92 Max

I'm replacing the rear brakes on my 2005 Maxima SE and the rotors look pretty good. There are no big scratches or gouges in the rotor surface (old pads are still intact surfaces, not down to rivets (if they use them now?)).
Do I have to have the rotors resurfaced? Or can I just put back the calipers and leave the rotors alone?

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

I wouldn't say you need to re-surface them but from my experience (not with the Maxima) but with a Saab, I had problems later on. I just threw new pads on the Saab and about 20 miles or so later when I was braking for a stop light, my car would jerk every couple of feet when slowing down.

It turns out that my rotors were slightly warped and the jerking was my new pads catching on the high spot and releasing on the low one. I drove like that for about a week and eventually had to get my rotors and pads turned in order to fix the problem. Needless to say those pads didn't last as long as they would have, had I just turned my rotors from the start.

Shoey1

i don't recommend turning rotors ever...they are made a certain thickness to dissipate heat properly. if you take away some of that material it will be harder to dissipate the heat as fast. thus making them more prone to warping. just cough up the extra few bucks and do pads and rotors. i tell customers its always worth it to just buy new rotors. for the most part new rotors are a few dollars more then turning the old ones. why not have the best a for only a small amount more?

Domestic Violence

its unlikely that your REAR rotors are warped. they MAY be glazed a bit, but i highly doubt enough to warrant cutting them.

i just replaced my front brakes/rotors and rear pads.... didnt touch the rotors. 40K mi and no problems at all.

remember- the rears dont have the steering components, drive shafts, weight of the engine on them... they dont get too beat up.

po8pimp

I don't agree, all 4 of my rotors where warped extremely bad. Besides the warping is cause by heating up and cooling off real fast. That's why most rotors warp in rainy areas. You might find articles that talk about how there is no such thing as a warped rotor and that it is only brakes being applied unevenly. They are correct in that statement, however the rotor is still warped. Uneven surface is the result which is the same as being warped. I had to replace all 4 of my rotors. I found this out when I was getting them resurfaced at my buddy's shop. He showed me them while spinning, and he said he wouldn't resurface them because they were that bad. I just bought new rotors and put them on myself. Bought em off ebay for about $200 after shipping and handling. They have been on for about 3 years now with no problems. Not even rust.

92 Max

Thanks for the info. I decided to put it back together with the old rotors and try it out. No warpage, pulling or noise so far. They feel fine, so I'm going to let it ride. I remember from my dad that he didn't resurface the rotors if they were in good shape and he had no problems, so I'll try it this way. If any problems show up I'll revisit this.
And yes, I've had warped rotors on mine previously, under warrantee. They machined out the warp. I don't think you can really machine out a warp. It usually occurs due to a bad casting process, probably because it was cooled too fast. Heating it up during braking causes the metal to relax molded in stresses and warp. Or it was like my old Cutlas. I had a pulsing brake pedal and had the rotors machined and there was a large "bubble" in the casting just below the surface that broke through.

Oolatec

iTrader: (5)

As long as they are fine, and you aren't experiencing any degradation in braking, leave them be. When they do start to warp, just replace them. Do not turn them.

Check the Group Deals section for great alternatives. I have the slotted RTP rotors from AuToMaX_95, and they have been great... going on 3 years now.

http://forums.maxima.org/group-deals...nes-fluid.html

Kryogen

I did my brakes and didnt turn the rotors. I dont want to remove metal on them.... I will keep them as long as they are good, then replace.