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(WH LS1 Statesman) - Rotor+Pad noise - Could this be a warped rotor? *Video Included*

Discussion in 'VT - VX Holden Commodore (1997 - 2002)' started by DinkyDonka, Aug 25, 2016.

  1. Aug 25, 2016 #1
    DinkyDonka

    DinkyDonka New Member

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    WH LS1 Statesman all stock.

    When driving on a straight road with my feet off the pedals and hands off the wheel, you can physically see the steering wheel nudge ever so slightly to left after every full road wheel rotation causing the car to veer to the left.

    With the wheel off i spun the hub and noticed this noise and also on the inner side of the rotor there is a pronounced lip worn into the outer edge, unlike the side that is visible in the video.

    Could this symptom and the noise be an indication of a warped rotor? As much as i squinted at the rotor while it was spinning i could not see any sort of wobble or warpage at all.

    Thanks!


     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 21, 2016
    DinkyDonka, Aug 25, 2016
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  2. Aug 25, 2016 #2
    edals

    edals Well-Known Member

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    Video is private, cannot view.
    Most of the time when you brake the steering shudders for warped rotors.
    The movement while driving could be a out of balanced tyre.
    The noise could be the pads, seized caliper pin, brake hardware skimming the disc, or lack of lubricant on where the pad seats into the caliper bracket, or excess rotor lip as you mentioned.

    Edit: watched video, sounds just like normal brake pad drag. My cars make almost the identicle sound. No warp though.
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2016
    edals, Aug 25, 2016
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  3. Aug 25, 2016 #3
    DinkyDonka

    DinkyDonka New Member

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    Argh i'm an idiot, it should work now, sorry about that!

    I don't notice any sort of pulsating or shudder out of the norm when braking in suburban areas but will have to get it on the highway and see if it has any pronounced shudder at higher speeds.

    Tried swapping the two front wheels and that hasn't seemed to make any difference whatsoever :(

    I'll put these on the list of things to check the next time i get a chance to take a look at her again, thanks!
     
    DinkyDonka, Aug 25, 2016
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  4. Aug 25, 2016 #4
    edals

    edals Well-Known Member

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    No worries.
    I had steering wobble a while back and turned out to be the entire steering rack.
    So check all the suspension bushes, ball joints etc. jack up the car, leave the wheel on, rock the wheel side to side at 9-3 and 12-6 and see if theres any movmemt.
     
    edals, Aug 25, 2016
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  5. Aug 25, 2016 #5
    uniacidz

    uniacidz Harden the Frak Up

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    Looks normal to me, mine does that also.

    As Blues Brother said above, check ya wheels left and right, up and down
    My tie rod ends were giving way, causing pull to the left and wheel vibration.
    Changed, now car is as smooth as.
     
    uniacidz, Aug 25, 2016
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  6. Aug 25, 2016 #6
    gtrboyy

    gtrboyy Well-Known Member

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    Jack car up...spin wheel by hand.

    Look if it's chucking a wobbly...wheel bearing or buckled wheel is common.
     
    gtrboyy, Aug 25, 2016
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  7. Aug 26, 2016 #7
    WHCapriceHBD

    WHCapriceHBD Member

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    I don't have anything like that happening in my WH Caprice. That is not normal. It would be cause for concern if it started happening to my car.

    Nearly a year a go I upgraded to larger brakes using a mixture of Grange parts and Corvette parts (because the WH braking is woeful on these heavy cars and can't keep up with a V8 IMHO).
    I used to have a faint grinding noise when travelling close to a concrete wall with the window rolled down, and that turned out to be drivers front wheel bearing. When I did the upgrade, the car got 4 larger rotors, new pads, new calipers, 4 wheel bearings, etc. All the grinding noise completely went away and its now smooth and silent.

    Wheel bearings are quite cheap, around $100 for a pair of fronts and not too bad to change. I would check the rotors with a dial indicator to see what the runout is, check for stuffed wheel bearings as described above, and also check that the calipers and pads are ok- no seized slide pins or damaged pads. If that all checks out then you might need to go deeper into suspension components.
     
    WHCapriceHBD, Aug 26, 2016
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