I have a 2006 Ford Five-Hundred with 232,000 miles on it and I only want to keep it for another 10k - 20k more miles. I'm in the middle of changing out the rear brake pads (fronts were good) and the pads had worn so far down without me noticing that on one rotor it had started cutting a groove where the weld was on the pad into the rotor. The groove is maybe a mm deep and 6 mm wide. I'm wondering if it would be find to just throw a new set of brake pads on the car for now and not touch that one rotor. I won't be driving the car for much longer.
Can I get away with not turning the rotors?
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If they aren't warped you can get away with it. Use only the same pad material as was on previously. Ie; ceramic replace with ceramic.
Even if you decided to have them turned, odds are with a groove that wide/deep you may have a hard time finding a shop that is willing to turn that grooved one. My guess is you're stuck either leaving it alone, or buying a new rotor.
My opinion (take it for what it is worth): Take care of the rotor. If you can find a shop that will turn it, great. If not, replace it with a cheap parts house rotor (shouldn't be more than $30-$40). You say you aren't going to be driving the car for much longer, and that's fine... but someone else will be driving it after you, and you don't want to stick them with a bum rotor.
My opinion (take it for what it is worth): Take care of the rotor. If you can find a shop that will turn it, great. If not, replace it with a cheap parts house rotor (shouldn't be more than $30-$40). You say you aren't going to be driving the car for much longer, and that's fine... but someone else will be driving it after you, and you don't want to stick them with a bum rotor.
Rotor blanks should be pretty cheap, even for the less-common rears. I'd just put new rotors on it and call it a day. Brakes are a safety item, so why take shortcuts?
I'm with dparm in this case.
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Leave it alone. Eventually the pad will match anyway. Don't forget that the backside also contributes to stopping power so you're down in the single percents-- not noticeable and the difference between brands of pads is a bigger percentage.
Rear brakes only provide like 20 or 30% of the total braking power (if I remember correctly, of course it varies from car to car) and if you plan on selling the car anyway, I'd leave it as it, if the worn area isn't too bad.
Be sure to lightly sand the rotor with like 600 grit sanding paper so the new pad wears in properly and leaves it's own layer of pad material on the rotor.
Be sure to lightly sand the rotor with like 600 grit sanding paper so the new pad wears in properly and leaves it's own layer of pad material on the rotor.
Originally Posted By: 7055
Also I forgot to put the shims on the brake pads that come with the pads. Can somebody tell me what the purpose is for them?
Generally to prevent rattling and squealing. It varies on each application.
Also I forgot to put the shims on the brake pads that come with the pads. Can somebody tell me what the purpose is for them?
Generally to prevent rattling and squealing. It varies on each application.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Leave it alone. Eventually the pad will match anyway. Don't forget that the backside also contributes to stopping power so you're down in the single percents-- not noticeable and the difference between brands of pads is a bigger percentage.
+1 It will be fine, especially on the rear.
Leave it alone. Eventually the pad will match anyway. Don't forget that the backside also contributes to stopping power so you're down in the single percents-- not noticeable and the difference between brands of pads is a bigger percentage.
+1 It will be fine, especially on the rear.
I'd go with Centric rotors and OEM pads. Even if you will be driving the car only a short while. Don't skimp on brake repairs.Do it right.
Agreed, you could go with just the pads. Rotor minimum thickness is important though. ... Also, has your high-mileage 3.0L V6 been behaving itself? Curious. Do you have the CVT tranny or the Aisin 6-speed? Was wondering in particular how the CVT lasts in that car.
I would just throw a new rotor on it, they're cheap as everyone said. Rockauto has them for about $30 plus shipping, but then Advance Auto has them for about $50, but there's a $20 off $50 code so for about $30, it's not really worth thinking about it. You got your money's worth out of the car and if you decide to go more than 20k, it's one less thing to worry about. If you have to ask, just go ahead and replace it.
Pad slap it and trade it in, the rotor is the next owners problem.
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rockauto has rear rotors for your car for $19.49. For this price why wouldn't you put them on?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3870843&cc=1432371
I 100% totally agree with those above that it probably doesn't matter if you don't even have them resurfaced and just do a pad slap, but God forbid you hit my Caravan with my wife and kids in it. There is now an internet trail of you knowing something wasn't up to par with the brakes on your vehicle...
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3870843&cc=1432371
I 100% totally agree with those above that it probably doesn't matter if you don't even have them resurfaced and just do a pad slap, but God forbid you hit my Caravan with my wife and kids in it. There is now an internet trail of you knowing something wasn't up to par with the brakes on your vehicle...
Originally Posted By: copcarguy
rockauto has rear rotors for your car for $19.49. For this price why wouldn't you put them on?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3870843&cc=1432371
I 100% totally agree with those above that it probably doesn't matter if you don't even have them resurfaced and just do a pad slap, but God forbid you hit my Caravan with my wife and kids in it. There is now an internet trail of you knowing something wasn't up to par with the brakes on your vehicle...
Yes, don't take the chance of driving from Kansas to Pennsylvania and running into his family at the exact time your one grooved rotor has a catastrophic failure....
rockauto has rear rotors for your car for $19.49. For this price why wouldn't you put them on?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3870843&cc=1432371
I 100% totally agree with those above that it probably doesn't matter if you don't even have them resurfaced and just do a pad slap, but God forbid you hit my Caravan with my wife and kids in it. There is now an internet trail of you knowing something wasn't up to par with the brakes on your vehicle...
Yes, don't take the chance of driving from Kansas to Pennsylvania and running into his family at the exact time your one grooved rotor has a catastrophic failure....
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: copcarguy
rockauto has rear rotors for your car for $19.49. For this price why wouldn't you put them on?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3870843&cc=1432371
I 100% totally agree with those above that it probably doesn't matter if you don't even have them resurfaced and just do a pad slap, but God forbid you hit my Caravan with my wife and kids in it. There is now an internet trail of you knowing something wasn't up to par with the brakes on your vehicle...
Yes, don't take the chance of driving from Kansas to Pennsylvania and running into his family at the exact time your one grooved rotor has a catastrophic failure....
You know what I meant though... LOL
Originally Posted By: copcarguy
rockauto has rear rotors for your car for $19.49. For this price why wouldn't you put them on?
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3870843&cc=1432371
I 100% totally agree with those above that it probably doesn't matter if you don't even have them resurfaced and just do a pad slap, but God forbid you hit my Caravan with my wife and kids in it. There is now an internet trail of you knowing something wasn't up to par with the brakes on your vehicle...
Yes, don't take the chance of driving from Kansas to Pennsylvania and running into his family at the exact time your one grooved rotor has a catastrophic failure....
You know what I meant though... LOL
we dont have safety inspections here. ive seen far worse grooves than what you describe
I recently did something similar on my Mazda 3, except that the rotors were not grooved, but glazed along with pads. Braking was smooth, but with increased pedal effort. I had a second set of pads, that were used previously, but they made a slight clicking sound on initial application, so I changed them, but decided to keep them as they were virtually brand new. They seemed like a perfect fit for this situation.
I used 80 grit sandpaper on a piece of wood (sorry, but 600 grit is for wet sanding paint, not scoring metal). And you want to use a course sandpaper to put fairly deep scores onto the rotor. That's what will make the new pads lay down new pad material.
The brakes feel like new again and the seemingly deep scores or scratches laid down by the 80 grit sandpaper were gone within 500 miles or so.
I think people are forgetting that these are not some fragile components that are operated on a razor thin safety margin. Rotors are far from fragile and are ground down every single time the brakes are applied. So if they are not beyond the minimum thickness, they can be re-used.
A small groove, by the very design criteria of the braking system, should not impact the braking performance in any significant way. Cheap pads, or the super expensive types design for track use that are popular with the fast’n’furious crowd, on the other hand, are far more dangerous than a re-used or slightly grooved rotor.
I used 80 grit sandpaper on a piece of wood (sorry, but 600 grit is for wet sanding paint, not scoring metal). And you want to use a course sandpaper to put fairly deep scores onto the rotor. That's what will make the new pads lay down new pad material.
The brakes feel like new again and the seemingly deep scores or scratches laid down by the 80 grit sandpaper were gone within 500 miles or so.
I think people are forgetting that these are not some fragile components that are operated on a razor thin safety margin. Rotors are far from fragile and are ground down every single time the brakes are applied. So if they are not beyond the minimum thickness, they can be re-used.
A small groove, by the very design criteria of the braking system, should not impact the braking performance in any significant way. Cheap pads, or the super expensive types design for track use that are popular with the fast’n’furious crowd, on the other hand, are far more dangerous than a re-used or slightly grooved rotor.
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