I was informed by the local firestone guy who rotated my tires that the front rotors were thin. He showed it to me. In fact, there is an "outer" and "inner" lip on the rotor surface. However, the pads looked brand new.

Question, is it ok to change just the rotors and not the pads? or am I asking for trouble? Any tips are appreciated.

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Jennifer
90 350sdl

If the wear on the pads is uniform then I would say there is no problem using them with new rotors, in fact I just did that on my 240D. It may take a couple of hundred miles for the rotors and pads to "mate" completely, or to let the minor surface irregularities in the pads wear. But even new pads need to break in so this is nothing special in the case of reusing them.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

The rotors cost more and are a little more work - I would replace them all. You might be talking about $100 total. I'm ashamed i let my brakes get as bad as I did before I fixed them, but glad I did - what a difference.

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

I think the rough surface on new rotors will quickly wear the "not new" pads to their liking.

This is a common part for reuse. Simply rough up the surface of the pads with coarse sandpaper or something before putting them in place to reseat on the new rotors.

That said, except when ABSOLUTELY new or freshly resurfaced there will ALWAYS be a lip on the edge of the rotor. I would NOT replace them on that indication alone. In fact unless you drive very hard in lots of in town driving, I wouldn't replace them at all. If you want to go by the letter of the specs, then put a mic on them and see just how thin they are.

Good luck,

You didn't say that the "mechanic" at Firestone used a micrometer, which is the only way to know for sure if your rotors are out of spec. Even if they are, I would just drive the car until a rotor gets warped and then change the rotors and pads together. One of my front rotors has been out of spec for over a year (I have a mic), and hopefully everything will be fine until it's time to change the pads.

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1982 300D, black w/ palomino leather, 203K
2001 E320, champagne, 105K (Mom's)
1999 Dodge Dakota, squeaky & battered, 142K

The minimum thickness allowable is stamped on the rotor.

i assume that mic means micrometer.

no, a mic was not used. he was trying to sell me a whole brake job based only on the 'lip'. little did he know I have you guys on my side. thanks once again!

the car brakes fine with no shudder or fade. he didn't like it very much when i said i would 'think about it' . dumb blond my a$$.

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Jennifer
90 350sdl

The Firestone here in dallas in well known for pulling fast ones. One of my idiot friends was taken for over $1000.00 by them.

AutoZone will both turn your rotors and tell you if they are out of specs. Save yourself some green find out for yourself.

ill second that. i work there and we can make them look like new.

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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it

Jen,

Bonehead's example is comparing apples to oranges. Maybe that's why he is called bonehead, LOL.

If the brakes work well and they pass the "stomp the pedal test" I explained earlier, you have no problems.

P E H

he says there are brake problems....if you do anything short of fixing them correctly then you are playing russian roulette....


there is no apple and oranges thing.

running on shot brakes untill they fail is exactly like driving on bald tires a few thousand miles more to save spending a few bucks......

Both cases you never really know when the devil is going to jump up and bite you for doing it. You might get away with it...or you might not....you never know now do you.

the "its fine if you stomp and they stop" argument works righ tup until the rotor seperates during a panic stop..then what?

Have you seen his car..or for that matter have any of us.

Saftey issues are more important the this weeks date hopeing for a chance to get laid......

If the devil jumps up and bites you then you will be out a car (like I was) or far worse.

and by the way...all brakes usually work right up to the point they stop working. There isn't always a lot of warning that Joe average might notice.

I never said to blindly trust the shop either......

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

...........ROTF..............Jen is going to love this. I don't think she is in the category of "hoping for a chance to get laid"......................ROTF.................you really are a Bonehead sometimes.

He's trying to rip you off. Or he is an ignoramus, possibly both. The lip on the rotor is normal wear. It could also be harmless rust and dirt buildup. It has absolutely nothing to do with needing a brake job.

To answer your question: I always put new pads on a new rotor. Partly because if the rotor needs replacing the pads are pretty well gone. Partly because in my day rotors were very expensive and it did not pay to chance uneven wear to save a cheap set of pads. Partly because I want the job to last as long as possible.