521921

Changing the rear brakes on my '99 GLE this weekend. Should I turn the rotors if they are not grooved or marked? Is this usually done when the dealer does one of their "rip-off brake jobs", and if so how many times can you turn them before they're out of spec? If they were fronts I'd do them for sure, but wondering if I can get away with not doing it on the rear.

thanks!
aidan

95rubygxe

i've been driving since 1985 and i've never had to have rotors on any car turned ('89 Sentra, '80 Rabbit, '70 Cutlass, '72 Cutlass/442, and '95 Max GXE). if you don't feel vibration when you brake then you're probably fine and don't let them talk you into it if you feel they're fine. it boils down to braking habits.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

The rear brakes only do about 15% of the braking in your car. They don't gererate that much heat. If there not groved, marked or scorched, and your brake pedal doesn't pulse (could be caused by fronts also) then don't turn them. I've never turned rear rotors on any FWD car I've ever owned.

95rubygxe

good point! most cars i've owned only had disc on the front and drums in the rear so i got hung up on checking for vibration "the old way". so many people have the rotor-turning performed anyway since they know absolutely nothing about cars AND because the mechanic says "yeah, you should do it", but also thinks "...so i can squeeze more money out of you, fool".

Jason96GLE

I am not a fan of the lathe. I've owned three Japanese cars before the Maxima and with each one, after turning the rotors they immediately warped! I will never do this again. Modern rotors are very thin and the process of turning removes too much material. When you take a worn rotor and turn it, there isn't to much "meat" left. I found this took the rotor below factory specs. If the rotors are warp, don't be cheap, buy new ones. Dealers and repair shops love to turn, it's extra money in their pockets.

ay5800

iTrader: (2)

The rear maxima rotors are to thin to turn and most shops will tell you they cant

ay5800

iTrader: (2)

BRIGBOY

So turning rotors means refinishing them.

sterling99SEL

I had my front rotors turned on my 99 SE once, they warped again, and I had them turned again, and of course they warped. I plan to get new fronts, but I am hoping my rear rotors are fine. I have original pads with 65k on them - they still appear to have 1/4 or so left on them (pretty amazing). Is there any way to differentiate whether the front or the rear rotors are warped? Also, has anyone bought pads from the dealer? They lasted so long and dusted so little that I might get them from Nissan. Any other suggestions?

Ben4bamaMax

Thanks for your replies..I think what I'll do is get my tires put on first then get my alignment and step hard on the brakes to see if they shake. I should be able to tell if I should turn them after I put the new tires and go hit the brakes hard and check for vibration.
I just needed to hear whether turning them was a good idea regardless and it sounds more like a last resort. Thanks!!

95rubygxe

actually, you might not even have to step on them hard like you mentioned. when driving my girlfriend's '93 f*rd, you can feel the unevenness in the rotors right when you start applying the brakes. i've known her for two years and she's had her rotors turned twice. one more thing: she's a horrendous driver!

nixima

It's rather simple to tell if the rotors are warped. I have just had my front rotors turned this past weekend and the pulsation (or vibration, depending on speed) is gone. A simple way to tell whether it's the front or rear is to use the hand brakes. Pull the hand brakes just enough to feel the pads touching the rotors. Don't lock the hand brakes though. You will know immediately if the rear rotors are warped.

I have never had to turn any brake rotors in any of the cars I have owned. My wife puts on 142K miles on her Civic in the past five years and had gone through 4 sets of front brake pads. The 300ZX I had had gone through 2 sets of front/rear brake pads and never required turning the rotors. I personally changed the pads in every occasion and never turned the rotors once. Sadly to say, the Maxima is the first.

Since it is the first time I had to have rotors turned. I was being extra cautious. I took measurements before I took them to the shop. They ranged from 21.65mm-21.80mm in one and 21.35mm-21.50mm in the other. Obviously the thickness variation was way over the factory spec to cause the pulsation. After they are turned, they are both around 21.10mm, with variation in thickness less than 0.01mm. They met the factory spec of 20mm min thickness and 0.01mm max variation. And on the contratry to what I believed, not that much meat has been removed by turning them.

I do have one question for those who have had rotors turned. Do they need a "breaking-in" period? The first day after I had it done, the brakes were squealing constantly. The squeal gradually went away after three days of regular driving. Is this normal??

95rubygxe

like yourself i haven't had to have rotors turned in 16 years of driving MY cars. i've had the rotors turned on my girlfriend's car twice, and they didn't squeal either time.

KWheelzSB

iTrader: (1)

Freshly turned rotors or new brakepads do require a break-in period to allow the two new surfaces (pad & rotor) to properly "bed-in." This period is usually 150-200 miles, during which the driver should apply light to medium pressure to the brakes, avoiding sudden or hard applications of the brakes, except in emergency situations. Higher amounts of brake noise/squeal are possible during this break-in period.

nixima

Great. It's been four days since I have my rotors turned. The squeal finally went away. $20 well spent.

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

always get rotors "turned"
do not "cut" rotors.

turning a rotor generally resurfacing the rotor w/o taking off any major material..basically a resurfacing.

cutting a rotor is actually shaving the rotor (rotors w/ grooves in it and etc) to return the surface.

make sure they know what you want when they decide to resurface a rotor. most places will cut your rotors..because then you'll come back next time for new rotors becasuse it'll be too thin to cut again.

if you want to be cheap get 40 grit sand paper to break the glaze on the rotor from your old pads. this will help the new pads "bed" or "seat" in.

NISMOPower

iTrader: (2)

Is it the same thing as cuting them or resurfacing the rotors?

DanNY

iTrader: (14)

i take it u didn't read my post?

rabson

Why do the brakes suck so bad

carlmax5

This dudes an auto mechanic

Steve Marsh

Heres a suggestion. Go to PepBoys and purchase a set of rear/front rotors. Also get a set of brake pads(raybestos premium). You can get a free replacements within "a year" on the rotors and a "lifetime" on the pads. I do this once a year, i never turn my rotors! Also the key to it all is that you "SAVE YOUR RECIEPTS" otherwise you fresh out of luck. Raybestos products have worked for my 96se since i purchased it new. Good luck! 96se Dunlop SP 5000's, Amsoil 0w-30,Amsoil synthetic ATF,157,500 miles. New starter/ignition switch at 156,700 miles.

CFster

Um sorry, you're misinformed. "Cutting" and "Turning" a brake rotor are one and the same. What are you are talking about is the degree of machining involved. In any case the rotor only needs to refinished enough to achieve a true, smooth surface. Actually, on a rotor with moderate grooves it used to take us one or two fast cuts and one slow "finish" cut. Now, we have these new round bits (instead of the triangular ones) for our brake lathe - one cut does it.
As far as I'm concerned, it's all moot anyway. If the rotor has no lateral runout and doesn't have severe grooving you don't need to machine it. The new pads will seat right into the grooves right away. And if the rotors are warped you can machine them, but chances are the pulsation will come back in time. Rotors are so cheap now, just replace them. Generally, I recommend new rotors instead of turning at my shop - I'm not trying to sell anything, I just don't want the car coming back.
And if you want to be picky about refinishing a rotor, the absolute best way to do it is with an "on-the-car" brake lathe. For anything with hubless rotors anyway.

sterling99SEL

Is a rotor a rotor - does it matter what kind I get? I need front replacements. Are any of the aftermarket better than OEM (less likely to warp)?
Also, my pads have 66k miles on them and are still going strong. I would guess that I'll need new before long. Should I go with Nissan pads? I like that I only see minimal brake dust after ALOT of driving and also that they have lasted so long.

Steve Marsh

Don't wait too long if you are in need of brake pad replacement and or rotors! The last thing you need is for your brake caliper pistons to pop out of their seals and or rotors to crack! At that point it becomes a major issue especially while you are on the road. Like i've stated before (refer to my other reply)Raybestos have worked for me, go to pepboys, and take advantage of the warranties on their pads/rotors, and save your receipts, the dealer is way too expensive! Also they do not dust that bad, they dust moderately. The fronts dust the most.Otherwise i use some newly improved Armorall wheel cleaner (Armorall's quick silver replacement),with a good special wheel cleaning brush. One other thing every now and then keep spraying all 4 disc with some heavy duty brake cleaner (prestone)@ Walmart. Good Luck!

nigelcmf

Once a year for pad replacement is a little extreme unless you're on the brakes all the time. Mine are going on five years and not even a slight problem! I do mostly highway driving and not too aggressive either.

turning rotors...cutting rotors....we call it "skimming the discs" in England. And I wouldn't do it unless I really need to. i.e. when you feel vibration/pulsation when braking. If vibration occurs at certain speeds (not braking) your wheels need balancing or the "tracking" (Don't know if there is an American term for this) needs to be done. This is alignment of the front wheels.

Steve Marsh

Oh i neglected to mention that i still have my original calipers! They are working fine, however i plan to replace them next week. The key is to utilize as much as you can for your machine and your wallet, whether it be warranties, rebates, quality free replacement parts or whatever. One other thing, i use centrificual (spelling)force on the on/off ramps/ (curves/turns) when i drive on the hwy, which is 98% of the time (1,000 miles per a week), for there is no need to ride the brakes. Best wishes!