Brakes, rotors, and some questions

Can't say I disagree with anything you've said...but my point was that there was nothing in "my" first post here that would make my DIY brake repair fail to work...maybe not as pretty as "everything replaced with new"...but perfectly serviceable.

Exactly...make more money, less chance of a comeback...but totally necessary? I guess its different strokes for different folks. Some people won't even accept reman parts...new OEM only. That's just not me, I go with what whatever works. (and most bang for the buck to some extent)
I have replaced parts on customers machines that I had advised them were "worn, but usable"...at that point I have given them an honest professional opinion, and if they elect to replace it anyways, then that is their free choice and they generally are fiercely loyal to me and my shop because I am totally honest with them...had guys driving an hour past literally dozens of other shops just to get to us because of this honesty...in the long run we made out because they would tell others and they would come too...and since they were driving so far they would often wait on the repairs to be done and would go out in the showroom and spend money on accessories...now that's my idea of a win win situation!
I have an aunt that is financially challenged and when I do her brakes there is no way I am going to feel good about making her buy new rotors just because they aren't smooth as glass anymore...and no way I'm gonna send her out in something unsafe. So she will usually get pads only from me. The last time she came to me, she ended up with a new (used) vehicle due to the overall very poor condition of her car...that Chrysler Pacifica was NOT, I repeat NOT, worth spending one more nickel on...it was traded in and I suspect ended up at the scrap yard.

As far as certified used vehicles...they are replacing anything worn at all (needed or not) because it is cheaper/easier to do it while it is already up on the rack and therefore not risk the reputation of the "certified" program...they are still making good money on things doing it this way so they have no worries about replacing 50% brake parts.

 

Cool, an oil thread.

So I've decided to do a pad slap and see how it does. If I don't like the test drive results, then I'll do the rotors.

I guess from a mechanic's point of view - charge them more for parts now and be sure there are no problems later OR have them save on parts now and potentially have to eat the labor when customer complains and then has to pony up for the added parts. For a DIYer, it's just time and a couple beers.

Appreciate all the advice given, do I need to sign & send a waiver to all responders?

 

ETA: I bought an 01 Cummins new, it now has 240K on it. It's been used hard, lots of miles with a gooseneck, pulling doubles, etc.
Its had front pads every ~50-60K. Rear pads only once. I've never touched the front or rear rotors, they're in spec and fine.

 

What a waste to throw away rotors after one set of brake pads. Usually they are fine, but you can typically take them to the parts store and get them turned for $25 or so for all four. I had to replace one front rotor on my Ram 3500 (due to the shop that replaced my ball joints reinstalled my brake pads wrong and the caliper stuck). The new rotors were $60 each. It literally took me 1/2 hr. To replace the pads and one rotor, on the ground, with hand tools. On a lift, with air tools it was probably a 15 min job.

I don't really agree with the arguement of "while I was in there", because if it's not worn out, it is truly just wasteful to replace them, both in terms of money and materials.

There is also no way in hell that a brake job should ever cost $625! The parts probably cost that shop less than $200, and maybe an hour (or two, at the most) in labor... why is the total $625?!! Probably the same reason my local Dodge dealer quoted me $900 to change out the gear oil in my front and rear diffs, trans, and transfer case... because a certain percentage of people don't really understand how badly they are getting the shaft, and will just pay it. I bought the best synthetic oil I could get, and it was under $200 when all was said and done.

I realize that the shop has overhead and they need to make money, but not at my expense.

 

2 sets of pads on a rotor and it's usually done.


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with the cost to turn them and having to find some one to turn them CORRECTLY it is usually cost affective to replace them......if need be.
How many DIYers have the tools to properly measure a rotor?? thickness and run out...and if there is a lip, which there probably is on the outer edge, they need turned to seat the pads properly.

 

Not for me.

 

I just threw out the new rotors I put on the F250 and put the old ones back on...thanks for the info.

 

No shortage of places to turn rotors here or at the dealership I bought my car at in Charlotte, a "high-end" dealership and they eagerly turn them til they cant...my experience has been they can usually be re-surfaced twice before replacing if you don't wear the pads down too far...I understand different OEM parts are of varying quality and all but 625 for a brake job? Wow, just wow...

 

Same here.

 

I got 75k out of the front pads on my 4runner. The truck has 160+k on it and has all 4 original rotors. The front calipers needed to be changed after the second set of front pads. The rear pads have been changed twice, and those may be the last set of rear pads this truck will see.

Btw, this is doing a lot of towing, from a small 4x8 to the ౩5౦0 lb trailer and ski nautique. That boat trailer has no trailer brakes fwiw.

 

Just so some of you rural flatlanders can feel better about the wear you're getting out of your brakes, consider what it's like if you live in a hilly city, e.g. Pittsburgh. Steep hills and the stop-and-go of heavy traffic can cut pad life down to 20K or less.

My last car -- a Subaru that I just sold over the weekend, came to me with complete maintenance records from the original owner. The dealer resurfaced all four rotors at 10k, citing rust and warpage. New pads and resurfaced the rotors again (all four) at 21k. New pads and rotors all around at 37.5k. New front rotors again at 51k due to "shimmy," whatever that means. New pads and rotors all around again just before it hit 62k. I guess she must've ridden the brake a lot because I didn't have to replace them that often, but the difference in intervals between the hills of western PA and small town Ohio west of Cleveland has been obvious.

 

Wife's Subaru the rotors on front are dirt cheap 30 bucks so I don't turn them... her shimmy is caused by warping... leaves town red light brakes get hot hit mud puddle ... rotors warp.. if I am replacing rotors I am gonna grease slides and new pads...

 

^^^^ This has worked well for me. ^^^^

I buy OEM quality brake parts, brand doesn't matter to me.

 

Rotors used to be heavy as they contained some mass.
A lot of the new ones are lightweights with short service lifes.
I know I don't want my wife and kids tooling around on 50K expected life rotors after new pads only were put on at 40k miles.

 

A lot of vehicles now are setup for the front and rear disk brakes to wear out at the same time. Most rotors are too thin to resurface now days. You can't just look at a rotor and say yeah it looks thick enough. You need to measure the rotor with a caliper and see how thick it is. If it came into me I would do new rotors all the way around. We have a brake lathe and it rarely gets used anymore. Sometimes new rotors are not much more than what it would cost to machine them. Now would also be a good time to get your brake fluid flushed too.

 

Now there is something that gets neglected on many vehicles...

 

With the cost of most rotors these days it doesn't pay to get them turned in most cases. For almost the same money you can get new ones.