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I can’t see the condition of your rotors but if it were me I would
start with fresh rotors and new pads of a quality brand.The rotors are smooth front and back with a small lip around the edges. No warble when coming to a quick stop. Pads have a little under a 1/4 inch left.
thanks for responding. Just trying to make a judgement call on laying out the money for the whole setup. Is there a thickness that the rotor should be to make that call?
If it has been awhile it wouldn’t hurt to pull them down for inspection and lubrication. If everything continues to look like you say then I’d suggest you are done. Don’t forget to inspect the hoses for cracks or kinks. Also, you could add new fluid to the todo list.
[quote=”treadmillguy2009″ post=111266]thanks for responding. Just trying to make a judgement call on laying out the money for the whole setup. Is there a thickness that the rotor should be to make that call?[/quote]
The minimum specs are usually stamped on the rotor somewhere… Unfortunately, sometimes they are on the edge of the rotor and are unreadable due to a lot of surface rust…
This may help…
http://www.autopartsource.com/catalog/2310_rev_A.pdf
-Karl
I cover minimum specs on brake parts in this video.
If you don’t have any brake pulsations I would just replace the pads. This is a common practice and there’s nothing wrong with it as long as the rotor has enough metal left to conform to the minimum spec. You can also have the parts machined if there’s enough metal to do so. This would save a great deal of money on rotor replacement. Auto parts stores often do this service for a nominal fee.
More info on brakes here.
You say there is a lip on the rotor. That might keep the pad from proper contact. You can take the rotors to a machine shop; the machinist can mike them to see if there is enough thickness. When my rotors are in good shape, no runout or damage, I work them over with sand paper to break the glaze. Local NAPA store usually has two or three grades of rotors at different prices. I avoid the cheapest ones, usually from China. I have found that they tend to develop runout. My understanding is that on the cheap ones they tend to not leave the casting in the mold long enough to cool properly. This results in locked in stresses. Under use, rotor heats, stress relief causes warping.
I’m not a pro at this; I’m one of those f’n engineers; so if somebody else disagrees with me they probably know better.
Just like most other subjects of this kind there are many opinions. First, if there is 1/4 in. left on the pads you could likely wait for a while before replacing them. Second you might remove the guide pins and bushings and lube them with silicone grease.
In regards to the rotors it depends a lot on the climate you live in. Where there is a lot of salt and crap used on the roads in the winter the cooling fins tend to rust out and sometimes the rotor surfaces as well.
In a warm and dry climate rotors last a lot longer. When you replace the brakes have the rotors measured and machined if there is enough material left on them so the new pads have a fresh flat surface to seat on.
If you live in a harsh climate I would replace the rotors since they likely won’t last as long as the replacement pads.
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