I just replaced the brake pads on the wife's Honda Pilot. The rotors were still good and meaty and the brakes were working perfectly with no pulsation or other issues. The pads were just really worn. I didn't replace or turn the rotors. Should I have?
I sometimes won't depends on what sort of braking issues I had prior to having them replaced. Most of the time I've managed to warp a rotor or 3, so I just buy new ones.
I don't. If the brakes felt fine, but the pads were just nearing the end of their life, rotors look fine, i just slap new pads in there and let 'er rip.
OK, I feel better now.
Reading a thread on another forum had me convinced I was going to die a fiery death (or at least have all kinds of problems).
I too do not turn my rotors if they have no visible wear and aren't warped. Part of the reason is its a pain to find somewhere that does it, by someone who gives a E36 M3. I've had at least two rotors ruined by knuckleheads.
The GM factory manual on my S10 Blazer told me not to turn the rotors if they are not scored, warped, or trashed.
If there's no vibration and they are still within spec, I often just slap on a set of pads. If they pulsate, I replace them. I almost never cut them, mainly because of convenience (downtime), but also because turned rotors have less metal to manage the heat.
What about the shims? Do you just use the new ones that come with the pads or do you reuse the factory ones? (Sorry I am such an idiot.)
another vote for just run 'em if no vibration or bad scoring. @Otto_maddox, I usually use the new shims
New shims if you've got 'em. Clean and lube everything.
I put on the new shims and put some lube on the back. In hindsight, I was probably a little stingy with the lube.
On my wife's P5, I turned the rotors that had ~.01" of runout. They stopped pulsing. For about a month. Grrr....
I'm about to do a "replace all pads and rotors dammit" brake job to see if that can get the pulsing to stay gone.
If the rotors are straight and within spec, the most I will do is clean them with some sandpaper, if that. Slap on the new pads, bed them in and go
I always replace my rotors, its just my habit.
I've done both. Just replaced some that looked bad, and turned some and had them come out great. Knowing who's doing the turning helps.
My last experience with having a shop turn them didn't go well. As cheap as most new rotors are, I'll just replace them unless there's nothing wrong with them, in which case I'd just slap on a new set of pads and go.
Woody wrote: If there's no vibration and they are still within spec, I often just slap on a set of pads. If they pulsate, I replace them. I almost never cut them, mainly because of convenience (downtime), but also because turned rotors have less metal to manage the heat.
Bottom line on rotors is, if there's no visible damage like cracks or scoring or heat blueing or obvious out-of-roundness, there's no good reason to turn them. They're too cheap to mess with if you don't need to.
Not meaning to highjack the thread, but I've noticed some quality problems with the rotors and one set of drums I recently bought. The drums were fine for about a week after installation. Now the pulsating is back in the pedal, but not as bad as before. Not a shake in the steering wheel, but a pulsating brake pedal. The front rotors, while a few years old, have few miles on them so I can't figure if theu are the problem.
Anybody know a source for good brake drums? And are Brembo rotors still as good as they were? I'm a bit worried that all of the brake components are going to start coming from you know where.
When I put new Brembo stock-style replacement rotors on the front of my Olds Intrigue a couple years ago along with new pads I got a slight reduction in pedal pulse under braking but it was still there. I believe the rotors were untrue out of the box. A friend of mine that worked at a parts store and now for a major automotive OEM said I should have taken the new rotors to a competent shop to have them turned before installation to make sure they were flat before installation.
While I think it stinks to have to do that with a brand new rotor I think he was probably right. Guess I'll try it next time I go through this.
spitfirebill wrote: The drums were fine for about a week after installation. Now the pulsating is back in the pedal, but not as bad as before.
Some vehicles naturally warp rotors due to poor brake design. Case in point, 1995-2004 Cavaliers/Sunfires warp rotors religiously for no apparent reason. A high quality, higher density rotor (like a brembo) seems to take care of these things. If you're Brembo's are warping, stop getting them hot and driving through puddles! 
I also do not believe the brembos you buy from say autozone are the same as the brembos you get from the tirerack.
As for the turning issue, WHY?! Any shop around here charges $25 per rotor. That means I just paid someone $25 to make my rotors wear out quicker, and more likely to warp. Most front rotors do not top ~$70 a peice for really expensive ones, so yea...
When you get pulsation shortly after installing new rotors, it's probably a sign that the new pads were not bedded in properly.
Going to track days would get really expensive if I had to change rotors with every set of pads.
I very rarely put rotors on cars unless they're worn beyond spec or warped. If a car has 150k on the factory rotors I'll replace them just because, but they're just a big machined iron/steel circle, not much to go wrong there.
Autozone has greatly improved their duralast brake components in recent years (at least my sales rep tells me so), and I've used a lot of their pads and rotors without issue.
If you replace all of your brake components and still have vibration under braking you need to look for the cause elsewhere. Wheel bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints, suspension bushings (especially on BMWs), tires with broken belts, etc.. can cause odd braking vibrations. Replacing good parts over and over again without fixing the problem is just silly.
Unless the rotors were bad, I'd just throw new pads in them and go.
Unless it is a Challenge car I always replace rotors and pads. I guess if you have soft pads and they wear a lot faster than the rotors you should be fine.
I usually have to replace because they are so warped they shake the fillings loose.... that's on the Hyundai's. $12 rotors FTW! The truck I turned once, then replaced.
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