Front brake vibration with new polished rotors
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Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 211
Likes: 35
From: Ventura County, Ca.
Front brake vibration with new polished rotors
Merry Christmas everyone!...just installed a chrome front end w/polished rotors on my 14 Ultra Limited. Everytime I apply the front brakes, I get a bad vibration. Will this go away after the polished part of the rotors wears off, or do I need to replace the brake pads. Thanks for any advise. Hope everyone had a nice holiday!!
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 6,532
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From: SoCal
The guy that polished them may have ruined them. I don't think new pads will help anything. You can try to make sure the rotors are bolted on the wheels totally flat, that the rotors are not bent in any way and are totally clean. Clean and deglaze the pads. If all this is OK then the rotors are have been ruined and will need to be replaced.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Honah Lee
It's the finish. Not the pads. And it may just never go away. I had a chilled spot on a cast rotor on my CR-V. Shuddered like crazy. You could rough the rotor and it would go away but kept coming back. Could not even fill it with your finger on the rotor but you could see a dull patch shaped like your palm.
Take some 120 emory cloth and hit the pad area with just the wheel spinning since look is important to you. Who ever polished could have polished it enough to affect thickness tolerance or maybe even runout as mentioned above. Standard blanchard ground rotors are parallel but the swirl finish from the grinding wheel is way to rough to be able to hand polish and keep things correct if that was what was done.
Take some 120 emory cloth and hit the pad area with just the wheel spinning since look is important to you. Who ever polished could have polished it enough to affect thickness tolerance or maybe even runout as mentioned above. Standard blanchard ground rotors are parallel but the swirl finish from the grinding wheel is way to rough to be able to hand polish and keep things correct if that was what was done.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Dec 26, 2015 at 05:05 AM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
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From: FL
One more thing, did you install your bearings?? If so, did you install the primary side first?? If your wheel is single sided disc, the primary side is the brake rotor side ... if your wheel is dual rotor, the primary side is the left. This is important because this determines the exact placement of the rotors in the calipers. If you installed the bearings wrong, take them out, throw them away, and buy a new set. They're a one time install and then throw away. Yes you can probably get them out and back in again without noticing any damage but chances are you'll have premature bearing failure later.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Charleston, SC
Make sure that all 5 of the hub threads were cleaned out and the rotor bolts were installed at the proper torque level.
Make sure you push both pistons all the way back into the calipers to ensure you have no stuck pistons. (Reset basically).
Make sure you bed the new rotors.
Make sure you push both pistons all the way back into the calipers to ensure you have no stuck pistons. (Reset basically).
Make sure you bed the new rotors.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 211
Likes: 35
From: Ventura County, Ca.
Thanks guys for all the good advise. I will start with the Emory cloth and go from there. I did install a new front tire and wheel bearings when I installed my chrome dog legs and cowbells. I will recheck everything I did along with checking rotors for run out.
Thanks guys for the advice. "Happy New Year"
Thanks guys for the advice. "Happy New Year"
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