Brake rotors: should this be happening?

[Big George]

Originally Posted by ducviloxi

Big George, brakes are working perfect. I did a steering test at speed and also at slow speed, steering does not flinch whatsoever either without brakes or when applying brakes whereas before the new pads/rotors the steering would shake a lot when applying brakes.

Thanks for all the feedback, I was actually ticked off, I was going to go to the 1st shop and give them some grief about potentially duping me, glad I checked here first.

Good to know!

Sounds like, prior to the brake work, your front rotors were warped - which is a very common problem.

If rotors are warped/worn, they either need to be turned (not sanded, though that's probably not the term you really meant), or replaced. Turning usually costs about $10 per rotor, whereas replacing them is normally $25-$30 per rotor. VERY RARELY do I have rotors turned.

Anywhoo... It's good to know that you've got a positive "resolution" here.

[Big Country!]

Yes, rust can develop even if new. This is the reason why I always asked the shop to give me all my old parts back to me, just to make sure the actual work was done. Lol, sometimes, I even make an inconspicuous mark on my old parts so I know they just didn't give me a similar part that was laying around in the shop.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

I've had rust develop on mine just from sitting a couple of days.

I recently did the brakes on my Caravan. Had everything laid out ready to go and it started raining (I was working on it outside). Ran inside to check the weather radar to see how long it was supposed to last; nothing even showed up on the radar so I figured it wouldn't amount to much and started to work on an indoor project in the meantime. The rain only lasted about five minutes but it wound up being a couple of hours before I got back to the van, when I did there was already surface rust on the new rotors.

[hoffdano]

Rotors in almost all vehicles are made of un-plated steel. They will rust at least a tiny bit with almost any exposure to water or even moisture. Since the outer edge is not touched by the brake pads they will steadily build up rust over time. The surface of the rotors are usually shiny because the pads will scrape any rust that develops (rain, car wash) very quickly.

[motormaker]

^^ actually the are cast iron.

[Mac_Muz]

Some motorcycles have a stainless steel type rotor that resists rust, but even they will rust given time and humidity.

The cast iron used most commonly these days will rust as soon as the cosmoline has been washed off, which is really unsettling.

[ducviloxi]

Originally Posted by Big George

Turning usually costs about $10 per rotor, whereas replacing them is normally $25-$30 per rotor. VERY RARELY do I have rotors turned.

yeah, unfortunately I had to pay $100 per rotor shop price, total was $375 for changing discs+brake pads on 2 wheels... and this was cheap price, some shops wanted $500

I did shop extensively before choosing the shop and doing it myself was not an option due to the puller seal tool that was required...

I shopped for the rotors online, they were around $50 a piece for my truck (for the basic ones)...at autoanything.com so a 2x markup

$60 for the 2 sets of pads, $30 for 2 wheel seals (the Frontier has a weird design that requires a new seal when you pull the rotor off) and rest was labor and tax.

shops can get expensive

[straight shooter]

Like everyone else has mentioned it is totally normal for brake rotor to rust. They are constantly getting wet, are made out of cast iron, and lack any type of protective coating. Rotors are also subjected to extreme heat and temperature changes which causes oxidation on the rotors.