Brake Rotors

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My brake rotor problems greatly diminished when I finally convinced my wife to stop and park the car ( or stay home ) when she detected brake noise / problems .

Brake friction material is much kinder , to the rotors ( or drums ) , than the steel backing plate ( or brake shoe steel ) . So the rotors or drums last much longer .

Then it all started over again when our daughter started driving ! :-(
 
Meh, up here the rotors are probably near the end by the time it makes noise, at least for my wife and I. Our kids, who knows, they don't drive yet.

I'm also a big proponent of taking apart the pads on a yearly basis, and inspecting for delamination (and/or rust jacking). Good time to make sure everything is working properly. If something seems amiss, put the part on order, and replace at next tire rotation.
 
My better half is all too good at reporting strange noises, but it's up to me to inspect the vehicle on a regular basis to prevent damage like that. Tire rotation is the perfect time to do a quick visual inspect, or do the yearly break remove/clean/inspect/lube as supton mentions.
 
Thankfully , we do not live in the rust belt . Never worried about having to replace rotors or drums due to rust . Never taken brakes apart just to check them . If there are signs of impending problems , yes .

Does not mean we do not get occasional stubborn fasteners . But nothing like I see on youtube videos from the salt belt .

Our town often uses sand on ice / snow & not a great deal of salt . No salt would be fine with me .

Speaking of sand , you all ever see a sand storm ? :)

All the best to you , :)
 
I live in the rust belt. I have never replaced rotors due to rust, but I have replaced entire cars due to underbody rust.

Rust does not cause replacement, unless you only drive a vehicle once every 6 months. Otherwise every time you drive, the rust is scrubbed off the important area.

It can make getting rotors off a hub a pain, especially if it's the first time, but you get them off and clean the mating area and put some silicone grease or anti-seize in the contact area and it's no longer a problem.

Rust can decrease the disc cooling vane passage/effectiveness but I don't drive like a madman nor haul loads down long hills so that isn't an issue either.

Fasteners on the other hand, I don't have a problem with lug nuts but there are many other fasteners I go in assuming I will have to replace like sway bar links or lower shock bolts. An angle grinder is an automotive tool I'm not unfamiliar with.
 
Having put the rust belt in the rearview some four decades ago, rotor inspection and/or replacement for it just another thing to not miss. Simply drive into Discount Tire for a rotation and balance, as it's being done check pad thickness and rotor condition, drive on. Rust not been a factor in replacement decision.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
Rust does not cause replacement, unless you only drive a vehicle once every 6 months. Otherwise every time you drive, the rust is scrubbed off the important area.


I had rust come through my front Dakota rotors from the vanes to the friction surface, and it was my daily driver. Granted, I was only putting 5K a year on it at the time, really short commute at that time.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
Rust does not cause replacement, unless you only drive a vehicle once every 6 months. Otherwise every time you drive, the rust is scrubbed off the important area.

Say what? Do you think the salt and chemical exposure you get in Cincinnatti is equivalent to what we get up north?

Rotor rust up here certainly does cause premature replacement of rotors when there is still sufficient thickness on the pad areas:

[Linked Image]
 
Knock that fur off those rotors with a small hammer and keep on trucking. That stuff doesn't hurt anything other than making a light scraping noise when it rubs.
You know it's bad when your caliper rots right through on a 12 year old GM OEM in Vermont. That's a new one even to me but it sure happened to me.
 
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