i see that there are a few responses that say it could be warped rotors. but i replaced the rotors about 2 months ago so they are still pretty new. the problem also didn't occur until after i replaced teh ball joints. the rotors couldn't have warped just by taking them off and replacing them right?

 

they could've bee warped before you installed them ..... are they ebay specials? Also, you can easily warp new rotors if you don't bed them in properly.

 

No,, rotors cannot get warped by just removing and reinstall.

chk al the work that you did,, there might be something loose or not reinstalled properly

 

So you replaced the rotors, then later on the ball joints and the rotors appear to be wrapped since the ball joint repair? Like DH said, look over the work area for mistakes. You could also have killed them when the old ball joints were on, but didn't notice until they were repaired.

 

Nice term, "bed them in", You do need to properly torque wheels onto rotors to prevent problems just like you are having. Call one of those Brake specialists and ask what they charge to check runout and parallelism on your rotors, like Midas or one of those places and then do the work yourself.

I just jack the car up and spin the front tire and listen for signs of warpage, pads rub then they dont, then they rub, then they dont as the rotor spins around, it should be noticable.

I do have my own way of taking those trapped rotors off (my Odyssey) but if I do a customers vehicle and I warantee it then they get the works, a new rotor, new bearing and new hub, make sure the hub comes with studs installed, Honda should but some others do not. Takes no time at all to press everything together and I only charge this time for labor, almost works out the same but its better for all this way, all new parts, dont play with peoples lives and their brakes.

I have had to grind a bearing race off of a hub, no more.

 

What's wrong with my terminology? New brake parts are rough and if you slam the brakes without "bedding them in" then your new parts are garbage!

Also, the rotors have a retaining screw and if the lugs are not tight enough to hold the rotor from wobbling, then the wheel is wobbling also.

Why change wheel bearings for a warped rotor?

 

Its Kewl, so you are saying this car does not have trapped rotors, just old school type with two screws holding them to the hub, no hub and bearing replacement needed. I dont memorize which ones have trapped rotors so sorry if this one is not that one. Different strokes for different folks on how to bed in new brake pads, some say a few hard applications is their style to prevent near future squeeking, to each his own.

 

Agreed that there are a lot of different methods to break the new parts in, but I'm yet to meet a mechanic that wil say that the new parts are ok to deal with slamming the brakes .... unless the mechanic already did bed the parts in or sanded al the parts with 600 grade emery cloth (but theres no need when the car can do it for you much easier).

 

I've been doing it the same way for several years:scuff pads and rotors slightly with a buffing wheel. reinstall. Make a series of stops: from say 50 to 20 at first for a couple times then from 60 down to 20, then finally a couple of full on panic stops. I usually get about 50k out of a set of pads on most of my cars if i stick to OEM and use the on-car lathe up at the shop. When I traded my 02 Maxima at 77k (after a brake job at 24k or so) it had 5-6 mm still on all 4 wheels andlittle warpage.

And yes, you can instantly warp rotors - with that overzealous kid with theshiny newsnap-on impact that doesn't know what a torque stick is...

 

it turns out that my rotor was cracked, but it's a good thing too. it looks like i ripped the outer cv boot while i was installing the ball joint. i tried calling around and the only place that can get one for me soon costs $50. i don't think teh cv joint is damaged, but for that price i was thinking of just replacing the whole half shaft. they are easier to get and cost about $60-80 around here. is there any reason not to get one from autozone over an oem part?