SHUTUPNDRIVE
New Member
- Joined
- August 3, 2008
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Chicago
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 02 XLT 4X4 4.0 sport pkg
I've ben through this mess twice. I couldn't believe how much they wanted for those little toy brake shoes. I finally found some that were barely affordable. My old ones had fallen apart from rust. The problem is , most of us rarely use our E-brakes. The rust builds up on the inside of the rotor. The shoes rust and the friction material flakes off. I beat on those rotors years ago when nobody had a clue how to do it. I found a factory manual that said to adjust the shoes with the rotor off. Use an outside caliper to measure to an exact measurement, then install the rotors. The problem of course is from years of use or non use, there is a ridge built up on the outside edge of the drum/ rotor, making it almost impossible to slide them on. Now what I do is after it rains I step on my e-brake pedal that last 50 feet or so before I park it. It dries the inside of the rotor and cleans off any rust that has accumulated. Another hassle I've found is the rotors warp after a couple of years of city driving. I buy rotors with long warranties. If they warp I take them back to the part store and have them measured with a micrometer . The numbskull will usually tell me they're warped and want to charge me to cut them. At that point I have to slap em around a little, and explain to him that ,if it's warped now ,what do you think will happen when you cut them making them even thinner ? Just about all rotors are made in China with inferior steel, which make them susceptible to warping and pitting. Not much we could do about that.. Hope this helps.