Should I Replace Rotors?

[AWise]

Time to replace my front brakes with 66k on my '06. The rotors are smooth as can be, no shimmy or pulsing when applying brakes. Should I have them turned or should I just replace the pads? I have had bad experiences on other vehicles with getting rotors turned and then they warp.

 

[Curious Dave]

I wouldn't replace unless they needed it.

 

[BarryG]

I never have mine turned for the reason you state. They never seem to last long afterwards. Havent turned a rotor since 1982 nor have I needed to replace one on any vehicle since I stopped turning them. My 01 has 250k on it with the original rotors.

 

[GaryOwen]

Just replace the pads. I replaced my rotors on my 03 at 474k miles for the first time and never had them turned.

 

[rashwor]

Every time I have turned a set I have had to turn them multiple times to finally get the correct. On the ones that I don't turn there is never an issue. I am through turning rotors and will on replace as needed. Note: learned this lesson on my '99 and have not turned the rotors on my '05.

 

[HBarlow]

I agree with the don't-turn crowd above. If you turn the rotors it seems to be almost guaranteed that they will warp.

I guess the laws of physics explain why. Less remaining mass means less ability to handle heat buildup and reduced ability to radiate the heat away.

With exhaust brakes I have seldom replaced front pads, never replaced rear pads, and never turned a rotor on a Dodge-Cummins.

 

[RonD]

I agree with the no turn also, if there is a warp I would, or replace, just scuff up the old rotors with emery cloth to get the glaze off and that will help seat the new pads.

 

[EricBu12]

Yeah, no turn um. . you can use some sand paper to rough it up if you need to

 

[AWise]

Guess I will just throw on the new pads and scuff the rotors. A friend of mine thought I was nuts when I told him I was going to replace the pads with out turning the rotors. Thanks for taking my side! :-laf

 

[steved]

If they don't give issues now (pulsing), just replace the pads. I went through probably six sets of pads on my 99 in 201k, and never touched the rotors.

 

[Grizzly]

Another vote for, "don't have them turned", that is if you do the brake job yourself. If you take your truck to a brake shop, they will most likely insist on turning the rotors and will give you 15 good reasons why you should have them turned or replaced. Don't fall for it!

 

[Scooby]

It can actually be cheaper to replace the rotors than having them turned! That was my experience.

 

[rjones]

It can actually be cheaper to replace the rotors than having them turned! That was my experience.

hmmm 12. 50 per rotor to turn here I spent a few hundred on auto zone premium rotors ... ...

 

[jelag]

The only time rotors need to be turned if there is a problem... . most end users do not correctly clean the rotor after turning to remove some of the grit left by the lathe... thus short pad life down the road...

IF your having problems with rotors after they are turned besides short pad life, its the fault of the people doing the work...

But always open the bleeder and drain the dirty fluid when you compress the pistons when installing new pads... .

We have several trucks and seem to go close to 150K miles between pad changes... we always inspect the calipers and service them if necessary, we pull the rotors and pull the ABS sensor and grease the front bearings... . we always discard the bad brake fluid and never push it back to the master cylinder... .

We also turn a lot of rotors in our shop as well as drums... mind you we don't do brake jobs except on our own rolling stock... but I guess we turn 4-6 a day. . we like to wash them first in a power washer, turn them and return them to the customer. . most of the crew has been with us for 15 years and some have been around for 20 something... we follow the rules... course cut, fine cut, and grind if necessary... and don't cut corners...

We expect the customer to clean the races, and inside the hub if its that style... we expect the customer to clean the surface where the pads contact with either a lacquer thinner, alcohol, MEK or other chemical that will clean the metal, and dry by evaporation leaving no chemical's behind... read NO SOLVENT...

All rotors are from a gray iron casting and has to meet DOT standards for the metallurgy (mixture of metals) so there really isn't a lot of magic from a standard rotor to a very high end rotors... and I'm going to leave out the drilled and vented... that's another story... . mostly to take your money... .

Hope this helps. .

 

[AWise]

Brake Job Complete!

Well, I got the pads changed out on Saturday. Pretty simple job as long as you remember where you put your caliper piston compression tool. Had to run and pickup another one, now I have a spare when I find my good one! :-laf Anyway, I must say I am impressed with the Hawk Performance LTS pads I put on the front. Absolutely no noise and great stopping power, the biggest thing is that it gave me my stiff brake pedal back. I would say their performance is way better than the OEM pad, and hopefully they will last longer than the OEM pad.

 

[PFranzese]

I agree with the no turn policy, probably because I never found a shop that did it correctly. I always clean the rotors with acetone before putting them back in service also.



The Hawk Pads are great, we use them on a track/street car and our daily drivers. The LTS pads are great with very little dust and very nice stopping power, for the "I want not dust" crowd the hawk ceramics are great also. Still very nice stopping power but they have very little to no dust.