I do mine about once a year, the ABS hammers the rotors during the winter.
i really dont recommend buying the $14 rotors. usually you will have the option to buy a couple different kinds. get the more expensive ones to save yourself headaches down the road. never tale the cheap way out when buying brakes, they are an essential part of the vehicle
http://members.cardomain.com/scrawnyguy18
The cheap one warp as fast as the expensive AC-Delco ones.
I think it is becasue the alloy wheels on my Cavalier expose the rotors to too much air and water (when raining) and that cools them down to fast so they warp.
Old Wolf wrote:The cheap one warp as fast as the expensive AC-Delco ones.
I think it is becasue the alloy wheels on my Cavalier expose the rotors to too much air and water (when raining) and that cools them down to fast so they warp.
I think you have no clue what your talking about.
For one manufactures need to keep cost down, so actually quality isnt the best from the get-go. However buying expensive ones will get you better quality.
Rotors are almost always sand cast and rotors typically have built in stress from uneven cooling. Also have sand inclusions, bubbles both not good. So expensive is more better.
First off with your second comment you want air to get on the brakes, it cools them down, and heat is a main cause of warpage.
Secondly lots of things cause warpage. hitting the brakes hard when they are cold .Cast iron's thermal conductivity is really pretty poor- so the surface will go up to
insane temps, with the vanes between the faces still dead cold
Hitting the brakes hard to all the time is bad. You want the heat load spread all over the brakes.
Water also cools down the brakes so that is good for it. Again heat = bad, heat = warpage.
Informing the uninformed, and I hope I helped you understand brake rotors a littel better.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
I just did brakes on my subaru and this is how I broke the brakes in. I did this on recomendation from another website. Do a google on "how to bed brakes" and you'll find it. Pulsation for the most part comes from inconsitent transfer of pad material to the rotor. Here's what I did. Works best on an empty part of road that goes for a few miles or a highway. Just make sure there's not alot of people around.
Take the car out and get it up to about 35-40, then lightly apply the brakes till you get down to about 15-20 mph. DO NOT STOP!!! Accelerate back up to 40. Repeat this 3 or 4 times.
What this does is warm the rotor and the pads up to keep the rotor from being shocked.
Once you've done that, take it up to 55-60 and hit the brakes hard, BUT DO NOT ENGAGE THE ABS! Slow down to 10 mph and bring it back up to 60 mph and repeat 3 or 4 times. Again, don't come to a complete stop.
Drive around a bit hitting the brakes as little as possible to let them cool down. Until you can get the car home and park it for an hour or so, go easy on them.
What this does, is put down a more consistent layer of pad material on the rotor. It's been a month since I did brakes on the subaru and have not had any vibration problems from the brakes at all.
I also recomend raybestos pads and rotors. Get the quiet stop pads and the vsm rotors.
Rob S wrote:
I think you have no clue what your talking about.
For one manufactures need to keep cost down, so actually quality isnt the best from the get-go. However buying expensive ones will get you better quality.
Rotors are almost always sand cast and rotors typically have built in stress from uneven cooling. Also have sand inclusions, bubbles both not good. So expensive is more better.
First off with your second comment you want air to get on the brakes, it cools them down, and heat is a main cause of warpage.
Secondly lots of things cause warpage. hitting the brakes hard when they are cold .Cast iron's thermal conductivity is really pretty poor- so the surface will go up to
insane temps, with the vanes between the faces still dead cold
Hitting the brakes hard to all the time is bad. You want the heat load spread all over the brakes.
Water also cools down the brakes so that is good for it. Again heat = bad, heat = warpage.
Informing the uninformed, and I hope I helped you understand brake rotors a littel better.
Umm...you need to study a little engineering before you go off half cocked.
The key to cooling without warping is to cool at a uniform rate that allows the stored energy to dissipate at a rate that uniform thermal contraction results. Cool an engine down too fast the heads might warp. Cool steam boilers down too fast the internal piping and refractory can crack. COOL ROTORS DOWN TOO FAST THEY WARP, ETC, ETC.
NON UNIFORM COOLDOWN==WARPAGE
Now a little lesson in economics. EXPENSIVE DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUAL QUALITY.
MY Delco rotors warped. My Chinese rotors warped. Maybe if I can find a set of $200 rotors they won't warp. Right? I doubt it.
Though, you are not totally clueless because you say cast irons thermal conductivity is low.
"Informing the uninformed", hope this helps.
Ok i will take a stab at this. you did clean and re-lube the caliper slides right. then the problem might pad material. i have noticed over the years that the lifetime warranty autozone pads are so hard that i had to put allot of pressure on the pedal to stop the car.(well not allot just more than stock)and cheap pads just blow! i have always been happy with the performance friction pads for my daily driver.
see ya!
