Well, this might not have anything to do with the first time I've changed the brakes myself about 2 weeks ago (they have been working flawlessly and still do. I did the bedding procedure and that also improved their performance.) Both the rotors and pads in the front were changed.

After these recent unrelenting rain storms I just noticed now that there is a film of rust residue (that orange deposit left from like when water runs over rusty materials then dries up) everywhere on the brakes except where the pads contact the rotors. The outside edge of the rotor, the inside part in line with the hub, parts of the inner wheel where it probably dripped to etc.

Where is all this rust coming from!? I noticed yesterday when i braked moderatley to a stop that I would get this weird rubbing/creaking sound that seemed pretty loud, so I had my gf stand outside the car on both sides while i stopped and she saids its almost inaudible outside. It seems to come up right underneath the floor board where the pedals are.

On my way home on the hwy from where we were i did some 70-50 slow downs to heat them up and then got on them a few times on the offramp, and now today they dont seem to be making this sound. I think that could have possibly been trapped moisture? Maybe its just because of all the rain that this stuff showed up ... one time deal im hoping?

 

Well, rotors rust incredibly quickly when water touches them. If it rains and I come outside, mine are rusted right up. When I leave the driveway they scrape, as that first layer is taken off. Anywhere where the pads are not touching rotors has no reason to lose the rust coating.

The scrape sound always goes away though very quickly. If yours is staying on longer, it's possible that you have some rust particle trapped somewhere, and probably isn't a big deal.

I will note that in my 00 I used to have an occasional bad scraping sound, unrelated to rust. I first noticed it when my brakes were hot from spirited driving and later noticed it at other times, on and off. I checked the brakes and the rotors and pads were all great, but I never figured out why it was scraping sometimes. I later had a warped rotor and had them turned, plus new autozone pads, and I've not had scraping since.

 

That's always been a mystery to me too. A guy I work with recently bought a brand new MazdaSpeed Protege, and his rotors did the same thing after only 4 or 5 times in the rain. My best guess is that it comes from the lugs, but that makes more sense on used cars than new ones. So I guess it makes even more sense that it's the rotors - even new ones.

 

don't sweat the rust, it's gonna happen when water sits on bare metal especially steel. rust is a form of oxidation. only if it has a chance build up and etch the rotors is it a problem. don't worry about rust build-up where the pads don't touch ie; the hub and edges.