front brake pad question

[pbm]

My wife's 01' Accord needs new front brake pads (at only 34K).One side is worn down nearly all the way. I have 3 choices 1) new pads and rotors
2)new pads and cut the old rotors 3) new pads and original rotors uncut (I would hand sand them a little). My experience with cutting modern rotors is that they pulse because they are so thin. My question is what are the negatives of option #3 installing new pads w/o cutting the old rotors. Thanks.

 

[XS650]

If they don't pulse now, and aren't worn below limits, go for #3.

 

[slalom44]

I have always done my own brake jobs, and unless the brakes chatter or are heavily grooved, I do not get them turned. Besides being an unnecessary expense, turning the rotors gives them less mass, therefore more prone to warp in the future. It also reduces the life of the rotor - turn it a few times, and it's too thin.

 

[Todd_96SRV]

Check the caliper first. Either the slider pin is tight or the piston is seizing & isn't releasing the clamp on the pad. If it's dragging now it will only get worse. Check your warranty too, if the car only has 34K & one of the calipers is sticking, you might be able to claim that.

Don't turn a FWD rotor, the part will warp in a couple thousand miles & you'll be back in there replacing the rotors & cursing the original idea.

 

[kenw]

quote:

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Originally posted by Todd_96SRV:

Don't turn a FWD rotor, the part will warp in a couple thousand miles & you'll be back in there replacing the rotors & cursing the original idea.

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wrong......I've been turning (only as required) FWD rotors for many, many years.

fwiw, my rears are warped as we speak and they've never been off the car. But after 160k miles, I guess it's ok.

 

[Matt_S]

I also disagree that turning causes warpage. IMHO, cheap iron, undersized brakes and driving style cause that more than anything. I had my fronts turned at 40k for warpage. The car has 85k now with no signs of it reoccurring.

 

[jeepzj]

Using a torque wrench to tighten those lug nuts to the same spec is very important in helping eliminate warpage. I torque mine down to 100ft lbs. on my Jeep. $50.00 for a decent torque wrench at Sears.....well worth it. Also, re-torque all your lug nuts whenever you drop your car off to have it worked on because you never know if they took the tires off.

 

[slalom44]

You might want to read this:

http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/warped_rotors_myth.htm

This has some excellent information, and contradicts a lot of the misinformation that gets passed around.