Did you have any heat issues after the pads were replaced on any wheel? if you did the pads could be glazed. Had that happen before and I just took a wire wheel on a grinder and took the glaze off, but that was with ceramic pads. Do any of your rotors have a tint of blue on them? that would indicate that they have got hot.
Also you could get a set of ceramic pads say for the front and put them on, and if you notice it stopping 100% better all the time then I would go with ceramic all the way around, you may have to replace them more often but if your vehicle stops better with them then that may be the way to go. I have never been fond of semi- metallic and don't use them because they chew up the rotors, never had a problem before not being able to stop good with them tho but it has been years since i used them, maybe they cheapened the quality of them.

 

The front wheels get hot after driving and stopping, but that is normal. They are hot enough that if I hit them with some water, I get alot of steam and sizzling. The pads are new, so how could they be glazed already? The stopping distance problem I am having was before and after the calipers and pads were replaced. I never touched the rotors because they were only a year old. Maybe I should pull the wheel and take a photo later. Hate to say it, but I can't get new pads on the truck now because I am 19 and my mother would never go for it. She basically was the one who told me that since the rotors were "new" not to get them replaced. She doesn't know anything about this truck. I drove over 20k on those rotors and the brakes were heavily used in that time from mountain roads and stopping from high speeds on the highways. The new problem seems to be that when the brakes are hot, they stop 100% better than when they are cold. Not OEM spec stopping distance, but alot better than when the brakes are cold. Is it possible the rotors are rusted on the inside or glazed over from the previous pads? Several shops recommended that I replace the rotors at the same time as the calipers and pads. My mother is not going to like the phone call I am going to make telling her that she was 100% wrong. Believe me, if I wasn't concerned that I was going to damage something and have to get the truck towed to the shop, and the rotors were the probable cause, I would be replacing those rotors myself TODAY.

 

There is definitely something wrong with the rotors. I pulled the front wheels. The driver side looked normal except for some deep (I can feel it with my fingernail) scratches. The passenger side rotor was covered in some black junk all over it. I also had trouble rotating both wheels smoothly. The passenger side seemed to be the worst. I am posting photos of both brake rotors for advice. I think these are cheap rotors. I can't find any air holes in the center and I can't see any other air cooling fins other than what is on top. It seems completely hollow once you get past the 1" long fins on top. I wonder if these are the lightweight rotors I heard about that have 20% less metal and are dangerous. Please see http://www.badbrakes.net/ . The Napa Premium rotors for $28.19: ( http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...50030+2030009# ) Are they good? They seem to be alot cheaper than everywhere else. Am I asking for trouble? I just don't want to have to do this again in a year.

EDIT: http://www.aa1car.com/library/brake_rotors.htm <<<<CHECK THIS OUT!

EDIT: I don't know if this has anything to do with the rotors, but I can grab the opposite side of the rotor from the caliper and the rotor wiggles about 1/4" of an inch. It is NOT the wheel bearings (NEW). Do I need shims or something or is that normal?

EDIT: Is it possible to use brake parts cleaner and steel wool to clean the rotors of this mess until I can get new rotors? Which type of brake parts cleaner is safe to use around rubber parts?

 

Yes the rotors need to be replaced, deep grooves give less surface area for the pad to rest on thus giving you less braking. That is normal if the opposite edge of the rotor moves, all that holds the rotor on while the wheel is off is the caliper, you have to remove the caliper and then the rotor will come off, the wheel holds the rotor in against the wheel bearing when you tighten the wheel down.
I would go ahead and replace all the rotors with the napa rotors as they are a good rotor, or you can take the rotors you have and have them turned and smoothed out for about 11-12 bucks a piece, I would go ahead and get the new ones, and then take the old ones in sometime and have them turned for backups, just stay away from the light weight rotors they look like a disaster waiting to happen

 

OK. I will get the Napa Premium rotors in the morning. It just seems to make more sense to get new front rotors. The rear ones are either new or recently resurfaced. I already had the pads and calipers replaced on the rear axle since it was the rear left caliper that caused 2 total brake failures in 2 days 200 miles apart (but the locations where they happened were only 10 miles apart!). The Napa rotors are not light weight rotors, correct? Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it.

 

The Napa rotors are a good quality OE replacement thats what I have on mine now. Good luck and hope that fixes you braking problems. The rear rotors look like they have got hot on you, have they been turned since the brake failure? or was it before the brake failure when they were turned?

 

Great. Thanks. Those were not photos of the rear rotors. It was the left and right front wheels. I didn't remove the rear wheels. The left rear rotor (the one where the caliper and pad were destroyed) was replaced. The right rear (caliper overheated after the pads were replaced) was resurfaced it looks like.

 

Ok well hope all goes well, let us know if those new rotors take care of the braking issues. There isn't much left to do to it really unless the new master that you put on has a bad seal or something in it

 

I got the new rotors today. I called the shop where I normally go, but I couldn't get an appointment until Tuesday. I guess I will have to sand the current rotors down to get rid of the glaze so I don't blow a stop sign or red light.

 

I had the rotors replaced today. Not much of a change, but I assume that the pads have to reset to the new rotor over time.