Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Okay, I've got a weird one for all of you. I, like many others, have experienced some issues with brake life on my truck (see below for truck details). At the recommendation of a friend who used to work as a fleet mechanic on ambulances, I installed Powerstop cross-drilled rotors and matching E-911 pads. Initially, I was very happy.
A few months ago, I began to think that it was taking a lot of pedal pressure to bring things to a halt. I initially chalked it up to the fact that my (new to me at that point) daily driver is a VW Jetta with very sticky tires and aggressive brakes that will just about shoot your eyeballs out under braking. Then, on Friday, I heard the dreaded metal-on-metal sound from the front end.
Here's where it gets odd. I limped home (only about 3 miles), pulled off the front wheels and calipers, and found that on the inside surfaces of both disks, there was a corroded band on the swept surface of the rotor that protruded from the "normal" swept area and is beating the crap out of the pads. There are normal looking bands both to the inside and outside of this area on both rotors. So, the pads are working normally on the outer 1/2" and the inner 1/4" of the swept area, with a big band of junk in the middle. Both rotors' outer surfaces look fine.
I've spoken to a number of knowledgeable people in my area as well as Brake Parts Warehouse (who carries Powerstop), and they all had the same reaction, along the lines of, "You said what???? No, I've never seen anything like that. " I tried to call Sam Peterson, but he's out until tomorrow.
So, anyone out there ever seen anything like this? The only thing I can think of if a corrosion/hardening issue with the rotor. Certainly, if the pads were only contacting on the outside OR inside of the rotors, I'd say it was a caliper issue. However, I don't think that's likely based on the fact that there's a bad area sandwiched in between two good areas.
Just to help, here are some other facts -
- The pads and rotors are two years old and have 20K miles on them.
- I live in VT = hills and salt
- I pull a 2500# snowmobile trailer which doesn't have brakes
- I haul cordwood in the truck, but not that often
- The truck only sees about 10,000 miles/year
Any feedback would be appreciated.
A few months ago, I began to think that it was taking a lot of pedal pressure to bring things to a halt. I initially chalked it up to the fact that my (new to me at that point) daily driver is a VW Jetta with very sticky tires and aggressive brakes that will just about shoot your eyeballs out under braking. Then, on Friday, I heard the dreaded metal-on-metal sound from the front end.
Here's where it gets odd. I limped home (only about 3 miles), pulled off the front wheels and calipers, and found that on the inside surfaces of both disks, there was a corroded band on the swept surface of the rotor that protruded from the "normal" swept area and is beating the crap out of the pads. There are normal looking bands both to the inside and outside of this area on both rotors. So, the pads are working normally on the outer 1/2" and the inner 1/4" of the swept area, with a big band of junk in the middle. Both rotors' outer surfaces look fine.
I've spoken to a number of knowledgeable people in my area as well as Brake Parts Warehouse (who carries Powerstop), and they all had the same reaction, along the lines of, "You said what???? No, I've never seen anything like that. " I tried to call Sam Peterson, but he's out until tomorrow.
So, anyone out there ever seen anything like this? The only thing I can think of if a corrosion/hardening issue with the rotor. Certainly, if the pads were only contacting on the outside OR inside of the rotors, I'd say it was a caliper issue. However, I don't think that's likely based on the fact that there's a bad area sandwiched in between two good areas.
Just to help, here are some other facts -
- The pads and rotors are two years old and have 20K miles on them.
- I live in VT = hills and salt
- I pull a 2500# snowmobile trailer which doesn't have brakes
- I haul cordwood in the truck, but not that often
- The truck only sees about 10,000 miles/year
Any feedback would be appreciated.
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