rusting rotors
rusting rotors my car has been sitting outside now not being driven for this entire winter and ive noticed the new brake rotors i put on over the summer are getting completely rusted over. now i know its normal for them to get a little rust on them when they get wet but this isnt just a little. the whole contact surface is completely covered in a thick layer of rust. when i touch it get a nice orange/brownish spot on my finger.
in the spring when the car is back on the road and when i drive it for the first time will it all just wipe off like nothing happened or is this gonna be a problem?
i can get a pic if needed.
in the spring when the car is back on the road and when i drive it for the first time will it all just wipe off like nothing happened or is this gonna be a problem?
i can get a pic if needed.
for the most part the rust should be scraped off when you start driving again, if the rust gets to be more than just surface rust and it start to pit at all, then it wont be completely wiped clean and will look like ***
there isn't too much you can do about it though, the best thing to do is once the roads dry off a little to take it for a drive every once in a while
there isn't too much you can do about it though, the best thing to do is once the roads dry off a little to take it for a drive every once in a while
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 24,241
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From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
most rotors start to get surface rust in only one or two humid days without being driven. its no big deal. perhaps if the car will sit for a really long time you could put a little oil on them to prevent them from rusting. surface rust isn't bad but when it starts to pit the metal underneath then its a problem and its causing damage. wipe the rust off in a spot and see if the metal underneath is smooth or pitted.
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When I was 16 I damn near wrecked because of rusty rotors.
I bought a car that was sitting, it had thick brake pads on it, full master cylinder. First couple of stops were great, but once I got down the road the third stop didn't happen, the pedal went to the floor.
I got out to find the brake pad material completly gone and the master cylinder empty.
So, be careful.
I bought a car that was sitting, it had thick brake pads on it, full master cylinder. First couple of stops were great, but once I got down the road the third stop didn't happen, the pedal went to the floor.
I got out to find the brake pad material completly gone and the master cylinder empty.
So, be careful.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,516
Likes: 0
When I was 16 I damn near wrecked because of rusty rotors.
I bought a car that was sitting, it had thick brake pads on it, full master cylinder. First couple of stops were great, but once I got down the road the third stop didn't happen, the pedal went to the floor.
I got out to find the brake pad material completly gone and the master cylinder empty.
So, be careful.
I bought a car that was sitting, it had thick brake pads on it, full master cylinder. First couple of stops were great, but once I got down the road the third stop didn't happen, the pedal went to the floor.
I got out to find the brake pad material completly gone and the master cylinder empty.
So, be careful.
I would take them off and clean them up really good, then spray a light coat of wd40 on them. Take out your pads and put the rotor and wheel back on. Then come spring you can put them all back together. You might even be able to get a spacer that will allow you to bolt your wheels back on without the rotor being there.
How do you figure that?
The rust ate the pads away like clamping onto a grinding wheel. Going from thick pads to nothing emptied out the master cylinder.
Do you have a different theory? If you do it's wrong, sorry.
The rust ate the pads away like clamping onto a grinding wheel. Going from thick pads to nothing emptied out the master cylinder.
Do you have a different theory? If you do it's wrong, sorry.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jul 2007
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im not going to argue with you about this, because no matter what I say you wont believe me.
You just don't understand, I said the car was sitting. I didn't say it was sitting for a few years, thats the problem, this car was sitting for a few years.
Afterwards all I did to the brakes was have the front rotors turned, installed new pads, bled the system with new fluid. Then drove it for a very long time without doing anything else with the brakes.
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I won't believe you? It happened to me, I think I know what happened.
You just don't understand, I said the car was sitting. I didn't say it was sitting for a few years, thats the problem, this car was sitting for a few years.
Afterwards all I did to the brakes was have the front rotors turned, installed new pads, bled the system with new fluid. Then drove it for a very long time without doing anything else with the brakes.
You just don't understand, I said the car was sitting. I didn't say it was sitting for a few years, thats the problem, this car was sitting for a few years.
Afterwards all I did to the brakes was have the front rotors turned, installed new pads, bled the system with new fluid. Then drove it for a very long time without doing anything else with the brakes.
even after the temp fluid refill and driving the rest of the way home metal to metal wasn't enough. The guy at the machine shop looked at me like WTF.
This was 20 years ago BTW, back at maybe lesson #1- don't attempt to drive with questionable brakes.
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Shillington PA
Exactly! I was 16, thinking 'oh that'll wear off '
even after the temp fluid refill and driving the rest of the way home metal to metal wasn't enough. The guy at the machine shop looked at me like WTF.
This was 20 years ago BTW, back at maybe lesson #1- don't attempt to drive with questionable brakes.
even after the temp fluid refill and driving the rest of the way home metal to metal wasn't enough. The guy at the machine shop looked at me like WTF.
This was 20 years ago BTW, back at maybe lesson #1- don't attempt to drive with questionable brakes.
LOL just messin man
It sucks that it seems like last week though.There was probably some old fart teling me that it was a bad idea----wait, I'm not going to retype this---flash back---I swear when I was pulling off there was an older guy watching me, he said "I'll read about you in the paper tomorrow" I swear I just remembered that, I can picture the guy.
But I was 16 I knew everything
I'm not even going to explain the situation at the point I realized I couldn't stop no e brake, put it in 1st, etc, it was all steering from then on....and people running
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Joined: Jul 2007
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I was driving my first car up on a trailor and the pedal went right to the floor. (The brakes felt fine during the initial test drive.) Well it was an open trailor and I ended up almost driving off the front of the trailor before I jammed on the parking brake. The look on my dads face was priceless. I guess that was a while ago for me too, probably about 11 years ago.
