H3 Brake rotor wear

[4speedfunk]

H3 front calipers are solidly mounted and don't use floating pins. They are four piston and squeeze from both sides. What you say about the pins is very true on any other vehicle (and on the H3's rear brakes)...but not on the front of H3. So if this continues to be an issue it could be a stuck piston or some other internal problem with the caliper.

Frankly it looks to me like plain ole neglect. Perhaps the pads were ignored until the inner pad wore down to the steel backing plate and carved a grove in the rotor? Then someone replaced the pads and ran them on the grooved rotor which always results in uneven wear. (I've seen this a million times). H3 brakes are very precise and they work great when properly maintained. The downside is they must have everything just right. They are more finicky than the old single piston, floating calipers many of us grew up with.

 

[06BlueH3]

H3 front calipers are solidly mounted and don't use floating pins. They are four piston and squeeze from both sides. What you say about the pins is very true on any other vehicle (and on the H3's rear brakes)...but not on the front of H3. So if this continues to be an issue it could be a stuck piston or some other internal problem with the caliper.

Frankly it looks to me like plain ole neglect. Perhaps the pads were ignored until the inner pad wore down to the steel backing plate and carved a grove in the rotor? Then someone replaced the pads and ran them on the grooved rotor which always results in uneven wear. (I've seen this a million times). H3 brakes are very precise and they work great when properly maintained. The downside is they must have everything just right. They are more finicky than the old single piston, floating calipers many of us grew up with.

Thank you. Going to replace rotors, pads and calipers.


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[4speedfunk]

I will buy your old calipers if you don't need them for cores.


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[Kick'n Dust]

The caliper pins are more then likely seized up. and not letting the caliper slide back an forth when the brakes applied. So when you break only the puck or pistons are pushing on the outboard side.

H3 has monoblock calipers on the front. No caliper pins with this setup

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[Kick'n Dust]

I will buy your old calipers if you don't need them for cores.


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I kept and rebuilt mine too. Spares!

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[650Hawk]

So, 06BlueH3...what did you end up finding that was the cause of the weird wear pattern on the rotor?

 

[06BlueH3]

So, 06BlueH3...what did you end up finding that was the cause of the weird wear pattern on the rotor?

Haven't had the time to replace them yet. Moving my daughter to Boston for school this week. Also found my radiator had a leak before we left Sunday.


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[06BlueH3]

Okay finally replaced my rotors, pads and calipers. So far it looks like both sides of the rotors are wearing well. The one inch wear spot it has in the olds ones looks to be from stuck inside caliper pistons. It's the only thing I could find wrong. I will post pictures of the old pads and rotors tomorrow. Here is what the new ones look like.

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[Happy Hummer]

Haha! Sexy....

 

[Happy Hummer]

Got luv Hummer porn...

 

[06BlueH3]

Here is the wear on the inside of my old rotors. Just a 1 inch groove in the rotor. Weird.

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[JPaul]

That pad looks like it was starting to disintegrate, that's never a good sign. I'm wondering if it was just a bad pad (material wasn't fused properly or something like that). Sticking pistons wouldn't do something like that, they'd just wear the whole pad down a lot faster than the other side, or the pad would be worn at an angle end to end if it was just one of the two pistons sticking. Having it wear like that were it's right in the very middle of the pad across the entire pad, combined with the damage to the unworn portion of the pad, makes me think that pad was damaged somehow or was defective.

 

[mjferencak]

Okay finally replaced my rotors, pads and calipers. So far it looks like both sides of the rotors are wearing well. The one inch wear spot it has in the olds ones looks to be from stuck inside caliper pistons. It's the only thing I could find wrong. I will post pictures of the old pads and rotors tomorrow. Here is what the new ones look like.

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Are those the Power Stop calipers?

 

[06BlueH3]

That pad looks like it was starting to disintegrate, that's never a good sign. I'm wondering if it was just a bad pad (material wasn't fused properly or something like that). Sticking pistons wouldn't do something like that, they'd just wear the whole pad down a lot faster than the other side, or the pad would be worn at an angle end to end if it was just one of the two pistons sticking. Having it wear like that were it's right in the very middle of the pad across the entire pad, combined with the damage to the unworn portion of the pad, makes me think that pad was damaged somehow or was defective.

Thanks. That's a good point that the pads may be defective.


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[06BlueH3]

Are those the Power Stop calipers?

Yes, calipers, rotors and pads. Came as a set.


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[Kick'n Dust]

Here is the wear on the inside of my old rotors. Just a 1 inch groove in the rotor. Weird.

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That's pretty normal rotor wear. I see the inside surface in worse condition all the time. I don't see anything special about the pad wear. You probably could have had the rotors turned at your local Auto parts store and installed some Wagner Thermoquiet pads on it and called it a day. Earlier this year I measured my rotor run out and found it was .003" or less so I just put pads on, but if my rotors looked like yours I would have just turned them

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[rascole]

I used the Power Stop ceramic and was happy with them, low noise and very low dust. They only lasted 20k but still happy with them.

 

[JPaul]

That's pretty normal rotor wear. I see the inside surface in worse condition all the time. I don't see anything special about the pad wear. You probably could have had the rotors turned at your local Auto parts store and installed some Wagner Thermoquiet pads on it and called it a day. Earlier this year I measured my rotor run out and found it was .003" or less so I just put pads on, but if my rotors looked like yours I would have just turned them

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How is that normal rotor wear? I have never seen a rotor wear like that before. When the pad is two inches wide but less than 1 inch is being wiped clean on the rotor, something is seriously wrong.

 

[mjferencak]

I just installed Power Stop brake pads on my hummer and Camry Sunday. Ordering Power Stop calipers for my Charger this weekend. Front driver side locked up on me and started shooting beake oil out the boot. Let me know how those rotors work out. Saw them on rock auto for the hummer and wanted to pull the trigger but hesitated.

 

[4speedfunk]

My guess is that the previous set of pads were neglected and wore down to the rivets. This may have carved a groove into the surface of the rotor. Then the pads were replaced without replacing the worn rotor. After a couple thousand miles, the worn rotor carved the center out of the new pad, resulting in the odd-looking wear pattern.

Another thing that can cause weird brake wear, is if the sliders plates are corroded and allow the brake pad to get stuck or run slightly crooked. On the H3 front brakes, the slider plates are small stainless clips that snap into the calipers and the brake pads ride on them. These must be in good condition and lightly coated with caliper grease. I can see in your photo that they are bone dry. There is actually some rust on one of them, where there should be grease. Some premium pads come with new plates (PowerStop comes with new plates and grease), but most pad sets do not. I use EBC pads, and they do not come with new plates, so I buy them separately. Another trick I use is to run two springs on each caliper. GM only gives you one per side...but the holes are there so I run the second spring to keep things in alignment. This seems to help especially in muddy conditions.

The idea is that with proper lube on the sliders, and all the springs in place...the pads move evenly in and out and the springs keep the pads tight against the pistons. Without these tiny pieces...the pads are free to flop around and get hung up on the rough surface of the caliper casting. They often rattle when you hit bumps. You can buy the slider plates, anti-rattle springs, and caliper grease, separately at AutoZone. Without them...your new brakes will not perform properly.

BTW...Mjfarencak is missing the springs on his "Krylon Edition" calipers.

 

[Kick'n Dust]

How is that normal rotor wear? I have never seen a rotor wear like that before. When the pad is two inches wide but less than 1 inch is being wiped clean on the rotor, something is seriously wrong.

It's just something that happens. Nothing about a braking system on a H3 is serious. Like I said earlier, measure the rotors and determine if they can be turned. Then clean or replace the hardware, add lube to the rear caliper slides. When you compress the caliper pistons back into their bore they should go in smooth, if not rebuild or replace the caliper. Lube the ears of the pads and install your favorite flavor pad. The goal is to make sure everything moves freely. Done. I'll pull my brakes apart occasionally just to make sure everything is free and lubed. I tow with and trail drive my H3 so it needs more attention than a grocery getter

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[Kick'n Dust]

Just to show how common it is I pulled a rotor out of the top of our scrap bin and it has the same wear pattern

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[650Hawk]

It's just something that happens. Nothing about a braking system on a H3 is serious. Like I said earlier, measure the rotors and determine if they can be turned. Then clean or replace the hardware, add lube to the rear caliper slides. When you compress the caliper pistons back into their bore they should go in smooth, if not rebuild or replace the caliper. Lube the ears of the pads and install your favorite flavor pad. The goal is to make sure everything moves freely. Done. I'll pull my brakes apart occasionally just to make sure everything is free and lubed. I tow with and trail drive my H3 so it needs more attention than a grocery getter

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I, too, have never seen that type of wear on a brake rotor unless there was something seriously amiss, and I've seen/replaced plenty of brakes in my 55 years. Even if a previous pad or rotor was neglected and worn to metal/grooved...new pads will wear in to match the surface shape of the rotor. I have actually had pads wear in and match 1/8" deep grooved rotors. Having a 1" strip in the center without the pad making contact anywhere else is illogical; the center of the pad should wear and eventually contact the full surface of the rotor. ?????????

Only thing I can fathom that would cause that is a high spot in the center of the rotor combined with sticking caliper pistons or slides on that same side, so that pad was never actually pushing very hard against the rotor, and instead just lightly riding on the surface and never fully wearing in. Only the opposite side was actually providing any braking. Otherwise, the pad WOULD have worn in to match and eventually made full contact.

The fact that we now have seen at least two rotors with the same wear pattern just means that the sticking pistons or slides is a common H3 malady, perhaps more so back east with the road salts?.

 

[Kick'n Dust]

I'm saying the problem is nothing but neglect and not that serious. Follow 4speedfunks or my suggestion and your next set of rotors and pads will last you longer. The rotor I took a picture of, the rusty areas are higher than the shiny strip. Rust on a rotor is some tough **** and is difficult to cut and will dull cutting bits quickly. I live in Michigan and see this kind of rotor damage a lot. Vehicles that sit on our sales lot for an extended amount of time will need the the brakes serviced even though they were just done 3 months ago. Keeps food on my table.

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[4speedfunk]

Total agreement with KnD. Periodic inspections and lots of lube. This is especially true for the Hummer since we like to drive them thru rivers and mudholes. Also, the numerous traction systems are activating the brakes even when you don't realize it. So its even more critical that you keep a close eye on the braking system.

I have also seen this weird stripe many times before, on all sorts of cars from the 1970s-current. I sometimes wonder if these are caused from being overheated...such as coming down a mountain or pulling a trailer. I suppose if you got a rotor hot enough to glow, it might actually change the metallurgy to the point where the overheated portion rusts at a different rate than the steel around it. I have personally overheated brakes on several cars while coming thru the Smokies. Not uncommon to pull into a rest park and see the rotors glowing at night and smell the pads cooking. I also occasionally race a Mazda Miata on roadcourses, and those brakes take tremendous abuse...often replaced after every race for being overheated (glazed).