Brake Job: Preventing Brake Pulsations

This 2006 Nissan X-Trail came in with customer complaints of pulsation in the front brakes. Under inspection, Simone Performance technicians noticed the rotors are very rusted and Vic has a bad feeling that the venting of the pads is plugged.

They will be doing a brake job; replacing the rotors and the pads with premium parts from NAPA. You can watch it all in the video below.

A few points on brakes:

1. There’s different types of brake pads available:

• Ceramic: probably the best thing available right now, low dust, grab well, minimal maintenance.
• Metallic: are fantastic because they bite very well, problem is they may squeak in the morning or in damp weather. After a couple of applications the noise does go away.

Ceramic pads come with proper heat dissipation plates on the back and come with the shim kits for anti-rattle.
They offer better quality and better bang for your buck because they go on smooth and you’ll have less headaches.

2. When should you have your brake fluid changed?

Brake fluid needs to be flushed out with every job, the reason being that it absorbs moisture. When moisture gets in the brake system the pedal gets spongey.

As the brake material wears inside the hydrolic system, the rubber hoses, the seals, will flake off and start clogging up the line. You should change the fluid whenever you do a 4-wheel brake job or 2-wheel brake job. It’s very important.

3. Preventing Brake Pulsations

In the video, Rad is cleaning off the hub surface of the rotor. That hub surface is the flat spot where the rotor mounts. If that is not clean, this car will leave with a brake pulsation right away. That has to be spotless and lubed up so that the rotor can sit on it flat.

He is using an old pad to push in the caliper pistons. Those pistons have to go in nice and smooth. If he feels any resistance in those pistons that means the caliper has to be rebuilt or replaced.

4. Proper Estimates for a Brake Job

To give a proper estimate, the shop should take those off first and make sure that the slider pins are free so you can get a proper estimate on if they need to be replaced too. If the other shops don’t do this, you may get a surprise phone call saying you need to replace the calipers too.

5. Proper Cleaning of the Parts Before Assembly

The brake rotor has been washed in hot water and soap and then cleaned off with brake cleaner. It is very important to clean off the brake rotor properly. There is a step-by-step procedure. If you do it right, you get all of the metal shavings from manufacturing off.

Now he is cleaning off the caliper itself because there is a lot of rust and old brake material stuck to that caliper. He is going to clean it off the best he can so it remains flat onto the rotor and onto the caliper and onto the pads.

In the video, Mike has the brake caliper bracket. He has cleaned off the area where the pads would sit and the shims and is also lubing up the slider pins. It is very important. If you do not lube it up it will not last more than 12,000-24,000km.

6. Proper Maintenance

Try to remember to ask the technicians to have a look at the brakes during every other routine oil change. They should make sure the slider pins are free and that nothing is sticking.

7. Levels of Brake Rotors

Also, when it comes to brake rotors, there are different levels of brake rotors. There are premiums and seconds. Vic prefers to use the premium type because he knows they will last at least the expectancy of the pads. He aims to get at least 40,000km out of a set of brakes. If you go with the inexpensive type, you may only get about 20,000km.

8. Putting Everything Back Together

Rad is putting the bracket back on in the video. The slider pins are free, and everything’s been cleaned up. Everything should be able to slide nicely into place. Then he will put the caliper back on, tighten it up. When he goes to put the wheel back on, you will actually see him torque it on by hand because that’s the proper way to do it.

He is using the air-gun just to draw in the wheel, going in a criss-cross pattern. Once he gets it down on the ground he will re-torque it twice over.

There are many things working together to ensure your braking system is working properly. It’s good to have a trusting relationship with your service technician team. They can check and tell you the condition of your brakes, as well as provide a proper estimate of when they will need to be serviced and/or replaced.
If you have any questions about the video, or this blog, please leave a comment below.

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Keep it clean, keep it safe!

Vic Simone