Thread: Pulsing brakes again....aaand fixed!

You may remember back a bit I had a problem with my brake rotors warping every 6 to 12 months.
After following the advice from forum members, I put a new set of rotors on, torqued the wheel nuts correctly and crossed my fingers.
Over the last few weeks I have noticed the symptoms returning, most noticeable when pulling up at lights, as it slows and specially just before stopping I could feel the braking causing the vehicle to move in a uneven speed, like a slow/fast pulsing motion.
The rotors and pads are both good quality, so I did a bit of research and found others had experienced the same issue, on Range Rovers and other vehicles.
One person had success by re-bedding the brake pads, so I thought I'd give that a shot.
I went to a nearby industrial area this morning, with a nice straight road and no one around being a weekend.
I accelerated to 60km/h and then using moderate to hardish braking force, slowed to about 5kph, (not to a dead stop). I repeated this 10 times in a row.
I was impressed with how quickly the Rangie pulled up in a dead straight line.
The idea is to get the brakes hot, then cool slightly while accelerating again, then brake again and repeat.
After this I noticed a huge improvement in the feel of the brakes, the pulsing sensation is completely gone.
My guess is there was a build up of some type on the rotors, which gets removed during the bedding in process, with the friction of the hot pads removing any contaminates.
I usually put the car in neutral at lights so I'm not applying brake force for long periods in the one spot.
I also brake fairly lightly, allowing the car to slow without using heavy braking most of the time. I'm wondering if this contributes to build up on the rotor surfaces, where heavier braking might help to keep the rotors clean.
I hope this helps someone experiencing the same problem, well worth a shot and doesn't cost a cent...ok maybe $1 in fuel...but still far cheaper and easier than replacing rotors and pads!
Cheers, Pete.

I'm pretty sure it was pulsing from cold, possibly a bit worse after being driven for a while though.
Caliper pins sticking could mean only one of the pads is doing all the braking, it's my thinking that if all the braking force was coming from one side and not the other, it would have to eventually affect the rotor in some way, possibly causing a warping/out of shape issue.
If you suspect your caliper pins are sticking, it's a pretty easy job to check them for piece of mind.