Burning smell and hot rotor, brakes replaced!

[Navi271]

I have a 30 mile round trip to and from work with lots of highway and some city driving. I came home today and realized, this weird smell I just started smelling in the past few days whenever I pull into the garage is not normal at all! It smells like something's dead in manure and has been sitting out in the sun on a humid 100 degree day. I start scoping out my car, and I can tell the smell is coming from the front driver's side wheel. Upon further inspection I see the rotor is steaming and the wheel well is full of steam, it is raining today, and the rotor is too hot to touch. The other rotors are hot but not nearly as hot as the front driver's side one. I also remembered my car has been braking a little funny recently. One time in particular I remember, when I pressed the brake pedal for a stop light my car pulled to the right for a couple seconds and then evened out as I came to a stop. I've noticed other slight pulls to the right but never really thought about it besides thinking maybe I need an alignment. There are no unusual sounds when braking.

After doing a little research this is pointing to a collapsed brake line, seized brake caliper, dragging caliper or a combination of those. If my rotor is freaking hot that is almost a guarantee of my brake pad making contact on the rotor for much longer than it should be, right? Anyone have another idea to what could be going on?

If you guys agree it's a brake problem and a piece needs to be replaced I figure why not replace it all? I need new rotors, they're slightly warped, and I've been looking for an excuse to upgrade. I'm thinking H6 rotor and caliper upgrade front with either H6 or WRX rotor and caliper upgrade rear with all new brake lines. Any recommendations on that?



Gotta love that hot old rusty metal smell...

[Huffer]

Service your brake caliper, both sides. You likely have a seized piston in the caliper, or your pads are stuck in the caliper bracket and not floating enough.

If you have uneven wear on the pads or rotors, replace them but make sure your caliper is working correctly first.

[Navi271]

Thanks for the reply Huffer.

So since I've never actually done anything with brakes before, a friend that knows what he's doing and I are going to take things apart and see whats up on Saturday morning. We'll try to fix it and/or figure out what all I need to replace.

[unsullied_spy]

Sounds like the caliper needs replaced. Caliper, pads, and rotor need to go. Check out the lines while you're in there and make sure you bleed them real well.

[Navi271]

I forgot to update this!

We only got to taking apart the one causing trouble, but found nothing obviously not working, however pads and rotors will need to be replaced.
The pins are fine and aren't sticking. If the caliper was sticking it wasn't sticking anymore. It was moving freely when we tested it. One of the pads could have been stuck. We're not really sure. Here's why at least this pad and rotor needs to be replaced.

Inside pad
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_9828_zps0cd2e5d8.jpg

Inside rotor
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_9832_zps62d8ece9.jpg

This rotor has been resurfaced before, so I'll just replace it. It's pretty messed up on the edges though still usable. We greased everything up and put it back together, made sure everything still worked and so far so good. No more dragging calipers/pads.

All of the lines were bled last November just through regular maintenance. I'm still planning on replacing all calipers, pads, rotors and lines soon.

[dodik]

its possible that the other side is not braking enough (possible air in the lines, rust, dirt, old brake fluid, etc )thus all the stopping came from the hot side. I'd check and make sure the other side is working properly.

[Navi271]

its possible that the other side is not braking enough (possible air in the lines, rust, dirt, old brake fluid, etc )thus all the stopping came from the hot side. I'd check and make sure the other side is working properly.
Good idea! I'll try to check the other side out this weekend.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Yep, I'd recommend:

- New Calipers, rotors, pads
- Full brake bleed after installing new calipers.

Mechanically, it isn't a hard job, just be prepared for a seized bolt (spray everything down early so you are less likely to break something).

[unsullied_spy]

Yep, I'd recommend:

- New Calipers, rotors, pads
- Full brake bleed after installing new calipers.

Mechanically, it isn't a hard job, just be prepared for a seized bolt (spray everything down early so you are less likely to break something).
If you have a really stuck bolt a propane torch comes in handy. Heat it up, hose it down with penetrating oil, and hit it with a big wrench and a rubber mallet. Breaks most anything loose.

[Navi271]

I'm not sure we'll have a propane torch available, but I'll start hosing it down with PB Blaster or something probably now, up until the install of new brake stuff which will consist of:

TO BE INSTALLED
- 04 LGT Raybestos Front Calipers/Brackets/Rotors (FRC11607/8)(980141R)
- Centric StopTech F/R Brake Pads (30909290/7700)
H6 Rear Brake Upgrade (Thanks Regardie)
- 02 WRX Raybestos Rear Calipers (FRC11145/6)
- 04 Legacy Cardone Rear Brackets (14-1605)
- 04 Legacy Raybestos Rear Rotors (96937R)
- Techna-Fit SS brake lines (SUB-1105CL)

[unsullied_spy]

Skip the H6 brakes and do the 05+ lgt rears. Vented discs > solid.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[Navi271]

Skip the H6 brakes and do the 05+ lgt rears. Vented discs > solid.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
Too late... lol
I did see that was an option, and I would have done that too, but a member on here had a regular H6 upgrade for sale. It was a good price and I wanted to help out a fellow SLi-er. It had been on sale for a while.

[unsullied_spy]

Ah, that works. It's an improvement nonetheless.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[Navi271]

Alright so everything is installed and works quite well. I find myself coming to a stop much easier and faster and my steering wheel and whole car doesn't shake anymore when braking. I used normal brake fluid, so I can upgrade that sometime later.

However...

After one thunderstorm, the calipers and rotors proceeded to cover themselves completely with surface rust. Seems like there was no protective coating on anything. Even OEM standard replacement parts don't require a protective coating. I know rotors rust naturally and that one revolution of the wheel will clear the contact patch of rust, but the rest of the rotor is all fair game for the rust to play on.

I asked around for what people used to combat the rust. I ended up buying Dupli-color paint, spray on semi-gloss black for the inner parts of the rotor and brush on silver for the calipers. I'll be taking everything apart to clean and paint it this memorial day weekend! I'll have pics of everything up soon just for fun.

[unsullied_spy]

What kind of temperature is that duplicolor rated to? I use exhaust paint because rotors can be several hundred degrees.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[Navi271]

What kind of temperature is that duplicolor rated to? I use exhaust paint because rotors can be several hundred degrees.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
It says up to 500 degrees (intermittent)

Wow, it actually says "intermittant" instead of intermittent. I hope spelling is the only thing they suck at.
I'm not sure how well it will hold up to autocrossing, but this whole thing is kind of an experiment for me. I'll keep updating this.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Don't they make brake paint that goes up above 1000*F?

I'm seriously considering getting pre painted rotors (Raybestos makes 'em) that only have open metal where the contact surface is.

[Navi271]

Yeah, maybe I should have gotten the pre painted ones as well. I didn't see anything above 500.

Man, today was the worst day to pick for painting. It's gotten a bit chilly and it's raining. Thankfully I'm in a garage. This is the only time I had to let the paint cure for a few days. We'll see how long this paint lasts, but it looks great freshly applied! lol

[Huffer]

Glad it's working out. The paint stuff is hard because you literally need the rotor to be separate from the brake mechanism and then actually baked to prevent corrosion... and then it's actually one of the most abused parts of the car - zero real protection from the elements, and has to perform instantly.

[Navi271]

Yeah I tried doing my best, and we'll see how long the paint lasts since it's so abused. I may have to get a loaner car and repaint this stuff better over a week or so instead of just a couple/few days.
However, here are some pics!

Close up of driver's front, soon after brake upgrades installed.
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_9882_zps3bc8856b.jpg

Here's how that exact same driver's front caliper and rotor looked after one rainstorm. :-(
This one was the worst out of all 4.
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_9927_zps4689f9b4.jpg

Close up of driver's rear, the first caliper, bracket, and rotor painted and reinstalled.
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr277/Navi271/IMG_9925_zpsc13fc5fd.jpg

The paint behind the summer wheels. Looks stock, which is awesome and exactly what I wanted. The StopTech pads do put out a bit more dust than normal pads. The dust is black as well, so you can see it on the silver calipers after a while, or if the car hasn't been washed for a week.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

I'll update this thread if anything else come up concerning these brakes. Thanks for everyone's help to make this happen!

[unsullied_spy]

Thanks for updating us--at least regarding the Stop Tech brakes. I see them all over different websites for a low price and I worry about brakes that promise such performance for a cheap price. As long as they stop well and last fairly well they should be a good deal.

[Navi271]

Thanks for updating us--at least regarding the Stop Tech brakes. I see them all over different websites for a low price and I worry about brakes that promise such performance for a cheap price. As long as they stop well and last fairly well they should be a good deal.
I never thought about that when I purchased them. I was sold after I saw they were performance pads half the price of hawk pads.

No problems with anything as of yet. I'm much more confident I'll come to a safe stop when someone slams on the brakes in front of me.