[joneperry]

After a month of not washing, i visually inspected each of the wheels, concluded that the fronts were about 50% more covered in brake dust than the rears (both frnots have equal brake dust and both rears and equal but rears are 25% covered and fronts 75% covered after a month)

so my question is that are the front brakes used more by the car because you obviosuly need the front of the car to stop faster than the rear, or is it just sticky calipers in the front


front:

Rear:

Also i know you guys are going to say that if it pulls to a side when braking, its a sticky caliper but it does pull to the right but the car has been out of alignment ever since i bought and for the 6000 miles which its been driven since ive bought it


Also i visually inspected the pads, in the rear you can see it without removing the wheel but you can tell its in its final days

In the front it takes little bit of effort to view the pad without taking off the wheel, but you can see it, its all in its final days

NO BRAKE LIGHT, but i have a feeling it will come in the next 4 weeks...

Just need some reassurance it is a sticky caliper before i buy a new one or buy the rebuild kit..

Thanks everyones.

 

[xavi330i]

It's normal. Trust me. I got rid of my oem pads for that dusty reason.

 

[Ruf]

weight transfer under braking is why pads, rotors, dust r bigger 4 front brakes

Sent from my PC36100 using BimmerApp

 

[joneperry]

yeah i kind of figured that but the pulling to the right :dunno: is what im not sure abotu, best bet i guess is to put new pads and rotors and see if i have a problem with 100% size brake pads

 

[remshot11]

as was said before the front of the braking system is used a considerable more amount then the rear. OEM pads are some of the most dust shedding pads i know off

 

[dmax]

yeah i kind of figured that but the pulling to the right :dunno: is what im not sure abotu, best bet i guess is to put new pads and rotors and see if i have a problem with 100% size brake pads

You can see whether a pad is binding and thus might cause one side to grip better than the other...run on highway for 10 mins. and pull over without stopping...and check temp of rotors with fingers (count how long until you have to move finger)...that might be cause.

But, alignment you know you need, that'd cause it too and that's a known issue...and you might also need CABs...they'll know when they try to align...could be more...might be nothing.

Once brake pad indicator goes off, I 'read' here that a bmw sa said you have 1,500 miles...I hope so...I just got the light last week, ordered pads and will see whether my rotors can be milled down...but measured them and they should have the thickness for it...but me, I'm also just thinking of putting on the new pads and bedding them...but might mill off lip first...will see what my shop advises.

So...rotors can be measured and often folks here go two sets of pads for one rotor fine...saves you some $ possibly.

Bad alignment will eat up tires...but also on pulling...make sure you're obsessive and very accurate to tire pressure...use door jamb pressure pretty closely and make sure rt. to left pressures are as exact as you can make them. I had alignment go out and for about a week I corrected it with stagger...1/2 pound on one side in front and 1/2 lower on the other side in rear...so car is sensitive to tire pressure, as any would be, and you'd notice it not just in driving but in braking too if it's off.

HTH...good luck!

Doug

 

[joneperry]

^ Yeah i kow i need that alighment soon :facepalm: myself... i just got the fcabs replaced by bmw 5 k miles ago, if somehow they got messed up then :censor::censor:!!! they better not be, i paid like.. ohh wait i got that under warranty !

but binding??? what does that mean? i need to replace the pads and im just going to get new rotors, i hate the rust on mines. so if i just put new pads and rotors and new brake fluid ( i got a full flush like 2 months ago but now its light brown ) so im going to do it again with ate blue when i change the pads/rotors. so if i get new pads that will solve the binding problem?

also, is there suppose to be a big gap between the pad and the rotor (when parked) if the pads are down to 20/10%..... i have no gap (which made me to think my calipers were sticking)

 

[shahbaz99]

that looks normal. easiest way to know if your caliper is seized is to go for a drive and try to brake as softly as possible. after about 10 min pull over somewhere and just stick your hand behind the spokes of each rim. if one brake assembly is giving off more heat than the others than thats the seized one. i diagnosed my calipers like that and i was absolutely right. replace it in my driveway, bled the lines and the cars been fine since. braking feels even better because i think i had some air lingering in my lines before.

 

[dmax]

The gap between pad and rotor is reputedly about 5/1000" It'd look like it's touching...you have to look beneath the backing plate to see how much pad you have left.

And no, that lack of visible space doesn't affect the binding...unless you really don't have a space. If your run on highway and feel rotor temps, you'll know if it really is binding.

New pads won't stop binding, unless the piston itself is corroded and has messed up the seal...that happens, but doesn't seem to a lot. Rinsing salt, etc. in winter prolly will help minimize that issue.

You might also get binding from caliper guide pins not gliding...the holes can be cleaned and greased...and if you feel extra heat on one rotor, I'd start there...but if you're going to get new brake parts, you'll do that anyway then.

As far as rust on the rotors...mine rust...some compounds might not, but a couple applications of brakes cleans them off...and rust on the top or inside isn't going to affect anything. You might not need rotors...though you're welcome to get them of course...know you can get a set for around $80/pair plus/minus...I think...it's been a while.

But, measure the rotor and see if shop can mill it down...or just mill the lip, though it you don't, bed the pad and don't be surprised if you get a little rubbing of new pad on lip...eventually it'll wear away. I had that...it's squeal in the last 5' of stop for me for about a month when I last took things apart to clean stuff up.

HTH

You don't need to go crazy about it, though...if they ever fail, you've got e-brake, downshifting, and hopefully some bushes or pedestrians to slow your car without seriously hurting it! LOL

Doug

 

[joneperry]

ohh btw i forgot to add no unsual heat after todays commute on i95

 

[joneperry]

New pads won't stop binding, unless the piston itself is corroded and has messed up the seal...that happens, but doesn't seem to a lot. Rinsing salt, etc. in winter prolly will help minimize that issue.

You might also get binding from caliper guide pins not gliding...the holes can be cleaned and greased...and if you feel extra heat on one rotor, I'd start there...but if you're going to get new brake parts, you'll do that anyway then.



HTH

You don't need to go crazy about it, though...if they ever fail, you've got e-brake, downshifting, and hopefully some bushes or pedestrians to slow your car without seriously hurting it! LOL

Doug

LOL^ no downshifting Doug, automatic FTL!! well ive read alot of your posts regarding brake calipers and noticed you seem to mention grease the guide pins, so im going to do that to all four calipers and then replace the pads and im doing the rotors for the heck of it because this will be the first brake job done on my car since taking ownership, might as well start fresh and i got a brembo rotor for 16 brand new already paid so might as well... thanks for the help though:bow: you always come to the rescue

 

[joneperry]

that looks normal. easiest way to know if your caliper is seized is to go for a drive and try to brake as softly as possible. after about 10 min pull over somewhere and just stick your hand behind the spokes of each rim. if one brake assembly is giving off more heat than the others than thats the seized one. i diagnosed my calipers like that and i was absolutely right. replace it in my driveway, bled the lines and the cars been fine since. braking feels even better because i think i had some air lingering in my lines before.

now that i am thinking about it everycar has more brake dust on the front wheels, ive noticed that all my life..... why did i make a thread about this :facepalm: myself, maybe its cuz im just so paranoid, 60k is when these cars start falling apart or at least maintainance wise

 

[iansanderson]

the heat method is OK, but to really test for a sticky caliper, you need to get the wheels off the ground, car in neutral and spin them one at a time. It will be very obvious if a caliper is sticking as the wheel will not turn or barely turn.

you can also visually check the rotors for signs of overheating/cracking/blueing.

Other thing you can do it stop at a near-level intersection, in neutral and see if the car rolls on it's own. A sticky caliper will sometimes hold the car.

 

[joneperry]

the heat method is OK, but to really test for a sticky caliper, you need to get the wheels off the ground, car in neutral and spin them one at a time. It will be very obvious if a caliper is sticking as the wheel will not turn or barely turn.

you can also visually check the rotors for signs of overheating/cracking/blueing.


Other thing you can do it stop at a near-level intersection, in neutral and see if the car rolls on it's own. A sticky caliper will sometimes hold the car.

yeah i also knew about that free wheel spin method just havent had time to get the car on jackstands


i tried the near level intersection thing like for the past 3 weeks.... it rolls slowly... but on a slight incline the car is held.... i know i should expect the car to go forward when at a stop light on a hill, but all my other toyotas do that... so just wondering

 

[dmax]

FYI...full disclosure...one, there's a special brake grease...and two, although Bentley and evidently BMW say no brake grease, many here do it...some use anti-seize, but that just seems wrong to me...prolly isn't, but just seems that way to me for some reason.

Also, if I'm wrong, you happen to have beige leather sport seats I can have dibs on? LOL

Doug

 

[joneperry]

lol your not wrong that i have beige leather sport seats..... but you are wrong that they are from a vert lol and thus wont fit sorry, that fact also gets me tooo.... whenever i see a coupe interior for sale (like cinnamon) im like :drool: but then realize that the damn convertible front seats have the seat belts attached to te seat




whats wrong with yours? by the way your car seems to be kept, i would suspect that your seats are virtually brand new?

 

[dmax]

lol your not wrong that i have beige leather sport seats..... but you are wrong that they are from a vert lol and thus wont fit sorry, that fact also gets me tooo.... whenever i see a coupe interior for sale (like cinnamon) im like :drool: but then realize that the damn convertible front seats have the seat belts attached to te seat




whats wrong with yours? by the way your car seems to be kept, i would suspect that your seats are virtually brand new?

Actually, for 208K miles...the seats are fine...no rips and you wouldn't think 200K of sitting, leatherique ftw (at least since I got it), but the regular seats aren't so supportive at all...I slide sideways in turns and don't like it...but, I manage!

Someday I might have to go on strike here until someone gives me their leather heated sport seats (for sedan in beige, please!).

A vert,, huh? How many miles? I think you might look better in a sedan...like a fern green metallic one! Maybe you want to trade problems?

Doug

 

[joneperry]

lol 65k miles yeah maybe someday ill look into a sedan, yours is hella clean though! ^ looks brand new in the sig, tahts car def in it for the 300k mark, ill see if i can keep an eye out for beige seats outside of the forum in my area, and yeah i need to get on leatherique the color is already disappearing on the drivers bolster

 

[joneperry]

ohh man slight vibration (real slight) over 70 mph, noticeably vibrations 80+ mph

 

[dmax]

ohh man slight vibration (real slight) over 70 mph, noticeably vibrations 80+ mph

Check front wheels/tires...prolly flat spotted inside rim where you wouldn't otherwise see it...that or a thrown wheel weight. Not 100%, but pretty likely.

Lift car in front, have someone spin tire while you look.

If flatspotted, move to rear.

Seems like most other things that would cause a vibration, you'd feel going up to 70.

HTH

Doug