Break problem on my Caravan

[viospeeds]

anyone knows what is the problem when you hit the breaks the steering wheel wiggles or vibrates? :help:

[webbee]

Probably a warped rotor on one side. Fix is to replace the rotor. Don't turn them as they just re-warp and you end up buying a new unit. NAPA and AZ seem to have the best, if you buy their top of the line rotors. I am finished with AA rotors. At this point I change rotors with the pads, no exceptions.

[viospeeds]

Probably a warped rotor on one side. Fix is to replace the rotor. Don't turn them as they just re-warp and you end up buying a new unit. NAPA and AZ seem to have the best, if you buy their top of the line rotors. I am finished with AA rotors. At this point I change rotors with the pads, no exceptions.

oh i see. so this is the usual cause/problem?

btw, is this type of problem covered by the warranty of the car? thanks again!

[acton mike]

re warranty question - simple answer - NO

[viospeeds]

finally replaced my rotors and break pads an it did solve the problem.. :SPIN:

[purplepassion]

Don't want to hijack your thread but I bought a 2003 DGC with 49K miles on it and at 52K miles the driver's front caliper locked up and overheated the whole shebang causing me to have both front brake assemblies replaced. I was told by the mechanic that this was a common problem with DC products that used phenolic pistons in the calipers. My replacements were made of stainless. BTW, the reason for replacing both was to insure equality of the fronts. Anybody else experience this problem??

[RickMN]

A rotor can warp from a caliper that has corrorded slide pins. The caliper applies pressure but cannot release it because it can't slide back from the pad. That overheats the pads and rotor. Or, it can warp from improper lug nut torque. Have you had your tires rotated recently? If so, did they HAND torque the lug nuts? Many shops use torque sticks on their impact wrenches. Those sticks are ok ONLY if the impact wrench is not set at maximum torque. The story on phenolic caliper pistons is B.S. Most car manufacturers use phenolic pistons with no problems. There's only one real moving part inside a caliper besides the piston and that's the square cut O ring. The piston pushes against the square cut O ring and "twists" it. When you release your foot from the brake, the O ring pulls the piston back as it "untwists." That's it. The piston only moves in or out by .007" inch. If you change your brake fluid every 2 years or 24K miles, and lubricate the caliper slides with synthetic high temp grease, you should never need to replace a caliper. It is however, a good idea to replace both sides if you do have to replace one. By the way, you replace a caliper if it is leaking, if the O ring is damaged, or if the slide pin bores are so corroded that you can't get even new pins to slide freely.

[purplepassion]

Thanks, RickMn. Good response. Understandable even for an OF like me. Fluid changed, now - after the fact. Will be looking at the rears ASAP. If tires were rotated before I got the car - that would have been done at the dealer from whom I bought it. I'll have to ask him when I get back there. I have a concern about the wheel bearings of that overheated wheel and I will have my local mechanic take a look. Don't want to embark on our trip back north with a deteriorating bearing. The other concern is a road noise vs. bearing noise in the rear. He will check that also. Never owned one of these before so I'm a total newbie. My last gasser was an '89 Suburban (boat puller) which I owned for 14 years. Looking forward to learning more about this vehicle. Nice forum, this is, with good info. I've been reading for 3 days. Seems to be a lot of good-hearted people (such as you) on here. Thanks again for your tech talk and tips. Paul

[RickMN]

Paul, I re-read my post and didn't mean to come across so harsh on the phenolic piston issue. Here's the rest of the story that most techs don't tell you. Car makers use phenolic (bakelite plastic) for two reasons: 1) To get the same strength as metal, they have to make them thicker. That provides them with more contact area between the piston and the inboard pad. 2) Phenolic pistons don't transfer heat to the brake fluid as easily as metal does. So, they tend to run a little cooler. Now, having said that, you should know that stainless steel pistons offer other advantages that are cat's meow. You didn't get an inferior caliper. It's just that phenolic doesn't deserve the bad rap you heard from your tech. As for the wheel bearings--a damaged wheel bearing makes a rumbling sound at cruising speeds. It also changes pitch when you make turns.