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Brake Pulsation - 2000 GMC Sierra

Hello, I'm new here. I'm hoping someone can help with my problem.

My vehicle is a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500, 2WD. Last July/06, I had both front and rear rotors machined due to brake pulsation - this corrected the problem. At that time the milage was 67338 miles. Since then I've put on an additional 7723 miles and am again experiencing brake pulsation. My GM dealer tells me the rear rotors must be replaced (not enough material left to machine them). And the front rotors need to be machined again.

I asked why the rotors would be warped again after so few miles and was told it had nothing to do with the number of miles driven. I was told it could be caused by rust buildup or hard braking or 'panic' braking. There is no rust on the rotors and I don't see how hard braking would be the reason in my case. I'm not a fast driver and I consider most of my braking to be 'moderate'. That said, I would think that the rotors should be robust enough to withstand the occasional heavy braking. At the moment the pulsation is not severe and I've declined to have the work done.

For what it's worth, here's the rest of the history on my brakes:

- 03/2003 - rear rotors and pads replaced at 33555 miles.

- 02/2005 - front rotors and pads replaced at 54060 miles.

- 06/2005 - rear rotors and pads replaced at 55726 miles.

I have heard or read somewhere on the internet that the brakes on this vehicle are not one of it's strong points. In addition I also read where GM decided to return to using drum brakes on the rear of these pickups. This suggests to me that rear disk brakes have been problematic on these vehicles.

What I would like is for my GM dealer to replace or machine my rotors without charge since I think the damage should not have occurred with so few miles. GM won't give into my request easily of course if they can blame it on driver error.

So what I'm looking for is written proof that these brakes just don't stand up well. Are there others who've had similar problems? Do you know if such problems have been written up somewhere - something I can take to GM to prove there is a problem?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Clark

Reply to
Clark
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91K on a 2000 Silverado. Replaced front pads at 75k. (That's all). What does your brake pedal look like? Can you still read the logo?
Reply to
Bill

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have fun...........

~:~ marsh ~:~

Reply to
Marsh Monster

Chev 2000 Front brake rotor pulsation Can Mean:

1) Warped front brake rotors OR 2) A bad front wheel speed sensor or sensors where 1 or both front brakes ABS pulse at low speeds when they should not pulse on dry pavement.
Reply to
Dennis Mayer

Thanks for the links Marsh.

Clark

Reply to
Clark

Thanks for the clarification Dennis - this is good to know. Dealer confirms it's warpage both front and rear.

Clark

quoted text -

Reply to
Clark

More information on my warped rotors.

In a GM Saturn Warranty Administration document, I quote the following:

Lateral Run Out (LRO) can be induced when uneven torque is applied to wheel nuts (lug nuts). Improper wheel tightening after tire rotation, spare tire usage, brake inspection, etc. can be the cause of pulsation. Again, it usually takes 4800-16000 km (3000-10000 mi) AFTER an event for the condition to surface. The owner or driver does not usually make the connection between the service event and the awareness of the pulsation. The proper use of torque wrenches and/or torque sticks (torque limiting sockets) will greatly reduce or eliminate the pulsation conditions after wheel service events. The improper use of impact wrenches on wheel nuts greatly increases the likelihood of pulsation after wheel service.

End quote

In my case, all 4 rotors were machined July/06 to correct warpage. After driving only 12429 km, I again experenced brake pulsation. Dealer inspected brakes and found that rotors were again warped. At this time, I didn't have the problem corrected. Since wheels had been removed and replaced after brake examination, i decided to check the wheel nuts tightness myself with a torque wrench. I discovered that tightness ranged from a low of 75 pd-ft to a high of 180 pd-ft (correct torque should have been 140 pd-ft). This was an indication to me that a torque wrench had not been used. The miles I'd driven since the last time rotors were machined is within the range mentioned in the Saturn document. I maintain that if the dealer technicians hadn't followed procedure this time, perhaps they hadn't back in July/

06 either. So my rotors may well have been warped the second time due to improper wheel tightening.

I took this information to my dealer and he agreed to pick up the labour costs for machining front rotors, servicing rear brakes and replacing rear rotors. I had to pay for the cost of the rear rotors themselves but the charge was less than retail. I didn't feel I should have had to pay for the rotors but dealer maintained that there was room for the possibility that hard braking may have been partly responsible for the problem. I couldn't prove otherwise of course, so partial compensation was better than none had I been stubborn about this.

I hope this info helps some of you with similar problems. Check tightness of wheel nuts after dealer does servicing.

Clark

Reply to
Clark

====== ====== Glad to here they worked with you on the prob...Clark.

Good research work dude.....vn.

~:~ marsh ~:~

Reply to
Marsh Monster

I agree, excellent research which paid off. This thing about panic braking warping the rotors is a scam by GM I believe. There's no reason for that to warp rotors unless the rotors themselves are completely inadequate.

Reply to
Battleax

I all most agree with you Battleax. panic stopping is the wrong wording, but its easier on the customer accusing them of being the type of driver that is always on the brakes hard because they dont know how to anticipate traffic movement and red lights, and there are a lot of them.. And am no way am I saying this is the case with the OP in this thread. Stories I could tell you from my records about abused brakes would keep us up all weekend at least and require a large stock of 'refreshements", but then I am sure you could swap some loo-loos with me as well.

Whitelightning

Reply to
Whitelightning

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