Warping Brake Disc

[mike777]

no problems in the first 3 years of ownership but in the last year or so my drivers side front brake disc has warped three times and needs replacing every 3 or 4 months now

Garage can't find anything wrong - caliper pistons not sticking, everything appears to be as it should be apart from a very slight imbalance reading on their machine when comparing both front brakes - but they can't find any reason for that either

any ideas?

[Alan02]

Hi Mike,you dont mention if your using a dealer part or motorfactors,but either way,3 months is poor by any standard.I`m guessing you originally fitted a pair.Are you fitting the discs or was it a garage? I can only suggest ensuring the hub face is clean,also the inside off the disc where it mounts to the hub,no part no.stickers etc.The brake pads are not un-even wear,the caliper sliders are free and mounted correctly etc.
Just a thought though,it isn`t your ABS cutting in (Poss.faulty?) and when the garage checks the imbalance assumes that the slight imbalance you normally get is a warpped disc!It may sound daft but check the abs sensor and wiring plug,and also your tyre pressures,a different rolling circumference can confuse abs.cheers.

[mike777]

Thanks Alan.

They are dealer fitted - had 4 discs and 4 sets of pads fitted all round last year. After 4 months I went back as the drivers one had warped again and they initially thought they may have supplied a faulty one so replaced it free of charge but the same thing happpened again pretty quickly.

The calipers are all free and working perfectly and the imbalance registered on their equipment is after fitting the new discs, but they can't find any reason for it.
I would hope they'd know to clean it all etc, but you never know!

Won't be the tyre pressures as I check them regularly and they only need occasional adjustment and the tyres are new pirellis.

Will check the ABS though just in case!

[chrisvrscrx]

What is your driving style like? Do you brake heavily? Maybe you use your brakes alot down a steep long hill (use lower gear). Or it could be that you have driven through a big puddle when your brakes are really hot.

Just some ideas.

[mike777]

Not likely to be driving style - have driven for 30yrs and never had this before - plus it's only happened in the past 14 months and happened 3 times now!
Previously i'd driven the same car for three years without any disc problem.

[Alan02]

Hi again Mike,after reading your replies,i would be checking wheel bearing and steering/suspension Ball joints as a precaution.It seems very strange for the disc on one side of a car to be suspect of excess run-out this many times.Did the dealer not test it with a DTI gauge? simple enough to do and takes only minutes.It would tell you straight away if indeed it was the disc.Sometimes these days garages are too quick to bang another part on!Cheers.

[Clinterous]

If you're not using cheap pads, then it can only really be worn suspension bushes or a hydraulic issue (sticky caliper).

I had a similar issue with warping discs on a previous car, and changing the flexi brake hose resolved the problem - the hose must have been disrupting the hydraulic fluid from returning quickly enough to release the pressure.