Brake Rotor Rubbing Inside of Caliper after replacement

[Snafujg]

Hi all. I have an issue with my 2004 Pilot EXL where, after replacing the pads and rotors on all four tires, the rotors are rubbing the inside of the calibers in the front. This only happens when I turn, though. When I'm going straight, there is no rubbing. And if I turn real slow, slow enough that the truck doesn't roll, I don't hear the noise either.

Since they don't rub when I'm going straight, that tells me that they aren't too big. If they were the wrong size, I'd think they would rub all the time. I've tried 3 different manufacturer's rotors, all have the same issue. But they have all been OEM parts. Would the Honda's be that much different?

I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the bearings. Maybe the bearings are going out (although they only have 45K miles on them) and it's allowing the tire to shift just enough when turning that it's rubbing the caliper.

Has anyone had this happen to them before, or have any idea what's going on?

[ED27]

Which rotors exactly did you try? Did you measure the size of new ones and compare it to the old ones? If it was a bearing issue I would assume that the problem would have been there with the old rotors.

[Snafujg]

Well, that's where we made our mistake. We didn't measure them to make sure they were exactly the same, and they've gone to dump already. Learned my lesson that one, never do that again!

I've tried both Wagner and Brakebest brands, and both are rubbing. They're from O'Rielly auto parts. Wagner Pads too.

One thing I just noticed is that there is a 1/8" gab around the outside of the rotor because the pads aren't flush. Shouldn't the outside of the pad be flush with the outside of the rotor? Could these aftermarkets be just a touch too tall?

I've ordered the Honda geniune rotors from the dealership. They told me they've seen this before. Could just be a line, I don't know yet. But they told me I can return them if the problem persists.

[belundy]

Huh....do you see shiny wear marks on the caliper or the rotor where they have been rubbing?

That would have to be a precedent... two reputable manufacturers making rotors that rubbed... You'd have to be off a country mile in the machining world, and that would be embarrassing.

Got to think something else is up. Can you take a photo with the tire off?

Pads are not flush with rotor edge--the pad moves around a bit in the caliper and can *never* move beyond the rotor edge as it would grind a ridge on the pad and lift the rest of it away from the rotor at times.

I used Raybestos rotors on my '02 Highlander in Feb and they were exact and very well finished. Worked perfect.

[Snafujg]

Yes, if I take the caliper off, flip it over, I see a shiny line where the rotor is rubbing the caliper. I'm at work, so I can't really take a picture of it. I can try tomorrow to take the picture when I swap out the rotors.

I'm still not convinced it's the rotor since it doesn't rub and has plenty of clearance when driving straight. When the car is sitting, I can turn the wheels all the way to the right/left, look in, and I see clearance between the Caliper and Rotor on the top. Can't see the bottome. But the line runs all the way thru the center of the caliper when I flip it over.

I'm still not convinced it's the bearings either because I didn't notice a squek out of it before I replaced the pad and rotors.

And everyone I've talked to seems as perplexed as I am.

[N_Jay]

Something is not right. (and I doubt the parts) (Based on almost every time I thought I had bad parts, I have found it was my screw up)

[Snafujg]

I agree that something doesn't seem right. But it's so simple. There's the two lag bolts that hold the brake pad housing in. Those are Tight. The caliper housing is on correctly. I lined up the flat side of the washers with the flat sides on the spring to that I could tighten them down. The pads are all the way into the brackets. We made sure the rotors are on the posts correctly. We even torqued the lug nuts back on to make sure everything is flush.

And we've done all that 3, maybe 4 times. I can't figure out where I've gone wrong, and no one else that I've talked to seems to get it either.

Very frustrating.

[N_Jay]

Has anyone else looked

Maybe time to take it to a mechanic?

[belundy]

Well....some thinking out loud....

Both front calipers do this, and it started doing it right after rotor replacement....

Pretty much rules out bad wheel bearings; at least it'd be the last thing I'd suspect. They don't fail catastrophically like that overnight, or at that mileage, and both wheels at the same time.

Got to be something that allows the hub or caliper to move.

Did you loosen the caliper mount bolts (not the slide pin bolts but the hub bracket bolts)? Are they still loose?

Both bracket bolts present?

Have you loosened the caliper hub bracket bolts, wiggled the bracket bolts and re-torqued?

Are the rotors going all the way onto the hub and getting centered?

When you put the wheel back on and torque up, is there any play when shaking the tire? i.e. is the wheel clamping the hub/rotor correctly?

Are the new rotors thicker than stock? New are 28.1 mm max.

Sometimes I take it apart all the way to my starting point and put it back together.

I may have missed it, but why did you replace all 4 rotors, anyway?

[Snafujg]

My pads were about 90% worn when I took them off to replace them. As I was doing this, I saw that my rotors were shot, even though they only had 45K miles on them. So I decided to replace all 4 while doing the pads.

I've done everything in your post below "belundy" with the exception of comparing them to the originals. Those got thrown out before I realized I had a problem. I've learned my lesson on that one!

I've got the new honda rotors, but it's been raining like crazy here in chicago so I haven't had a chance to put them on yet. I'm guessing I'm going to have the same issue though.

The sound is slowly going away. Not sure if that's bad or good. Good for my ears, but I'm guessing this means either the rotor is being worn down or the inside of the caliper. The caliper is pretty darn thick, so I don't think a little wear is going to hurt it.

As soon as it stops raining, I'll compare the Honda rotors to the Brakebest ones that are on there now and see if there is a size difference.