Brake question

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Last time I looked (six months ago?) I noticed that the pads on my Tundra were getting thin. The rotors looked ok though. I'm thinking of getting a set of OEM Toyota pads and just changing those. It's only been 35k since the last pad slap (done by the dealer), but I don't know if the rotors are original or not.

I'm used to replacing rotors at the same time as pads on my VW, but last I looked, these rotors actually did not look bad, no ridges etc. I'm toying with replacing pads and rotors on my Camry at the same time, as those rotors are looking chewed up, and it's almost time for them to age out. So I'm a little weirded out by 5 year old rotors being ok, and if I should just replace on the basis of age.

Turning is not an option.

Secondly, I hear good things on here about Wagner ThermoQuiet, but how "good" are they? I usually aim for OEM, and other than short life on the Tundra (ok life so far on the Camry) I've been happy with OEM performance. No noise, dust, etc. I'm looking at Amazon and it's like a $40 difference.
 
Are you able to get a micrometer on the rotors easily? Thickness will determine if you can do another pad slap. And the calipers are set up for a pad slap. Rotor change requires considerable effort, like opening lines and requiring a bleed, IIRC.

I've not used the Wagner on my 4 Runner. They work great on the Corolla. On my truck, which has marginal brakes, I went with Hawk pads, which claim a higher coefficient of friction...and they do feel better than OE.

From my Tundra test drive the other day, the Tundra has excellent brakes. So, I don't think pad selection will matter a great deal in performance. It's more about quiet and/or dust in your case...
 
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The mic is obviously the right answer but if your rotors "look good" they're likely good. You run the danger that a new set will be stressed internally from a crummy Chinese forge and not last like your old ones.

I've had enough rotors over the years look good but been "warped" and I've brought home enough junky cars with uneven, ridged, and worn out rotors that were obviously bad, yet still stopping the car.

You might consider another set of these miracle toyota pads that are easy on rotors.
laugh.gif
 
I don't think rotors 'time out'

They Wear, they warp,they rust, but if they are otherwise OK, I might just de- glaze them and replace the pads.

I have a car in the garage right now with 41 year old OEM rotors!
 
Measure the rotor thickness, and if its above the recommended spec you can use them, if its below you toss them. There are no other options.
 
I'll see if I can mic at lunch. Might be able to reach in.

I know rotors don't "age" but on my VW, when the pads got thin, the rotors were crazy with grooves (at least the rears). I never mic'd them, but figured it was not worth paying someone to turn (and besides, once the rotor is off, I have no way to go someplace to turn them). My Camry rotors aren't quite as bad, but after 4yr/100k the grooves are quite noticeable, and I plan to replace soon.

However: in my experience, pads can age out. I had a pad separate from the backing material around the six year mark. Its replacement showed rust working under the material after five years. Going forward... I plan to replace on age also. If I didn't live in the salt belt I wouldn't, if I had a garaged and babied vehicle I wouldn't--but I'd rather do a pad slap than lose brakes again.

So while rotors might not age out... it's a good time to replace when doing the pads. Or so goes my thinking.
 
Check the rotor thickness. If in spec, and no other issues have presented themselves, I might consider reusing them.

As far as using Thermoquiets go, I've had excellent service from them in my F150's and Explorers. No noise, low dust, and good stopping power, decent service life. Note that the stopping power seemed less than optimal to start with, but after a hundred miles or so, they had a nice bite. Been getting about 60-70,000 miles on a set in my applications.
 
If the brakes are working without any grabbing or pulsating, clean the rotors and put in new pads and call it a day.

As a general rule, the harder the brake pad the longer the pad lasts and more wear on the rotors. Pick your compromise.
 
If the rotors look good, rough them up to remove the glaze and go with Wagner TQ. I have used those pads on a few of my vehicles. Or Akebono Pro-Act.
 
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how good are Wagner Thermo quiet? I have been using them on approx half of the brake jobs that I do. my current recommendations are for: Akebono, Wagner TQ, or OEM. on my echo the thermoquiets are stopping noticably better than the previous pads; and my Camry they seem the same as OEM. as far as rotors, if your current rotors do not have excessive runout or pulsation in the pedal, re=use them.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Last time I looked (six months ago?) I noticed that the pads on my Tundra were getting thin. The rotors looked ok though. I'm thinking of getting a set of OEM Toyota pads and just changing those. It's only been 35k since the last pad slap (done by the dealer), but I don't know if the rotors are original or not.

I'm used to replacing rotors at the same time as pads on my VW, but last I looked, these rotors actually did not look bad, no ridges etc. I'm toying with replacing pads and rotors on my Camry at the same time, as those rotors are looking chewed up, and it's almost time for them to age out. So I'm a little weirded out by 5 year old rotors being ok, and if I should just replace on the basis of age.

Turning is not an option.

Secondly, I hear good things on here about Wagner ThermoQuiet, but how "good" are they? I usually aim for OEM, and other than short life on the Tundra (ok life so far on the Camry) I've been happy with OEM performance. No noise, dust, etc. I'm looking at Amazon and it's like a $40 difference.


Why no turning? If the rotor still has enough thickness then turning them will make them very serviceable.

People throw away rotor when they don't need to.
 
On my vehicles I can usually get rotors for just slightly more than the cost of having them turned. I've also saved an old set for both of my cars so if I need to do them again I can just have the old set turned and not have any vehicle down time.
 
Originally Posted By: stchman
Why no turning? If the rotor still has enough thickness then turning them will make them very serviceable.

People throw away rotor when they don't need to.


Once I pull the rotors the vehicle can't get me to a shop to turn them. I don't like taking time off from work during the week to work on vehicles (and wouldn't have a vehicle to get to the shop anyhow); most shops are closed Saturday afternoons when I might have access to another vehicle.

I could drop the vehicle off at a shop and let them turn them--but then I'm paying lots of money for their service to do the brake job.

I'm working on getting a third vehicle, but that is taking time.
 
Originally Posted By: nwjones18
On my vehicles I can usually get rotors for just slightly more than the cost of having them turned. I've also saved an old set for both of my cars so if I need to do them again I can just have the old set turned and not have any vehicle down time.


Good point. I should think about saving a set. Goop 'em up in grease and store in a bag someplace. Probably not a bad idea.

Had to go out at lunchtime, got some OEM pads for the Tundra. $55, barely more expensive than Warner's on Amazon. Decided to just get those, along with an oil change kit and have it all on the shelf.

Camry pads were the same price, but the "fit" kits were over $20 per axle. Don't understand how those metal sliding surfaces can be so expensive! At that price I'll pull out a Dremel and clean the ones I have. I know I have a bad rotor but at $90 each I'm tempted to only replace the bad one instead of both. For rotors I'm wary of cheapo pot metal from China, and would rather pay for OEM once.
 
If the rotors are still thick enough, and if runout is fine, and if they will likely make it through a new set of pads, then I'd keep the rotors. If I expect the rotors to last less than 2/3 of the life of the new pads, then I would change rotors and pads.
 
Originally Posted By: stchman


Why no turning? If the rotor still has enough thickness then turning them will make them very serviceable.

People throw away rotor when they don't need to.


Turning rotors has gone the way of the spark plug sand blaster. No one does it anymore, and I doubt you could anyone to do it...I was at an auction recently and a brake lathe sold for $5... I asked the buyer what he wanted it for and he said "scrap metal"
 
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Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: stchman


Why no turning? If the rotor still has enough thickness then turning them will make them very serviceable.

People throw away rotor when they don't need to.


Turning rotors has gone the way of the spark plug sand blaster. No one does it anymore, and I doubt you could anyone to do it...I was at an auction recently and a brake lathe sold for $5... I asked the buyer what he wanted it for and he said "scrap metal"


Plenty of machine shops will still do it. On most vehicles, I won't bother, as the rotors are cheap enough that I'll just replace them if they need any work. But on some trucks, the rotors are expensive enough to be worth turning if they're uneven and have enough thickness left.
 
I've never had to deal with rust before, but I was wondering, what if you used masking tape on new rotors and taped off the surface of the rotor where the pad brakes, and then get some good paint (caliper paint?) and coat them really really good, even in the fins. Maybe they won't rust so quickly?

I don't like the ThermoQuiet pads. The hardware they come with (metal clips for pads to slide on) are known junk and they've been squeaking a lot. I put a set on the 2002 Chevy Trailblazer LTZ like 4 years ago, but they have low miles on them, maybe 15k tops. I'm replacing them next month, they have tons of material left but they squeak too much. Going to get warranty replacements but AC Delco hardware.
 
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