2001 Forrester Brake Problems

[beach_house1990]

Purchased new in 2001 had the brakes replaced in 2005 at 44,000 miles
due to "glazed" brakes caused from overheating. Was told factory
brakes were not good quality and replaced with high quality brake pads.


Since the new brakes it has been in several times for adjustments,
noise, and now vibrating. What could be causing all the problems. The
technician said it was from riding the brakes, which it isn't. Driving
conditions are - streets max 40 mph, intermittent stopping. No
excessive driving, no excessive braking. Road conditions - asphalt in
poor condition, pot holes, ruts in the road, but not so terrible that
affects driving significantly.

Why would the rotors warp after only 10,000 miles on the new brakes? I
don't beleive any driving conditions would cause this many brake
problems unless there is defect in the parts, or there is something
mechancial wrong (something sticking intermittently causing excessive
heat, ??).

Thank you.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Purchased new in 2001 had the brakes replaced in 2005 at 44,000 miles
due to "glazed" brakes caused from overheating. Was told factory
brakes were not good quality and replaced with high quality brake pads.


Since the new brakes it has been in several times for adjustments,
noise, and now vibrating. What could be causing all the problems. The
technician said it was from riding the brakes, which it isn't. Driving
conditions are - streets max 40 mph, intermittent stopping. No
excessive driving, no excessive braking. Road conditions - asphalt in
poor condition, pot holes, ruts in the road, but not so terrible that
affects driving significantly.

Why would the rotors warp after only 10,000 miles on the new brakes? I
don't beleive any driving conditions would cause this many brake
problems unless there is defect in the parts, or there is something
mechancial wrong (something sticking intermittently causing excessive
heat, ??).

Thank you.

Though it is possible to actually warp rotors, it is much more rare than
folks realize. Also, if the servicing that was done did not include
replacing the rotors, it is also possible the old problem was only
treated but not 'cured'. read this;
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

Carl

 

[Edward Hayes]

My 2000 Forester did not need brakes until ~80,000 +miles. OEM pads
are very good pads. Rotors can be warped by driving through water
after the disks are very hot due to braking from high speed. Warping
is most often caused by not tightening the lug nuts in the proper
sequence and not to the correct torque. Glazing can be caused by
riding the brakes which you say you don't. If the new pads were a
"hard pad" and or anti squeal goop is not applied then you have your
problem. Just my observations Ed

 

[Kevin Hall]

If you live in an area in which salt is used on roads in winter, it is
possible that corrosion is causing your calipers to stick. In effect that
would be the same as someone 'riding' the brake, and could cause dragging,
vibration, excess heat in the brakes and premature wear.
KH

 

[lithium56]

My 2001 Forester S Ltd is from Providence, R.I. and had some nasty salt
water air corrosion on the calipers (and under the hood). I, for what
it's worth, recommend disassembling, cleaning, and lubricating the
entire caliper on each wheel. I can't find a Hayes or Clymer manual
for this model. Can anyone recommend a good "shop" manual for this car?

 

[Kevin Hall]

Fairly common. Where we live, in eastern Ontario lots of mechanics
recommend avoiding vehicles with 4-wheel discs due to the vulnerability of
calipers, particularly the rears, to salt in winter.

The combination of disc fronts and drum rears on our old '99 Fartster seems
like a good, workable compromise. Several folks we know with discs on all
4 corners go through a lot of cash getting the rears massaged back to life
each winter. It seems a lot of salt-laden debris gets kicked back to the
rears, and they are much more affected than the fronts.
KH

 

[nobody >]

My 2001 Forester S Ltd is from Providence, R.I. and had some nasty salt
water air corrosion on the calipers (and under the hood). I, for what
it's worth, recommend disassembling, cleaning, and lubricating the
entire caliper on each wheel. I can't find a Hayes or Clymer manual
for this model. Can anyone recommend a good "shop" manual for this car?

Chilton has a fairly new manual covering the Legacy (with Outback) and
Forester 2000-2006.

Chilton's # 64304

FWIW, it appears that Chilton and Haynes have merged. Both names appear
on the inside title page.

 

[abcd]

The most common problem is that the floating caliper can't float due to
corrosion on the pins that the caliper slides on. Remove the wheel (19mm or
3/4 socket)and then with a 14 mm wrench (sometimes a 12mm on the rear)
remove the bottom bolt from the caliper. After removing this bolt, you can
swing the caliper upwards and then slide toward the middle of the car and
the caliper will be free. You will see the top pin. It should have some
high temp silicone grease already on it. If not then lube it with said
grease (dialectric grease is a high temp silicone). the bottom pin will now
have to be pulled out and lubed also (the one the bolt came out of). if
either of these pins become stuck due to corrosion, it will cause
overheating and rotor warpage because the pads stay pushed against the rotor
even after you remove your foot from the brake. this is definitely the case
if the inner pad is completely worn while the outside pad still looks good.
If you have heavy corrosion, you will prob. have to replace the pins. I
recommend a qualified Suby tech do this, because sometimes the pins break
while trying to remove them and require special tools and technique to
remove. While you are in there go ahead and remove the pads and then pop
out the stainless steel clips from the caliper. There are 2 per side, one
on top and one on the bottom. Clean the area where you removed the clips
with a flat blade screwdriver and some brake clean. The bottom will be
especially dirty. Clean the clips thouroughly also. Lube the clips on both
sides with antiseize (the copper kind works better) and reinstall clips.
Now you will need to clean the little ears on the top and bottom of each pad
with a tooth brush and some brake clean. You are trying to insure that the
pads can move freely on the stainless steels clips. Now reassemble and you
should be good to go. Some older model pads don't have the little ears on
the top and bottom of the pad, but instead have recessed ears. the same
cleaning procedure applys though. You must insure that everything can move
freely.