Front rotor

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Basic question:. Did you 'bed in' the brakes? Drive it at 50-60mph apply brakes steady & hard, down to 10 to 15mph...repeat several times, then drive normally. If it's still doing it, repeat the process.
 

Always Late

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If getting a pulse upon braking it is typically due to
1) Warped rotors
2) Wheel bearing hub flange (rotor fits against) is warped (excessive runout) or rust on flange will also cause rotor not to fit flush on hub flange.
Warped rotors are typically caused by heat and/or uneven torque of wheel lug nuts. It is recommended wheel lug nuts be tightened, utilizing a torque wrench in a star pattern, using either a third or half of the total torque value at a time, until reaching total torque for even tightening of lug nuts.
Hub runout may be checked utilizing a dial indicator on the hub flange that brake rotor fits against. It is possible that the hub flange may have runout due to age/heat.
Rust of course, may be removed with a good wire brush on a wheel. The rust will not allow the rotor to fit flush/flat and it usually will lead to pulsing brake pedal and/or warped rotors.

I hope this helps in diagnosing your issue.
 
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andymax

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It may not actually be 'pulsing'...if at moderate and/or high speeds you could be feeling a loose control arm bushing...happened to me. Good Luck!
 

Hardracer

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Glad you got them off...as another posted,air hammer the way to go...anytime anything is stuck thats what I grab...rattles the hell out of things. really tight rusted ball joints another good way to get them out.father-in-law turned me on to this,thought he was nuts when he showed me that trick removing ball joints one day...little bit of of pressure with some kind of puller/remover and a couple ticks of the hammer does wonders
 

Jeepwalker

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Did you check your upper ball joints or steering btw?

Is the caliper sticking? I would drive it some and put your hand on that wheel after 4 miles or so ...compare to the other side. Could be your caliper sliders are rusted up pretty well and it heated up the new rotor (warped it). If you feel that wheel after, say 5 miles, and it's HOT, then that's the deal.

I would suggest, jacking up that wheel, then wiggle (violently) in/out (6:00-12:00 positions) ...and do the same at 3-9 O-clock positions. If it feels tight, remove the wheel and put some oversized nuts (which fit over the studs) and lightly snug your lug nuts on. then put a dial indicator on the rotor. Then you'll know for sure if it's the rotor or not. Even a Harbor Freight dial indicator is perfect for this job. I never call a brake job done until I put a D/I on the rotors and they're less than .002". It's not uncommon to get rotors out of the box which are warped (yeah ...happens fairly often). In fact, if you're doing it, I'd put the d/i on your hub face just to make sure you didn't accidentally warp it hammering off the rotor. I doubt you did, but only takes a couple minutes to check it.

You did clean the rust off the outer face of the hub before putting on the rotor, right? Check the rust where the caliper slides. As rusty as yours looks, the caliper might not be moving freely. I almost always have to file rust off caliper surfaces, and the spindle on my older vehicles (where I live). And apply some lube to those areas.

Hope that helps.
 

BillyNC

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I had the same problem with brakes pulsing. Had rotors turned, installed new Power Stops, and still no improvement. Turns out my tire guy found a stuck caliper was to blame. After replacing both sides, problem solved.
 

js12278

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Coat the hub face with Fluid Film after you wire wheel the rust off. You’re welcome
 
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