I had this problem since I purchased this vehicle and got both front rotors replaced and the problem still comes back


At short, when I brake after going anyway over 40mph, the steering shakes....took it to my mechanic, said the one rotor was warped....replaced it......GOOD, for like 3 months....took it back, the other rotor, warped.....replaced....good....now like 5 months later.....its happening again.......does anyone know a solution that is permanent?....also, I heard rotors can't warp, is this true?.....getting frustrated

2004 freestar btw

 

what kind of mechanic changes one rotor? Do you have a backyarder fixing your car? You must address both rotors at the same time. if one rotor had runout, the second probably had some too.

yes, its the front rotors. have them replaced by someone who will have a look at the existing brakes for possible signs on dragging brakes...etc. make sure the rear brakes are working and that the fronts are not doing all the work.


put on new rotors, pads and get the caliper pins and brackets cleaned. get quality parts. I have seen cheap line, new rotors 10 thou out right out of the box.


stacked tolerances can also cause this...combined lateral runout of the hub/bearing itself and the rotor. in rare cases, match mounting and on car machining of the assembly is required. the on car lathe measures and cancels out the stacked run out when it makes it cut. the fact that it went away when the rotor was replaced makes me think this will not apply in your case.

 

Thanx for the info.....I will look into it....and my mechanic is actually pretty good, I trust him and been going there for years and never had any issues


Also when I googled it, it seems to be a popular problem with the freestar, think its just the parts they used?


What are good "quality" rotors and brakes I should look into?


Thank you

 

Most of the time you will do better with OEM parts, (Motorcraft) do not need to be purchased from dealer.

 

well, you have an issue now. buy your mechanic a book on brake theory. the effect of heat, heat dissipation and friction co-efficients = topic 1.


google break shake and it will come up for every car ever made. I am not a ford tech so I don't work on these cars but I bet it has no more rotors problems than any other vehicle.


oem parts are good. there are different lines of aftermarket brake parts; don't buy the cheapest ones. I do buy the cheap lines but I service my brakes yearly. Sadly, most people don't even know what a brake service is. I'm betting a guy who installs one rotor is one of them.

 

Here's what I posted before on Freestar rotor issues:

"As far as warping rotors, I was having the same issue with mine for quite a while a few years back. Even when using rotors from Ford. They would just eventually warp. I ended up buying a set of Raybestos #680190 Advanced Technology Disc Brake Rotors for the front. Problem has not returned since. Since I'm in the salt belt, I also disassemble my front and rear brakes every spring and fall since they are prone to having the slider pins crud up causing the calipers not to operate correctly (not relax after breaking). Calipers hanging up are another cause for rotors to warp due to excessive heat."

I've had no rotor/brake issues for years since installing the Raybestos rotors and I'm at about 176,000 miles on my Freestar to date.