Rotors and Pads replacement

[Querys]

Hello everyone,

some of you might know allready, I live in Germany. Therefore I usually buy my spare parts at rockauto, because the delivery to Germany is fast and inexpensive.

My 2013 Explorer Limited has almost 35.000 Miles with several month of outside downtime at a dealer. Due to rust on the rotors I would like to replace them in the next time.

Unforfutately the choice of different qualities and manufactures at rockauto is huge and most of them I do not know, because they are not present on the "normal" European market. i.e. Durago, Raybestos, Power Stop, Acdelco, Bendix, Centrix.

Most likely I would buy a coated version of rotors. Any recommendations?
I guess the easies way to figure out, if a standard or Heavy Duty break is assembled is measuring the rotors directly a the car (325m vs. 352mm)?
Any other recommended one time use replacement parts, when changing rotors and pads, which I should order?

Thanks in advance

 

[wcharon]

I am also about to change mine. Have been reading a while on the Power Stop with good reviews on them.

 

[SuperGreg]

Hey there, I have done my share of brake jobs. My brother and I have been doing our families' cars for years, plus friends who need help. Here is a batch of rotors that need to be dropped off at the recycler:

My recommendation is to get the Power Stop coated rotors ("Geomet") from Rock Auto. I am so done with rusty rotors. I have done Stop Tech as well with the painted hubs, but IMO the Power Stop hold up better. I put them on my wife's Odyssey, and they look as shiny as they day I put them on, so I just put them on my Explorer. Preventing rust also protects against other side effects of the rotors deteriorating due to rust, like brake noise and vibration, IMO.

Centric is alright, same company as Stop Tech. I've used their "coated" rotors (not painted) and they rusted just like anything else. The others you listed might be alright, but I'd pass.

Make sure you get the torque specs for all the bolts before you start the job.

It's very important to remove the caliper slide pins and boots, clean everything, and relube with brake grease. The pins are different - replace each one in the same spot on the bracket. I like to remove, clean, and replace one at a time to prevent mixing them up. Replace the boots if they are ripped! You're probably OK with your low mileage, but I had a ripped boot and almost frozen slide pin (the last person to do brakes on the car did a horrible job all around). I had to hunt around for a store that had a new boot in stock before I could put everything back together.

The pads from Rock auto will come with new brake hardware, just swap everything over. Make note of how the parts came off, especially those springs. Put some brake grease on the edges of the pads where they ride in the bracket slots. Just make sure you don't get any grease on the rotor, if you do clean it up with brake cleaner.

I prefer to bleed brake fluid out of the bleed screw while reseating the caliper pistons. Otherwise you push dirty fluid up the line. And then afterword I like to do a brake flush anyway until I see clean fluid coming out.

One one other important thing - get the brake anti-squeal spray that you apply to the rear of the pads (not the kind you spray on the rotor). Put a nice full coating on and wait 10 minutes before assembling (or whatever the instructions say). Using this I have *NEVER* had any brakes I have put on squeak for the life of the brakes other than hitting the wear indicator when the pads are gone.

You probably don't have the larger HD brakes, but it's possible. The easiest way to tell is to look at the rear of the calipers - HD brakes have cooling fins and non-HD are smooth. My 2013 Limited has standard brakes, but I think they changed mid year.

Good luck!

 

[Adrian Gitch]

I recently went with the coated motorcraft front and rear and am very pleased with them.

 

[wcharon]

Hey there, I have done my share of brake jobs. My brother and I have been doing our families' cars for years, plus friends who need help. Here is a batch of rotors that need to be dropped off at the recycler:

My recommendation is to get the Power Stop coated rotors ("Geomet") from Rock Auto. I am so done with rusty rotors. I have done Stop Tech as well with the painted hubs, but IMO the Power Stop hold up better. I put them on my wife's Odyssey, and they look as shiny as they day I put them on, so I just put them on my Explorer. Preventing rust also protects against other side effects of the rotors deteriorating due to rust, like brake noise and vibration, IMO.

Centric is alright, same company as Stop Tech. I've used their "coated" rotors (not painted) and they rusted just like anything else. The others you listed might be alright, but I'd pass.

Make sure you get the torque specs for all the bolts before you start the job.

It's very important to remove the caliper slide pins and boots, clean everything, and relube with brake grease. The pins are different - replace each one in the same spot on the bracket. I like to remove, clean, and replace one at a time to prevent mixing them up. Replace the boots if they are ripped! You're probably OK with your low mileage, but I had a ripped boot and almost frozen slide pin (the last person to do brakes on the car did a horrible job all around). I had to hunt around for a store that had a new boot in stock before I could put everything back together.

The pads from Rock auto will come with new brake hardware, just swap everything over. Make note of how the parts came off, especially those springs. Put some brake grease on the edges of the pads where they ride in the bracket slots. Just make sure you don't get any grease on the rotor, if you do clean it up with brake cleaner.

I prefer to bleed brake fluid out of the bleed screw while reseating the caliper pistons. Otherwise you push dirty fluid up the line. And then afterword I like to do a brake flush anyway until I see clean fluid coming out.

One one other important thing - get the brake anti-squeal spray that you apply to the rear of the pads (not the kind you spray on the rotor). Put a nice full coating on and wait 10 minutes before assembling (or whatever the instructions say). Using this I have *NEVER* had any brakes I have put on squeak for the life of the brakes other than hitting the wear indicator when the pads are gone.

You probably don't have the larger HD brakes, but it's possible. The easiest way to tell is to look at the rear of the calipers - HD brakes have cooling fins and non-HD are smooth. My 2013 Limited has standard brakes, but I think they changed mid year.

Good luck!

Thanks for the explanation.

Can point me out on what is the difference between the ("Geomet") and the Zinc Plated? I see 2 options and logical 2 different prices. POWER STOP CRK5584 Z17 Evolution Geomet® Coated Kit and POWER STOP K5584 Z23 Evolution Sport Brake

I assume i will have to go with the Sport Brake as i have the Limited.

2011 FORD EXPLORER 3.5L V6 Rotor & Brake Pad Kit | RockAuto

Thanks in advance..

 

[Querys]

thank you SuperGreg, looks like you are working like me.

I did the measurement today and I have the standard 325mm brake

 

[SuperGreg]

Thanks for the explanation.

Can point me out on what is the difference between the ("Geomet") and the Zinc Plated? I see 2 options and logical 2 different prices. POWER STOP CRK5584 Z17 Evolution Geomet® Coated Kit and POWER STOP K5584 Z23 Evolution Sport Brake

I assume i will have to go with the Sport Brake as i have the Limited.

2011 FORD EXPLORER 3.5L V6 Rotor & Brake Pad Kit | RockAuto

Thanks in advance..

The CRK5584 is what I ordered. The "Sport Brake" kit is drilled & slotted, I have been disappointed every time I have installed any drilled & slotted on any car. They make significantly more noise and don't perform noticeably better.

I have installed Zinc coated rotors (Centric brand) and they ended up rusting. Geomet has performed much better. I don't know what exactly is in the coating.

 

[wcharon]

Thanks. Tough decision.

 

[Querys]

Thanks I will go with CRK5584 then

 

[KayGee]

The CRK5584 is what I ordered. The "Sport Brake" kit is drilled & slotted, I have been disappointed every time I have installed any drilled & slotted on any car. They make significantly more noise and don't perform noticeably better.

I have installed Zinc coated rotors (Centric brand) and they ended up rusting. Geomet has performed much better. I don't know what exactly is in the coating.

There's nothing wrong with drilled/slotted rotors if they are quality and installed properly. I've had them on all my MBs and they were never noisy over several vehicles and ~200k miles total. If your braking performance wasn't satisfactory, then the pads were probably not the appropriate compound.

As far as coated or no coated, that's really a personal decision. I'm in MI and have used both over the last 40 years. If you rotate tires every 5k and inspect/maintain your brakes, non-coated aren't an issue.

Some coatings are better than others, but they all rust/corrode after awhile, just not as badly or quickly as non-coated (assuming you have 4 seasons of weather).

 

[wcharon]

There's nothing wrong with drilled/slotted rotors if they are quality and installed properly. I've had them on all my MBs and they were never noisy over several vehicles and ~200k miles total. If your braking performance wasn't satisfactory, then the pads were probably not the appropriate compound.

As far as coated or no coated, that's really a personal decision. I'm in MI and have used both over the last 40 years. If you rotate tires every 5k and inspect/maintain your brakes, non-coated aren't an issue.

Some coatings are better than others, but they all rust/corrode after awhile, just not as badly or quickly as non-coated (assuming you have 4 seasons of weather).

Thanks... There is a difference of $100.00 for the drill / slotted rotors as the pads are the same (Ceramic). For a daily and to be honest i don't push the truck hard so i am trying to justify that money difference but don't want to sacrifice OEM specs in case i need them.

 

[SuperGreg]

There's nothing wrong with drilled/slotted rotors if they are quality and installed properly. I've had them on all my MBs and they were never noisy over several vehicles and ~200k miles total. If your braking performance wasn't satisfactory, then the pads were probably not the appropriate compound.

As far as coated or no coated, that's really a personal decision. I'm in MI and have used both over the last 40 years. If you rotate tires every 5k and inspect/maintain your brakes, non-coated aren't an issue.

Some coatings are better than others, but they all rust/corrode after awhile, just not as badly or quickly as non-coated (assuming you have 4 seasons of weather).

I wouldn't say the braking was poor, but it didn't justify the extra noise. I know MB does drilled/slotted with good results. A friend of mine had an AMG model, can't remember which one SLK 55 maybe. He was interested in DIY brakes. The only rotors we could find were OEM for $1,200/rotor. So, I guess they better work well for that price.

I've always had a droning sound from them on other cars. Have you tried them on an Explorer? They do look nice. Unless you don't get coated, then all the holes and slots get rusty.

 

[KayGee]

Thanks... There is a difference of $100.00 for the drill / slotted rotors as the pads are the same (Ceramic). For a daily and to be honest i don't push the truck hard so i am trying to justify that money difference but don't want to sacrifice OEM specs in case i need them.

A lot of stuff comes down to personal preference. If you want the look, go for it. If you don't, just get an OE equivalent.

I wouldn't say the braking was poor, but it didn't justify the extra noise. I know MB does drilled/slotted with good results. A friend of mine had an AMG model, can't remember which one SLK 55 maybe. He was interested in DIY brakes. The only rotors we could find were OEM for $1,200/rotor. So, I guess they better work well for that price.

I've always had a droning sound from them on other cars. Have you tried them on an Explorer? They do look nice. Unless you don't get coated, then all the holes and slots get rusty.

The ones on my MBs were coated and still rusted after a few MI winters, but were never noisy and provided superb braking. All of my replacement brake rotors and pads were euro made from OE suppliers (ATE, Zimmerman and the like) - no chinese stuff. They were usually 1/4-1/2 the cost MB rotors and pads from the dealer. SLK 55 AMG rotors can be had for ~$300 each for Brembo which was the OE supplier. A simple internet search or a few phone calls to some known euro parts discounters is all that is needed to find reasonably priced euro parts.

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

My local shop uses Napa Premium rotors. Lifetime warranty on parts. Not a bad deal for one who will have for a while.

 

[J5hort]

For my second gen explorer sport I go Duralast from Autozone. Recently looked into the ceramic pads, seem to cut down on brake dust and more positive stopping. I doubt AZ ships to Germany, but the appeal for me has been that there is a lifetime replacement warranty. I change my pads on all cars (6) every year and the pads are free replacements if I return the worn ones. I do this in person. Saved lots of $ over the 24 years I have owned it.

As for a online oiutlet that allows you to swap brakes out and get the lifetime replacement for some imported cars see fcpeuro.com

Wondering if there is a domestic (or would that be import in Germany's case) site that allows this type of lifetime warranty.