This is on a '97 C1500 2wd WT. I did a brake job a few months ago (1500 miles ago) with new raybestos premium rotors and some spectra branded pads. The truck was smooth up until recently when it started to act up. Here's what it does on a daily basis. It's currently 14 deg here in minnesota and in the morning whenever I get in the truck and go the brakes are smooth and I mean beautifully smooth. However, after driving for 10 minutes or so, they pulse when I come to a stop like I have warped rotors. Also the truck has a slight vibration at highway speeds and if I ride the brake pedal I can feel the rate of the pulse at the pedal is what I feel at the steering wheel/seat. So what's going on here? I've checked the rotors and there is zero runout on both. Maybe 1 thousandth on one of them. Could cheap pads be heating up and sticking to the rotor? What gives? I need some ideas. Although this is a winter beater, I do drive long distances at a time and like to be comfortable. I got to thinking again, could this be cheap wheel bearing grease as well? I used valvoline disc brake grease. Also bearings looked great when I swapped them into the new rotors (hub and rotors are one piece on these older trucks).

 

i had a problem once with using old bearings...

but being the temperature i would be more worried about a lazy caliper... did you grease the slide pins??

 

pull it apart and inspect everything carefully and re-lube everything possible. i would have put new bearings in the new rotors. im hoping you arent still using the old bearing races as well. spend a few extra dollars and get good pads when you pull it apart.

 

I forgot to mention I have 4 brand new caliper bolts along with new premium bushings installed. Also all new O-rings as well for the bushings to slide back and forth in. All freshly lubed with caliper bolt grease (the yellow looking stuff from napa). As far as the bearings go, they were so nice I didn't feel they needed to be replaced. And with the rotors come new races. I've never seen a new rotor these days that didn't have new races installed. Although now that I think about it, I thought I read somewhere once that the new rotors with races now should have the races replaced before you put them on your car. Something about the new rotors have cheap races that are designed to just be put on a lathe for machining purposes??? Anyways I'm thinking it's either pads or wheel bearings.

 

Are the rotors getting very hot after a short drive[one or both]?I've seen where the rubber brake hoses as they get old can crack internally.The flap acts like a check valve and won't let the fluid release the caliper fully.Which will over heat the rotors and wear out your new brakes.

 

If you have not replaced the brake fluid hoses, I would start there as stated above. The rubber hoses will colapse inside and trap pressure in calipers causing pads to heat up. Being a 97 model up north, GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

imo id replace the bearings and the races