Looking for opinions on this rotor

[usapadyra]

Hey,

As per title.

I have had zero issues with brakes so far. No noise, no shuddering or vibration and no pulling on either side.

The only reason I'm touching them is because I believe I'm hearing the wear indicator squeaking / chirping.

I would like to just do the whole job with pads and rotors but I'm wary of sinking lots of $$$ into the car since I'm not totally confident in it's long term longevity and the rotors are expensive.

Do you think the rotor pictured is in acceptable enough condition to keep using?

There are lines but nothing sharp or raised. If I run my fingernail up and down there's nothing to get caught on.

What do you think?

Cheers

 

[Josh P]

That picture isn't good enough for me to determine if the rotor is below minimum thickness spec. Are you able to take another picture showing the groove depth on the outer edge? If it's shallow, you can just change the pads to be cheap. The problem with that is, the new pads will mimic any unusual wear the old pads may have had.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Have you looked at the prices of rotors? They may not be as expensive as you think. Just an idea…

 

[usapadyra]

That picture isn't good enough for me to determine if the rotor is below minimum thickness spec. Are you able to take another picture showing the groove depth on the outer edge? If it's shallow, you can just change the pads to be cheap. The problem with that is, the new pads will mimic any unusual wear the old pads may have had.

Sure, by groove depth do you mean where the shiny area meets the rusty outer edge? I've put an arrow at the place I think you're referring to.

So is it how far below the outer edge the wear surface is?

 

[Project91Jp]

See if you can get them resurfaced at O'Reilly's or anywhere else cheaply. I'm more concerned about what caused the scratch.

 

[BKennedy]

I only change rotors when they are warped, cracked or obviously worn. That looks to be in good shape. No bluing or surface cracks. Use a scotch pad or even sandpaper in a circular pattern to deglaze them and run it.

 

[Josh P]

I only change rotors when they are warped, cracked or obviously worn. That looks to be in good shape. No bluing or surface cracks. Use a scotch pad or even sandpaper in a circular pattern to deglaze them and run it.

I do the same, there have been times I've went to get rotors turned and they were below spec with only 1 set of pads.

 

[Josh P]

Sure, by groove depth do you mean where the shiny area meets the rusty outer edge? I've put an arrow at the place I think you're referring to.

So is it how far below the outer edge the wear surface is?

Yes to both. I guess it would be more like a lip at the edge. It doesn't look worn in the picture to me but that picture doesn't show depth very well. I'm also curios about that scratch. Do you know how it happened?

 

[usapadyra]

If I use my trusty fingernail the difference / lip is barely noticeable. Maybe the thickness of 1 or 2 pieces of standard office printer paper. Same on the edge at the hub.

As for the scratch - I'm not sure. Are we talking about the one very close to the outer edge? I drive quite a lot of gravel roads. Don't suppose a piece of grit could have gotten in there and left the mark?

 

[94Eddie]

As for the scratch - I'm not sure. Are we talking about the one very close to the outer edge? I drive quite a lot of gravel roads. Don't suppose a piece of grit could have gotten in there and left the mark?

You should check the pads regularly that are on the scratched rotor. That grove could wear them faster than the other rotors will wear their pads.

 

[Josh P]

If I use my trusty fingernail the difference / lip is barely noticeable. Maybe the thickness of 1 or 2 pieces of standard office printer paper. Same on the edge at the hub.

As for the scratch - I'm not sure. Are we talking about the one very close to the outer edge? I drive quite a lot of gravel roads. Don't suppose a piece of grit could have gotten in there and left the mark?

Those rotors are fine, run them with new pads. Do the prep work mentioned above.

 

[usapadyra]

Those rotors are fine, run them with new pads. Do the prep work mentioned above.

Thanks for your time!

 

[410Fortune]

Service the calipers! People always replace pads and maybe even rotors without a proper service to the caliper and then they get the same odd wear patterns they had before

The calipers need to be cleaned around the friction points and new metal retainers installed. The slide pins need to be removed, cleaned, and re lubed with proper high heat brake pin lube

Get good pads, carbon semi metallic is what I run

(ceramic pads are good for vehicles that had cermic pads from factory otherwise they will chew up your rotors quickly)

 

[J_C]

As for the scratch - I'm not sure. Are we talking about the one very close to the outer edge? I drive quite a lot of gravel roads. Don't suppose a piece of grit could have gotten in there and left the mark?

I thought the scratch being referred to was #1 in below pic? What is #2 ?

They do look reusable, deglaze the surface as already mentioned. However there may be a couple factors. Until well broken in, the new pads will not make as much contact and you'll have reduced braking. Second factor is this and continued use can cause the pads to wear a little faster.

These are the rear rotors? Another factor with replacing the rear is not so much the cost (around $60-$70 per pair delivered on amazon for a major brand) but that you may be fighting with the parking brake pads hitting the rust /wear rim on the inside of the rotor hat while you try to remove them, and if the parking brake pads or other components are shot, you may then end up wanting to replace those as well. I have not replaced mine yet (IIRC) but have read that this takes a bit of patience and is not fun to do.

 

[94Eddie]

These are the rear rotors? Another factor with replacing the rear is not so much the cost (around $60-$70 delivered on amazon for a major brand) but that you may be fighting with the parking brake pads hitting the rust /wear rim on the inside of the rotor hat while you try to remove them, and if the parking brake pads or other components are shot, you may then end up wanting to replace those as well. I have not replaced mine yet (IIRC) but have read that this takes a bit of patience and is not fun to do.

I replaced the parking brakes on one of my 3rd gen vehicles and swore I would never do it again. When I worked over the 2010's brakes, I did the front and paid someone to do the rear. I think Ford told an engineer to design the worst parking brake system possible. Then they doubled down and carried this piss poor design over to the 6th gen models.

 

[410Fortune]

Lol

Once you do the rear w brake 1000 times it gets easier I used to get really mad at them trying to disassemble and the. Put them back together but once you know the routine and what to expect they are not terrible

It is nice because it is an actual emergency brake not just parking brake

 

[J_C]

I replaced the parking brakes on one of my 3rd gen vehicles and swore I would never do it again. When I worked over the 2010's brakes, I did the front and paid someone to do the rear. I think Ford told an engineer to design the worst parking brake system possible. Then they doubled down and carried this piss poor design over to the 6th gen models.

At least it's not electric. .... would've been long dead by now due to that, too.

 

[94Eddie]

At least it's not electric. .... would've been long dead by now due to that, too.

Electric might not be all that bad. Whoever decided to put a mini drum brake inside a disc brake rotor has to be psychotic.

 

[Josh P]

Electric might not be all that bad. Whoever decided to put a mini drum brake inside a disc brake rotor has to be psychotic.

I like the aftermarket calipers that are also the parking brake.

 

[usapadyra]

I thought the scratch being referred to was #1 in below pic? What is #2 ?

They do look reusable, deglaze the surface as already mentioned. However there may be a couple factors. Until well broken in, the new pads will not make as much contact and you'll have reduced braking. Second factor is this and continued use can cause the pads to wear a little faster.

These are the rear rotors? Another factor with replacing the rear is not so much the cost (around $60-$70 per pair delivered on amazon for a major brand) but that you may be fighting with the parking brake pads hitting the rust /wear rim on the inside of the rotor hat while you try to remove them, and if the parking brake pads or other components are shot, you may then end up wanting to replace those as well. I have not replaced mine yet (IIRC) but have read that this takes a bit of patience and is not fun to do.

View attachment 447777

Sorry, just seeing this. Those are not scratches. They run in a pattern along the whole disc on both front rotors. Don't know what they are for. Figure maybe they're supposed to have some function like aiding in water clearance or maybe even cooling Thought they might also be intended to serve as a wear indicator.

I ended up doing just the front pads, along with a clean and grease of the slide pins and a general clean and greasing of the hardware / pad contact points. No noise at all, and breaking is smooth as before and definitely slightly improved.

Had to suck some brake fluid out with a turkey baster as I forced the pistons back in. It wanted to overflow.

The old pads had maybe 1mm left and I could see the shiny bit of the wear indicator on the pads where it had been contacting the rotor. Definitely got my money's worth from them...