Abnormal Brake Wear

EmJustEm06

EmJustEm06

New member
Hey y’all! Didn’t see a spot for Libertys on this forum (I know, the red-headed step child of the Jeep family..) so I figured I’d drop this in here!

Changed my brakes in 2011 and noticed some weird wear on the backside of the rotors in the front. Both sides were identical wear. It wasn’t major so just figured it was cheap brakes. Well, four months later I had to swap my rotors for the same pattern of bad wear (thank God for warranties). And I knew it wasn’t because I went cheap as I bought Wagner. So fast forward to early last year when I installed my lift kit. I noticed the same bad wear on the backside of the rotor as I’d had six years prior, but no trouble braking, no shaking when braking, no sign of bad wear other than lookin’ funny.

Also note, if you didn’t catch it, this bad wear is from factory specs before I modified anything on it.

All this to say, has anyone every bought back to back bad brakes?? Or is this something mechanically wrong with my car?? And if so.. what the heck is it??

Back side of rotor:
IMG_3537.jpg
Front side of rotor:
IMG_3538.jpg


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Welcome to Wayalife! Is there any lining left on the pad on the backside of the rotor? Looks like the rivets are gouging up the rotor. Any noise grinding noise when applying the brakes? Maybe post a shot of the pads and caliper.

Also, you should introduce yourself at the Wave Sub-Forum.
 
:standing wave:

:eek:

Looks like pitting to me, have to rotors turned before installing the new pads. assuming they can turn them out and still be within spec. That or just replace the rotors all together... That winter salt sure does wonders...
 
sipafz said:
Welcome to Wayalife! Is there any lining left on the pad on the backside of the rotor? Looks like the rivets are gouging up the rotor. Any noise grinding noise when applying the brakes? Maybe post a shot of the pads and caliper.

Also, you should introduce yourself at the Wave Sub-Forum.
Click to expand...

Yes, there’s still 50% pad life left on both sides.
No, there’s no noise or weird feel when applying brakes.
I can post pics next week when I put new brakes in, but I’ve already checked the calipers and they’re fine. No seizing or anything.
And I did go do an intro! Thanks!


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DWiggles said:
:standing wave:

:eek:

Looks like pitting to me, have to rotors turned before installing the new pads. assuming they can turn them out and still be within spec. That or just replace the rotors all together... That winter salt sure does wonders...
Click to expand...

It’s not pitting - rotors and pads were all new and installed at the same time.
At this point the rotors are probably too thin too turn and are trash.


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EmJustEm06 said:
Yes, there’s still 50% pad life left on both sides.
No, there’s no noise or weird feel when applying brakes.
I can post pics next week when I put new brakes in, but I’ve already checked the calipers and they’re fine. No seizing or anything.
And I did go do an intro! Thanks!


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Click to expand...

Really strange! Looks like something maybe got caught? Good thing you’re replacing them!
 
I've seen rotors like this on many vehicles I've owned and worked on. Living in the salt belt sucks. As others have said turn them or replace them.

You may want to ensure the caliper pins are lubed. I always clean them off and re apply. Also check the little black boots on the caliper pins....they can crack and well, water gets in. When doing my caliper pin cleaning, I always hit the boots with some silicone spray.

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webejeepin said:
I've seen rotors like this on many vehicles I've owned and worked on. Living in the salt belt sucks. As others have said turn them or replace them.

You may want to ensure the caliper pins are lubed. I always clean them off and re apply. Also check the little black boots on the caliper pins....they can crack and well, water gets in. When doing my caliper pin cleaning, I always hit the boots with some silicone spray.

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Click to expand...

If salt is the culprit why hasn’t it happened to the brakes on my truck where the brakes are twice as old and have three times the miles on them. Same brand of brakes...

And the caliper pins were cleaned and regreased when I put this last set of rotors and pads on. And the boots are in great condition.

I appreciate all the feedback, but I’ve checked and thought of all of this so far and it all checks out which is why I’m leaning towards something mechanical... but have never heard of this before.


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EmJustEm06 said:
If salt is the culprit why hasn’t it happened to the brakes on my truck where the brakes are twice as old and have three times the miles on them. Same brand of brakes...

And the caliper pins were cleaned and regreased when I put this last set of rotors and pads on. And the boots are in great condition.

I appreciate all the feedback, but I’ve checked and thought of all of this so far and it all checks out which is why I’m leaning towards something mechanical... but have never heard of this before.


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Click to expand...
If you are worried it's something mechanical, quit jerking our chain and climb your ass under your jeep and look around. If you need help, flood this thread with pics and let us help you. This bickering back and forth is pointless. Nowhere in your original post did you mention ANY of this...

And for the record, your rotors ARE pitted, and need to be turned. Sorry they GOT THAT WAY and your truck didn't, but doesn't change the fact that they are. So... go find the cause...

This doesn't look mechanical to me, it looks like salt, poor winter maintenance, and possibly too aggressive/damaged/inproperly installed brake pads. But the ONLY variables available are the ones you have provide and a picture is worth 10,000 words or more...


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DZZ Build thread
 
Last edited:
DWiggles said:
If you are worried it's something mechanical, quit jerking our chain and climb your ass under your jeep and look around. If you need help, flood this thread with pics and let us help you. This bickering back and forth is pointless. Nowhere in your original post did you mention ANY of this...

And for the record, your rotors ARE pitted, and need to be turned. Sorry they GOT THAT WAY and your truck didn't, but doesn't change the fact that they are. So... go find the cause...

This doesn't look mechanical to me, it looks like salt, poor winter maintenance, and possibly too aggressive/damaged/inproperly installed brake pads. But the ONLY variables available are the ones you have provide and a picture is worth 10,000 words or more...


sent from SPACE!
DZZ Build thread
Click to expand...

Haha! I ain’t jerkin’ anything, hun! I’m tryin to understand what the heck is goin on with my Jeep..! I’ve never had a car do this and I’ve installed dozens of brake sets. Y’all have made great points and I’ve just stated that I’ve checked this or done that..
I’ve been crawling my ass under there trying to figure it out, but by my eyes it all looks right. So I dunno..! That’s why I’m here.


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EmJustEm06 said:
Haha! I ain’t jerkin’ anything, hun! I’m tryin to understand what the heck is goin on with my Jeep..! I’ve never had a car do this and I’ve installed dozens of brake sets. Y’all have made great points and I’ve just stated that I’ve checked this or done that..
I’ve been crawling my ass under there trying to figure it out, but by my eyes it all looks right. So I dunno..! That’s why I’m here.


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Click to expand...
So, loading up the pics sounds like the next logical step, hun... :cheesy:

sent from SPACE!
DZZ Build thread
 
So you have changed your brakes 2 times since 2011? Me personally i would call that a win!
It looks like the outside pad was fully engaged but the inside was only half the pad touching the rotor. What did the pads look like? What does the piston on the caliper look like?
When you changed the pads did you install the little metal clips?

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What brand rotors are you buying? And are you resurfacing the new rotors before you install? To me it looks like something either pad, or rotor has a high spot that is only allowing contact in the center of the rotor.


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Be sure you take pictures of the calipers and brakes pad to rotor contact prior to disassemble. Then snap a few after taking everything apart.
Also try and jack the tires off the ground and spin them and see if you can see anything. Maybe spin them and have someone push the pedal and see if you can see anything.

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Last edited:
EmJustEm06 said:
If salt is the culprit why hasn’t it happened to the brakes on my truck where the brakes are twice as old and have three times the miles on them. Same brand of brakes...

And the caliper pins were cleaned and regreased when I put this last set of rotors and pads on. And the boots are in great condition.

I appreciate all the feedback, but I’ve checked and thought of all of this so far and it all checks out which is why I’m leaning towards something mechanical... but have never heard of this before.


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Click to expand...
Guess it's possible rotors for one application manufactured by the same vendor could have different properties in the metal? Better or worse QC? Bad lot of steel? Come from different factory? Difference in spec or tolerance?

Sounds like you are tearing into things today so trust all goes well.
 
I really don’t know. My hubby has always sported Wagner brakes on his truck and never had an issue. Was wondering if different brakes wear different on different vehicles, but that doesn’t make sense either.
I was talking to a buddy about it last night (he works for the city) and he was saying that they stopped using O’Reilly brand on their squad cars because of this exact same bad wear and they’d burn through ‘em every 10,000 miles. They started using cheaper brakes through Napa and have had great wear and mileage out of them.
So.... who knows!


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Lots of variables in break wear. Weight of vehicle, tire size, pad and rotor quality, environmental, driving style of driver, city vs highway, break maintenance, ABS, hill assist, and roll assist.....

My old civic was harder on fronts then rears. My mini was hard on all 4. My 08 JKU had original front rotors and only two sets of pads on 225K KMs. Same Jeep I went through two set of rotors and 3 sets of rear pads.

2016 JKR on 35s, breaks original breaks, just at 51K KMs....still have 30% on the rear and more on the front.

Wear item....just like running shoes 😁

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