Does this sound like a complete waste of time & money??

[jeepboy381]

So I am doing the front brakes for a buddy at work with a 1998 ford explorer. Pads are getting thin but not worn thru, and rotors have almost no lip on them; maybe two papers stacked thickness. He was making fun of me because I am not replacing the perfectly good dual piston calipers, and the rotors. This truck is in brand new condition, I could see maybe turning the rotors but still there are no grooves and no lip. Who would waste hundreds of dollars on perfectly good brake parts, am I missing something here??

[bjoehandley]

SOmebody tell him every thing was toast up there?

[Lawn Cher']

If he's such an expert let him do it himself.

[jeepboy381]

Sorry, i worded it a little wrong. I was doing the brakes for a friend at work and someone else was telling me everything should be changed. I couldent convince him other wise and he thought I was stupid for not replacing the caliper and rotor. Some people just know it all. Anyways I took the wheel off and the caliper and relized the pads still have about 3/4 left. Everything was fine, his mechanic told him they needed to be changed right away!! Good thing he didn't pay him to do it because they were perfectly fine.

[gregmondro]

Why would you replace the calipers in the first place? If the rotors are good just keep them. If anything just replace the pads.

[JohnX]

No reason to replace the Calipers, but I would turn the rotors just so the pads seat in better and don't make noise.

[XJCreeper]

He sounds crazy. Replacing calipers is an expensive habit. Especially when you DON'T have to do it. Nuts! As for turning the rotors, that has my vote. As long as they are easy to take off, fees for turning rotors is cheap and makes the brakes last longer.

[RandyD71]

If he has a 4 wheell disc explorer be sure to give the backs a quick look. They wear out almost as fast as the fronts on explorers. Also check the rear parking brake shoes as they go to shit from lack of use. Once you remove the two 10mm bolts holding the rear caliper on, the rotor will come right off. It is a very common failure on these trucks and Grand Cherokees because of lack of use. AS far as the front rotors go, I always side with leaving them alone unless there is a problem. Maching the rotor unecessarily removes material and makes the rotor more prone to warping. Just my 2 cents though.

[chelms27]

Just punch the dude telling you his opinion in the face and be done with him. Your doing the work, don't listen some tool who thinks he knows something.

[Warrlord]

someone else was telling me everything should be changed. I couldent convince him other wise and he thought I was stupid for not replacing the caliper and rotor.

That's cause that person probably worked for Midas, or Just Brakes, or Sears. Those places want you to replace everything. They get ya in the door because of their $69.99 per axle brake job & you end up with a $900.00 estimate when the only thing you actually need is new pads & a rotor resurface

[8Mud]

Hand him a micrometer and an FSM and tell him to make himself usefull.
When I went through Dodge truck school, the philosophy was to replace component pieces and not the entire component. They figured an inspected measured and rebuilt caliper was likely better than new. A tried and proven component. They preached as gospel, that new wasn't necessarily better, but just new. I've installed a whole lot of replacement parts, that lasted half as long (or less) than the original.
Though I got to say, they did get a little anal with it, they'd replace one valve spring or a single set of rings.

[RichP]

I don't usually bother turning the rotors, I just replace the pads 1 time or maybe 2 times, next time I spend the $25x2 for new wagners. I drive pretty much on the hiway so my braking is minimal, I slow down ahead of time and use my 5 speed and let the engine do the work.
The first week I worked in NYC I drove in, that week gave my brakes more of a workout then they normally get in month or two of my typical driving.

[Matthew Currie]

I'm with the "dont replace it" school. Not just because I'm terribly cheap, though I am. But people get anal about rotors. As long as it has enough usable surface area and isn't warped, I say leave it alone. I regularly get 100 thousand or more miles out of a set of rotors.

I remember years ago, a fellow I knew who built up road racing cars for places like Lime Rock even said he preferred rotors that were grooved and scored. Once the pads are broken in, he said, you get more surface area!