[dibble9012]

Ok, I searched on this and found some answers in the corolla forum, but not in the Tundra forum.

I am having my front pads replaced on Thursday while they do the balljoint recall. They said that they recommend resurfacing the rotors for about $150 or the pads could create noise.

Now I have read posts that say, yes, resurface them, and then I have read no, just bed the pads by stopping 40-10 mph with breaks in between so the pads/rotors don't get too hot (or they will glaze up).

Any opinions? Please point me in the right direction if there is a thread on this already for the Tundra. I'd love not to have to spend that extra $150!

Thanks!

 

[jaymz11]

when i got my recall done they replaced my pads and turned my rotors for free. i told them that they were vibrating and i expected more from a 2 year old truck

 

[tempetom]

Just my $.02 but if they aren't vibrating or chattering, I wouldn't get em resurfaced. In the old days, sometimes there would be a ridge on the edge that would need to be removed, but I haven't heard of that in a long while.

 

[JIM E]

I changed my pads at 36000, I just sanded the rotors with some 180 emery cloth that took the shine off. After that I broke them in carefully for the first 100. No noise or problems so far. :tu:

 

[Jodan]

$150 for just the resurfacing? Or the whole brake job? If its the rotors thats quite high, an auto machine shop can do it for less that 20 a rotor.

But if they are not pulsing or vibrating you don't need to get them turned.
For breaking in the pads just drive normal with slight caution and they will be broken-in in no time at all.

 

[tuesdayd]

I used to bring 'em in to a shop for resurfacing when I replaced pads, and I was always satisfied with my brakes. No problems. Then, and I'm not sure where/how I came accross the information, I decided to go with the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' method. Still no problems with my brakes; I don't notice a difference. Overall, I'd say I spent about 15 years resurfacing, and the last 10 have been just replacing the pads.

So it saves me time not having to get rotors resurfaced, and a little money. And speaking of money, $150 is a total robbery to grind some rotors - hopefully that's the cost of the brake job?

Of course, if you've got a vibration then either replace or resurface for sure.

 

[dibble9012]

ok thanks guys! And yea, the $150 was just for the resurfacing. (If they did indeed need resurfacing, I would have gone somewhere else for the whole brake job) Only reason I'm going to the dealer for the brakes is because I have a coupon for $79 which includes labor and parts, plus the trucks in the dealer for the ball joint recall anyways, and I dont want any chance of rotor damage trying to get every last second out of the current pads.

 

[Diego]

As others have mentioned, if there is no problem with vibration or pulsing through the brake pedal it's not necesary to resurface IMO. If you wear the pads so far that the steel backing plate is grinding on the rotors though that is another matter and then resurfacing is a must. Personally I have never got the rotors or the rear drums resurfaced on any vehicle I have ever owned unless it was absolutly necesary and have never had any problems.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I'm looking at advanced auto parts website and new rotors are only $72.99 each. I've also used the sandpaper method for removing glazing from the rotors while changing pads. If I find a rotor that has grooves or ridges I'm going to replace it instead of having it turned. If the ridge is on the outside of the rotor on the edge of where the pad contacted it then it probably needs replacing anyway because it's too thin.

 

[Cali D]

$150? For cutting the rotors?
That's is a total rip-off!
Especially when you can take them to pep boys and have them do it for $10.
That's how they draw you in: with those b.s. coupons, they know they're gonna get the difference back somehow.
Just talk to the service manager and tell him you feel $50 is more than reasonable.
If you don't get satisfaction, you can always phone toyota customer relations.
Let us know the outcome.:tu:

 

[MEvang]

$150.00 to turn the rotors is not out of line. If they are using an on the car lath as Toyota recommends this is a reasonable price.
But the truth is, never resurface the rotors if there is no need to!
If you have a pulsation, if they are grooved/ridged or if the have surface rust they can be resurfaced within the specified limits using an on the car lath only.
Taking them somewhere like Pep Boys and having them resurfaced on a bench lath with likely cause more problems. Most auto parts stores and most repair shop don't keep their laths clean or maintained and the people who use the laths have no idea what they are doing. It is very likely run out will be machined into the rotor causing more problems. Hence, it's best to leave well enough alone. In this case your better off just replacing them.
On the car laths take longer to use and set up but since you are resurfacing them on the hub there is little chance of causing any run out problems. This is why the work cost more.
It's a myth that pads cannot bed in to a smooth rotor, on the contrary they bed better to a smooth surface. Resurfaced rotors are very rough on new pads and bedding takes days instead of hours.
Mike

 

[dibble9012]

yea the moment he brought that up, my bs meter went off, hahaha. I know there are certain situations where they would need to be turned, but mine have been riding fine, I have been looking at the pads every oil change because I knew they were getting low. The just started slightly squeaking, so I figured I'd get it done now instead of wait. So there is no gouging or any other rotor damage. I'm going to make it a point I'm only paying that $79, no extra stuff needed.

I also printed out the TSB on the ball joints, I'm going to make sure they align it, or at least check the alignment (I want the alignment check printout!)

 

[[email protected]]

Rotors don't always need resurfacing but IF you want to take a chance having to remove them a second time because the new pads vibrate ir squeel, do it right the first time and have them surfaced. As far as $150 for surfacing, that's very high. I bought new Brembo rotors for my son's '00 tundra at a local parts store for $65.00 each. One other note, I also run PBR Deluxe brake pads on all my cars. They were formerly known as Repco and their claim to fame is "dustfree, fade free, squeel free". If you like great brakes and clean wheels, PBR is the answer. (I've used them in my BMW for over 30 years). They outlast stock pads about 2:1.

 

[dibble9012]

You guys wouldn't believe this (or you probably will because its a dealer)

I go to pick it up, drive about half a mile down the road and start hearing a LOUD metal on metal scraping sound. So I turn around and go back to the dealer. They take it back into the bay and figure out the backing plate was mis-aligned. That fixed the noise. As I was leaving, the rep said that he was sorry quality control didn't catch it. Whenever I leave the truck anywhere, I reset the odometer. Between them driving it from the parking space to the bay, and back, and their "Quality Control" and my driving half a mile away and back, there was only 1.4 miles on the odometer, lol.

Anyways, they are really quiet, no vibrations, and work a lot better than they did with 4/32 left on them They said to mention the issue next time and they'll give me a break on costs, sorry, but I don't take my truck to the dealer normally, only reason I did this time is because it was already in there for the ball joint recall.

 

[Chicho]

I would resurface them since they are probably a little glazed by the gases on your pads. All the shops I have ever been associated with ALWAYS resurface rotors when changing the pads. It also gives the pads a rough surface (initially) in which to seat against, which will reduce the chance they will chatter or squeak later on. Sure wish I could get $150 for turning rotors!

P.S. You may want to stay away from the Pep Boys, Autozones and Checkers, etc... stores for getting the work done. Despite their low cost, they frequently will have low skilled labor doing the machining. Most Napas, Carquests and machine shops will do it for about the same price, and give you a little more piece of mind.

 

[MEvang]

They probably bent the backing plate while replacing the ball joint. There's a high tech "quality control" proceeder I always do when replacing brakes or suspension parts. It's called "spinning the wheel". Just a habit I got into long ago.
Mike

 

[kdxyardsle]

New pads need a smooth surface. If the surface is smooth, you do not need to turn them. But you do need to remove the fine layer of burnished pad on the rotors, UNLESS you are positive you are using the exact same pad with the exact same composite. When you install new pads on a clean rotor(bare metal surface only) you should burnish the pads on the rotor by following the manufacturer of the pads recommendation. Usually a series of 30mph slow stops followed by a few 40mph moderate stops without completely stopping. Then park the vehicle to cool for 30 minutes. This lays downs(burnishes) some of the pad material to the bare metal. You can actually see this coating if you look at the rotor before burnish and immediately after. And yes they will smell hot, that is the heat transfer process that bonds the pad material to the rotor. This creates a better gripping surface than bare metal for the pads. When you dont get down to bare metal and install pads of a different composite, you create a mixture of burninshed layers from different compounds of pads which sometimes will results in a pulsing feel since the pad is trying to grip an uneven burnish on the rotor. If your rotors are smooth sand them with 150 grit emery until you can no longer see the burninshed color, a light bluing or bronze color in the right light.