I guess spraying water on hot rotos wasn't such a good idea.

[jtvang125]

I know I should of let my car completely cool before washing it but I was in a rush because it was getting dark. The rotors were still hot from driving so as I was hosing them with water the water was practically steaming off of them.

Fast forward to now and I'm getting very bad shake in the steering wheel when braking above 50mph and pulsing below that. Already got a pair of front rotors ordered and will be replacing them this weekend.

 

[leftyman]

 

[Gooberlx2]

Yup, that happend to me once when I went through a puddle on my old Maxima.

 

[MX2]

I suppose thats possible in theory, but I dont know. Arent rotors made from forged steel?

 

[lokiju]

Yeah, I probably fvcked up so many peoples rotors back in the day when I was a kid. I worked at a car wash in the summer for a few years and I'd pre-wash their rims before they'd go through the automatic car wash part and it'd be like throwing water on a camp fire :Q

Oh well, live and learn.

 

[leftyman]

If your rotors are warped something else caused it, ie: riding your brakes, calipers hung up, your pads are worn, or your brakes are improperly adjusted.

 

[LS20]

atleast theyre cheap and easy to replace

 

[radioouman]

Yep, you can warp rotors by cooling them quickly. Chances are you don't cool them evenly when you hit them with water.

But they are cheap and on today's cars, rotors are a common wear item.

 

[jtvang125]

Originally posted by: leftyman
If your rotors are warped something else caused it, ie: riding your brakes, calipers hung up, your pads are worn, or your brakes are improperly adjusted.

The shake started after that incident and its very possible that cooling hot rotors that quickly can cause them to warp.

Lesson learned by me.

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: jtvang125

Originally posted by: leftyman
If your rotors are warped something else caused it, ie: riding your brakes, calipers hung up, your pads are worn, or your brakes are improperly adjusted.

The shake started after that incident and its very possible that cooling hot rotors that quickly can cause them to warp.

Lesson learned by me.

you overheated your rotors somehow, probably one of the ways I mentioned. think about it...rain carwashes melting snow on the rotors driving in extreme cold..wouldnt they all cause warping?

rotors are designed to heat and cool rapidly.. only when they are overheated will they warp.

also over-torquing your lugnuts and distorting your rotor will cause vibration.

In short cooling doesnt cause the warping, overheating causes it.

 

[soccerballtux]

Yes those are the symptoms of warped rotors. Don't worry though, you don't have to replace them, they're just going to vibrate like you describe for the rest of the vehicles life. If you can get over that (you get over it eventually, I did; it's not a big deal at all) then there's no reason to replace them.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
Yes those are the symptoms of warped rotors. Don't worry though, you don't have to replace them, they're just going to vibrate like you describe for the rest of the vehicles life. If you can get over that (you get over it eventually, I did; it's not a big deal at all) then there's no reason to replace them.

Or you can take them to a shop where they'll grind them flat and you'll be fine, and that way you won't cause irregular wear on your brakes. That's what I did, they can grind them down to a certain point...but they'll certainly at least try pushing new rotors on you.