Brake rotors

GimmeTorq · Sep 13, 2004

How many times can you safely resurface rotors?
I'm trying to decide if I should take my '02 Maxima (known for rotor warpage, like many other late model vehicles) to my dealer for front rotor warpage. This would be the third time. The first two times (at 15k and then 22k), the rotors were resurfaced, which temporarily took care of the symptoms. Now at 27k they are warped again and I was wondering if they could resurface them for a third time or if they are going to have to replace them under warranty. I would rather have them replace them but they would probably resurface them again if they can get away with it...

XS650 · Sep 13, 2004

The shop manual should specify a minimum allowable thickness. Have them show you that they have sufficient meat left to turn them before you let them do it.

If they will still be within spec (I doubt they will be), you are pretty much stuck with what they want to do. The bad news is that the thinner they get, the easier they warp.

One thing that can contribute to disks warping is keeping pressure on the brakes after you have made a hard stop, or your disks are hot. Avoid that. If you have to stop and stay stopped on a hill with hot brakes, let the car move a fraction of a wheel turn every few seconds until you can move again.

deepsquat · Sep 13, 2004

do you brake with your left foot? or your right ?

seotaji · Sep 13, 2004

make sure they are using the proper torque on the wheels.

Alan · Sep 13, 2004

That's right,over torqing the lug nuts will warp the rotors.These quicky garages are often known to do this while dealers should be more aware.

The rotors should be resurfaced on the vehicle and should have a non directional finish.This is important.

toyo · Sep 13, 2004

They also need to make sure the rear brakes are doing there job. If not the front brakes are doing too much of the work, which leads to overheating and then warpage.

road_rascal · Sep 13, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Alan:

The rotors should be resurfaced on the vehicle and should have a non directional finish.This is important.

Why should the rotors be on the car? A decent bench lathe should do the job, right? I've always had my rotors turned/ resurfaced this way.

Alan · Sep 13, 2004

You have to take into condsideration on where the rotor is bolted to.Shafts,bearings and such are not gonna spin perfectly balanced regardless.Using an on car lathe takes these into consideration.

labman · Sep 13, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by GimmeTorq:
How many times can you safely resurface rotors?
I'm trying to decide if I should take my '02 Maxima (known for rotor warpage, like many other late model vehicles) to my dealer for front rotor warpage. This would be the third time. The first two times (at 15k and then 22k), the rotors were resurfaced, which temporarily took care of the symptoms. Now at 27k they are warped again and I was wondering if they could resurface them for a third time or if they are going to have to replace them under warranty. I would rather have them replace them but they would probably resurface them again if they can get away with it...

-

Most rotors have the minimum thickness cast in to them. You can even do a rough go, no go with a tape measure. For the metric impaired divide mm by 25.4 to convert to inches. I went through the same crap with the right rotor on my Cavalier. Rather than excess heat or torque, it is more a crappy rotor with hard spots that do not wear evenly. While it is still in warrantee, make them turn them again and again until they must discard them.

Not the Autorx Frank · Sep 13, 2004

IMHO turning rotors due to warping is a waste of time. They usually warp again in a few thousand miles. Once the metal gets hot spots so to speak it tends to warp rather easily. Also the less metal you have, the hotter the rotors become during use. I would replace them.

BTW Turning the rotors on the vehicle is the way to go. Your rotor may not rotate on a lathe the exact way it does on the vehicle. This is specified by many dealers for this reason, to thier credit.

Matt_S · Sep 13, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Not the Autorx Frank:
BTW Turning the rotors on the vehicle is the way to go. Your rotor may not rotate on a lathe the exact way it does on the vehicle. This is specified by many dealers for this reason, to thier credit.

I seem to remember reading a TSB from GM (or was it Chrysler??) that pretty much requires the dealers to use on-car lathes.

XS650 · Sep 13, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Alan:
You have to take into condsideration on where the rotor is bolted to.Shafts,bearings and such are not gonna spin perfectly balanced regardless.Using an on car lathe takes these into consideration.

That would explain why new car rotors and new replacement rotors don't run true.

GimmeTorq · Sep 13, 2004

Thanks for all the responses and the good info. I don't think the problem is my braking habits (I do brake with my right foot so I don't "drag" the brakes). Both my tire shop and my dealer pay attention about using correct torque specs and tighting up the nuts in a cross pattern, so I should be covered there... The brake judder info is really good. Maybe I should try replacing the pads with aftermarket ones. Maybe the problem is the pads and not the rotors after all.

If I can get the dealer to replace my rotors under warranty, maybe I could replace the pads myself with aftermarket, not OEM, before the problem re-appears.

Does anybody knows how much material (thickness) is normally removed during resurfacing?

[ September 14, 2004, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: GimmeTorq ]

Sparkman · Sep 14, 2004

I drive a lot of mostly highway miles. Brakes typically last me from 50-90k miles at 25-30k a year. By the time the pads are worn out, the rotors have thinned from wear and rusted from salt to the point that they aren't worth turning. I know of only one of the local auto parts stores that even turns anymore, they would rather sell the rotors. For people that do mostly city driving and wear the brakes out more quickly, I think turning has it's place. For me it doesn't make sense. Turned rotors seem to last about 20k before they need replacement in my experience.

SWS · Sep 14, 2004

I had a '92 Ford Taurus that had rotor warpage problems. Several sets of new Ford rotors, turned on the car, did not help. They always warped! I consider myself to be easy on the brakes and had never had this type of problem on any other car, so this was quite puzzling to me. I finally determined that Ford did not know, or care, about brakes and went to a shop that installed aftermarket rotors and pads. Zero problems after that! This was ~8 years ago, but at that time I remember thinking that Bendix and Wagner made some pretty nice brake components. Hope this helps.

Dan4510 · Sep 14, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by seotaji:
make sure they are using the proper torque on the wheels.

Only if you have those wimpy rotors...

Dan

Dan4510 · Sep 14, 2004

Brakes have been one of the over-downsized of car parts. Front wheel drive cars do about 70-80% of their braking with the front brakes.

Rotors have been downsized to the point that they do not have enough mass to avoid warping. More mass on the rotor means more metal to take up heat and less chance of warping. Add in the cv joint and the anti-lock systems and air flow is greatly compromised making the heat harder to get out of the rotor.

Manufacturers just do not put enough mass on the rotors and the ludicrious thing about it is that common cast iron is best for rotors. No need for space age alloys, but use enough cast iron in the rotor and it works great.

Dan

shortyb · Sep 14, 2004

Another problem to consider is brake "judder". This is when the interface between the hub and rotor is not true or when a brake pad leaves an uneven deposit on the rotor. It will give the same feeling as a "warped" rotor. This has been a topic of much discussion on the various Maxima forums with the late model cars. Seems Nissan went to a different compound with ceramic content that wasn't too compatible with the rotors. The resulting deposits gave a vibration or judder that lots of owners thought were warped rotors. A few folks, myself included on my former 03 SE, just changed pads and that made a world of difference, eliminating the judder. Something you may want to consider if you are replacing the rotors, pads are relatively cheap.

There is some more info on judder here http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/warped_rotors_myth.htm

JohnnyO · Sep 14, 2004

In my experience you can cut rotors about once. Also they seem to warp faster after they are cut, probably because they're now thinner.

GimmeTorq · Sep 25, 2004

Well, I had no luck with the dealer. The rotors minimum thinkness was 22mm and they were already there (I know cause I just replaced them today). So, of course, the dealer denied the vibration was a rotor issue this time and suggested tire rotation and alignment (non-warranty work $$$) which I graceously declined

.

Today, I installed Hawk pads with new OEM rotors, which is a combination other Maxima owners have used with success. I have only done the bedding so far but I didn't feel the steering wheel vibration while doing it. So far these pads are as quiet as the OEM they replaced, which is a good thing. Let see how they work on the long term but as of now I can't wait to start

Thanks everyone!!!

Brake rotors

Similar threads