Front brake replacement

I just came from Toyota and they told me I should get my front brakes and ROTORS replaced. If my brakes are not touching my rotors , why can’t I just replace my pads?

 

You can, but that’s minimum work and minimum thought into it.
You might need to consider the width of the rotor and if it can be machined.
If you have pulsation issues, that’s a sign of warping.
I am not sure but I would guess the dealer likes to replace everything.
If I was selling parts and labor and having to provide warranties, I would replace everything too.

 

That’s what I was thinking. No pulsating just the pads are getting worn. No metal to metal no squealing
Do I have to remove the caliper or can I just pull out 5he pads?

 

I have an '18 with 40k and I just replaced my front pads only about a month ago. No pulsating and the rotors looked fine to me. If replacing only the pads, there is no need to remove the rotor or caliper(if you have the right caliper spreader tool). My rear pads were still at about 80% so I left them. I'll probably do the entire job next time when needed.
Keep an eye out for July 4th sales from Fred Anderson for OEM replacements. Stock up on the entire brake job parts, pads, rotors, clips, shims.

 

Here's the tool..

$57 Lisle 29100 Quick Quad Pad Spreader

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GLQCKA

 

A medium to large C Clamp will work as well and a large pair of channel locks. I just did mine and they aren't horrible to compress, just remember to pop the top on the reservoir.

 

Rotors get thinner over time just like pads, but at a slower wear rate. How many miles on it and have they been hard miles? (towing, mountains, lots of stop/go traffic, etc)

If you are going on first pad change for the truck, then rotors should be fine. If it's the truck's 3rd set of pads, might consider rotors.

 

Dealer/shops will recommend to change everything because they don't want to deal with comebacks/warranty and its more money for them.

If you are doing the work yourself, you can skip changing the rotors if the following conditions are met:
1) Brakes are not pulsing or shuddering (what people call warped rotors, even though rotors don't really warp)
2) Old pads are not completely worn through, as in no metal on metal contact
3) Rotors are in still in spec for minimum thickness and are in good condition (not too rusty, pitted, grooved, etc.) Front is 29mm minimum, rear is 16mm minimum.

If any of the 3 above are not the case, then replace the rotors. Turning rotors is an option, but you have to evaluate the time and cost against just replacing.

I've been following that checklist on my several vehicles for a while now and have not had any issues. Other than some high performance cars, rotors usually out last a set of pads. This of course depends largely on pad choice.

 

I always replace the rotors when I do pads simply because I live in New England and they salt like crazy in the winter and the rotors are usually rusted pretty bad by the time I need to do them. You can absolutely get away with just replacing pads though if the rotors are in good shape.

 

I had slight warped rotors. So at 80,000 miles i replaced the pads and rotors on the front. It cost me about 225 more to do the OEM rotors. Now I know I'm good for a long time. Unlike others I have never wore out stock pads, but around 75k to 100k miles my rotors always warp. Toyota/ or GM same problem.

 

I only have 32000 miles. I could see at 80 000 but at 32 000 I think I’m good with the rotors

 

thanks 4 the link ,looks like a good tool ,lisle does not make junk!!

 

Very few shops cut rotors any more because it's not worth the time.

The fact of the matter is the rotors should be resurfaced or replaced for use with new pads. The simple answer is for braking performance and pad life. The rotors are bedded to the old pads and are not perfectly flat - there are ridges that will wear the new pads faster. Also there is old pad material embedded into the surface of the rotors and possibly glazing or contamination that can reduce braking performance. The right way to do the job is fresh rotor surface with new pads.

The reason that shops don't cut rotors is twofold: time and money. It's a little more nuanced than that, but in most cases it's probably better for the customer to replace the rotors than cutting (resurfacing) them:

-Rotors are (generally) not manufactured as thick as they used to be to reduce weight; resurfacing once (if able to) will probably be at minimum thickness for the rotor, which means it is more likely to warp over time.

-Rotors cost less (adjusted for inflation) than they used to, compared to significantly higher shop labor rates (again, adjusted for inflation)

-It takes about 15-30 minutes of labor to cut each rotor (that's hustling)... applied to current shop rates, that is about the cost of new rotors, if not more.

-The risk of brake performance complaints from re-using rotors is high.

-It's faster and more profitable with lower risk of comeback for shops to replace rotors than to cut them. Ultimately, the customer cost would be about the same for resurfacing versus replacing.

-For DIY, is currently costs $30+ to resurface a rotor (each), vs about $100(ish) for new rotors.

-How much machining experience do you think the counter guy at O'Reilly's has?

 

Are you sure you even need pads? I have got 50k or 75k more miles out of brakes after dealers have told me there dangerous to drive on and I should replace them now and they might not even be legally allowed to let me take my vehicle without the repair job. Later that week I checked the pads they had 75% pad life left.

Remember 99% of the time dealers lie 100% of the time. Most of the workers at dealers will get fired for being honest and trying to save you money. They will make 2 to 10 times more if they lie to you to get you to spend more money, pats on the back and promotions.

 

Buy a brake pad measuring tool like this. I replaced my pads and around 62,000 and they still had some life left in them. Unless maybe you towed like crazy for 32,000 I don't see how they could have worn that fast.

I bought one and it's great, after using a big c-clamp on the front calipers and one side always popping out after pressing the other side I said I'll never do that again. You can absolutely use a big clamp but it's a pain compared to having the right tool.