groove in new rotor after 2 weeks

[Billha]

I replaced the rotors and pads on my '02 Buick Park Ave Ultra a little less than 2 weeks ago (maybe 350 miles ago) with the best rotors and pads that AutoZone sells. The pads are the Duralast Gold Premium ceramic. For what it's worth, before I bought the pads I noticed that the ceramic pad material is much darker (almost black) and much more 'inconsistent' looking (appeared to be made from compressed pieces/chunks of different materials) than the best ceramic pads that I looked at while at Kragen O'Reilly (the pads at Kragen looked like they were made from a compressed finely ground gray powder). I chose the AutoZone pads based on recommendations on this forum.

Anyway, today I noticed that there's a groove being worn into the right front rotor, near the center of where the pad contacts the rotor surface. The front left rotor is showing signs of wear already also, but there is no groove on the surface of that rotor.

I assume there's a problem with the material of the outer right front pad. Braking seems fine, but should I remove the rotor and pads and return or exchange them?

[willwren]

Friends don't let friends Duralast. EVER!
They have the worst-quality parts made by the lowest-bidding chinese manufacturer.

Never buy anything branded by Autozone. Name-brand ONLY.

[02ssei]

i've always went with what works, myself. recently i'm trying to buy only usa made. so, that changes some things for me.

i'll head willwren's advice though.

i'd take the damaged parts back and ask for them to be replaced. or, as willwren suggested, upgrade to a different set if it's in your budget.

[wjcollier07]

Wow...THIS forum? Who on this forum uses DuraCrap? You need some good name brand parts, (Pads: Wagner, HAWK, Bendix, Akebono, Centric StopTech) (Rotors: Wagner, Centric Premium, Raybestos AT, Brembo Blanks, StopTech, PowerSlot).

At this point, I'd recommend taking the stuff back to AutoZone and demand a refund based simply upon dissatisfaction of the product.

[Billha]

I haven't had a single quick stop or hard braking scenario in the short time that the AutoZone rotors and pads have been on this car. I'm not happy that the right front rotor is scored after such a short time, and although I'll have to perform the labor again to replace them, I've decided I'm going to return the AutoZone rotors and pads.
I've also noticed that the front pads DO generate black brake dust...I'm disappointed about that also, as ceramic pads were advertised to me as being 'nearly dust free'. Nope, not the ones I bought!

I also bought their 'premium' rotors and 'cmax' pads for the rear, and the rear rotors look fine...but that's because the rear doesn't do as much braking as the front. I'm thinking of leaving the rears alone...those rotors were only around $25 each but the pads were the same price as the front pads. If I notice a problem with the rears I'll consider replacing them too, but I'll have to wait and see how they hold up.

I won't mention any names, but a search for 'cmax' will find several people who recommend them.

Can I buy 'brand name' parts online for less than what I'd pay at a local parts store? If so, where?
If not, then what's the most economical 'brand name' choice that I can get from a local parts store?
The 'premium' rotors from AutoZone were around $50 each, and the Duralast Gold Premium 'cmax' pads were around $50.

Thanks.

[lowrider0308]

I ran a set of the "Premium" Napa pads on my truck for 6K miles. They squealed like a SOB, even after getting the rotors turned. They also COATED the wheels with black soot/dust. I returned them. (~$85 for the front pads)

I now have Duralast C-Max Gold pads on my Silverado (front calipers only, stock rear drum shoes). My dad has C-Max pads on all 4 wheels of his Silverado. Neither of us have had any problems. I don't usually like Autozone brands/parts, but these have been an exception. I am still running stock rotors that have been turned twice (before the CMax pads). I have made several panic stops with no issues. There is a little "dust" after a couple of weeks, but it washes off easy and is not black. It has more to do with our dirt driveway and all the construction sites around here than the brake dust (doesn't produce more dust than the stock ceramic Delco's). The CMax pads were half of the cost of Napa's pads and work just as good as OEM Delco's.

Have you even looked at the surface of the pads yet? Your assumption that is MUST be the pads could be wrong. You may have trapped a piece of debris in there.

[00Beast]

Andrew, FWIW, your truck should have rear discs. I'm 98% sure all 99-07's did.

[lowrider0308]

Incorrect Ed.

RPO JF7 BRAKE VAC POWER, 17" DISC/DRUM, W/RWAL, 6,400 LBS 6,400 LB VAC PWR BRK(JF7)

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

There could be a pebble or other debris trapped in between the pad and rotor. I'd bet it would be that instead of a problem with the pads themselves.

I've used AZ's Duralast Gold Cmax ceramic pads on my Buick for the past few years with nothing but good things to say about them. They stop quickly and quietly. They haven't done any damage to my rotors.

I usually don't get any parts at AutoZone. Those specific brake pads and their premium 180* thermostats (at least from a year ago they were a Motorrad big-mouth) are the two exceptions.

[willwren]

The problem with Autozone branded parts is that you don't know what company/factory makes the parts from month to month. That manufacturing contract is a competitive bid process, causing the lowest bidder to get the contract, or the lowest 2 bidders. Manufacturing quality at most of those chinese factories is hit or miss. You could buy the same parts 3 months later and have issues.

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

Same thing with a lot of parts. Look at Delco oxygen sensors. They went from the original style to what's basically a nicer-constructed Denso.

The brake pads have looked and performed the same on both sets I've installed. The first set went bye after a year of use when replacing rotors, not because they were worn out. Both times the pads were stamped "made in India". Like I've said, I've been nothing but happy with the pads.

[willwren]

Good luck to you. I've had so many issues with Autozone cheap import parts over the years, I simply won't do it ever again. Many others here have had the same or similar issues. Autozone is widely and commonly known to be the low-end of the aftermarket auto parts market with the cheapest and lowest-quality parts.

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

It may well be that those specific pads are a rose in the mud. I made my choice to get them after reading forum after forum where the users were quite happy with that specific pad. Using them myself for over a year I'd have to agree that these specific pads are quite good.

AutoZone is like Harbor Freight. Buyer beware of the utter trash being sold, and every so often they'll have a good item mixed in with the junk.

[Billha]

I don't see how it's possible that a pebble caused the scoring. I took the pads straight from the box and installed them myself. And I cleaned the rotors myself.

I neglected to mention that BOTH rotors already show moderate wear marks, and I can feel the indentations when I touch the surface of the rotors with my finger. That's NOT normal, right? The surface of the rotor should look shiny and feel smooth for quite some time, shouldn't it?

Based on some of the responses so far, maybe I should just get different rotors?

To those of you who bought the 'cmax' pads, did yours look almost black with chuncks of almost black material in it?

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

Yes, they did. They looked like the Pep Boys ceramic pads that were similarly chunky.

If it's both rotors, it's possible that there's a bad batch of rotors and/or pads.

Can you get a picture with the camera set to the "macro" setting (little tree-looking icon) and a coin in there for reference? That would help us a lot.

[Billha]

I bought Raybestos rotors and Wagner Quiet Stop ceramic pads from Kragen and installed them today.

I took the Duralast rotors and Duralast Cmax ceramic pads back to AutoZone and they were surprised that I wanted to return them; they thought I wanted to exchange them. I told them that I already bought new Raybestos rotors and Wagner pads, and then the clerk told me that Wagner is soon going to get out of the parts business due to quality problems.

Then he looked over my Duralast rotors and said they were scored because they weren't broken in properly, and they were discolored because I didn't remove the oil when I installed them. Amazing. I told him that I sprayed the rotors with brake cleaner (once) and wiped them down with a clean dry rag as I usually do when I do a brake job. I also told him that I made slow stops to brake them in, and I hadn't had even a single 'hard' stop since I installed these rotors and pads a couple hundred miles ago. He still didn't seem to believe me, but he refunded my money.

The only problem with the new Raybestos rotors and Wagner pads so far is that 1 of the new clips that came with the Wagner pads was defective; it wasn't bent correctly and wouldn't fit. And 1 of the Raybestos rotors had a little black paint on the front edge (the paint that's applied to the center surface to protect it from rust).

I'll keep an eye on the Raybests rotors... every couple of days.

[GonneVille]

Raybestos still makes good brake components, but I recommend a brand called Centric. I've had them for a few months now, with a set of Satisfied Gran Sport pads, and the rotors are still smooth and show very little wear, literally almost no wear at all. The paint on the un-swept areas of the hub is still rust-free, although the paint at the edges has begun to flake away. The pads generate a small amount of dust, but it's easy to wash off.
The thing is, this combo is insane. It doesn't grab or jerk, but the braking power is far superior to anything else I've had on this car. No signs of fade, either, even in repeated hard braking.
They aren't economy-level brakes, but they're still a lot cheaper than stock. I don't mind spending a bit extra to shave a couple car-lengths off the braking distance...

[00Beast]

You have to wash rotors with parts cleaner. Brake cleaner will not remove the stuff (generally cosmoline, which is similar to thick grease) well enough to provide a good braking surface. You want that surface squeaky clean. When I worked at a shop I had to wash rotors in the parts washer, then with soap and water and then wipe with brake cleaner before my boss would let the rotors go on the car.

[Billha]

Interesting. Won't washing rotors with parts cleaner damage the paint that was applied to help prevent rust?

I had a local tire shop install new rear rotors and pads on this car a few weeks ago, and their mechanic used a can of spray cleaner and a rag.
I've always sprayed the rotors, wiped them down, and installed them. I've installed new rotors several times on different cars. There are roughly 90 miles on the front rotors right now, after 6 different trips, and they look shiny and smooth and stop the car smoothly and quietly. I'll make a mental note about parts cleaner followed by soap and water for future reference, but I bet it's too late to do anything about cleaning the rotors more thoroughly now.

[00Beast]

The rotors we always installed weren't painted, so that was a non-issue. It might cause the paint to come off a little faster, but what's not important is the paint on your brakes, it's the stopping power of the brakes.