Friday, July 07, 2017

Thank you clean air standards.

Apparently in most of the newer cars - if you need to replace the brakes, you can also count on having to replace the rotors. Thought y'all should know and prepare. I've never had to replace rotors in my entire driving experience. And you all know I speed! Well, I formerly used to speed. Sort of.

I guess because of the clean air standards they are trying to shave weight off everywhere including the rotors. That means they wear out much faster.  You are welcome!

I'm guessing this only has been happening for a couple of years because I bought a used car and I just got hit with this landmine.  But it sounds like all the newer cars will find out soon enough.

3 comments:

  1. Just replaced the factory original rear brakes on my '09 Mustang. 80K miles and the rotors needed to be replaced, worn too thin to resurface. So me thinks this goes back more than a couple of years.

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  2. Oh wow. Good to know. Do you mind if I ask how much extra that set you back? Because you used to never need to replace both for a brake job. So I've never paid attention to the price of rotors.

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  3. Rotors could be as cheap as $30. If you do your own work. Could also be MUCH higher, depending on model.
    Go to: https://www.oreillyauto.com/
    put in your model and year, and follow the parts listings to get to your part. You will have to tell it your local store to get prices. There are other stores, and prices can vary a bit, but this will give you some idea of average cost.

    Bear in mind that this may not be what a shop will charge you for the part, if they are doing the work. Traditionally, the retail price for parts at the auto repair shop is justified to cover the time and expense for them to find and acquire the various parts needed to do a repair job. The markup could be anywhere from 20%-70%, but I've been out of the industry for a long time, so that might not be accurate now.

    Generally, you replace bearings and seals if the rotor has an integral hub, but some just slide over the lug nuts onto the hub.

    Sometimes you want to have the new rotor surfaced before installation, as they may not be accurate enough to stop the pedal from pulsating. This varies depending on manufacturer.

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