$10 to turn a rotor?

[steppinthrax]

Seems cheap. Rotors on my car are 33 a piece (cheapest).

Is it best to just get it replaced?

 

[Ramses]

As long as the machine isn't bent and the operator knows how to read, measure and use the machine, and gives a damn, turning rotors is OK. I generally just replace em anymore though, $30 ain't bad.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Well, you aren't going to do just one rotor so is it worth it to you to save $46 to have them turned vs going with new rotors? As long as they're still in spec turning them is the way to go IMO. I mean, unless we're talking about a high performance car but at $33/rotor I suspect we're not.

 

[Art&Science]

Yeah, I would not trust some JiffyLube type monkey to do precision machining which is what "turning" a rotor is. I'd buy new ones or if you really want to keep them, take them to a machine shop.

You wouldn't trust a JiffyLube monkey to plane a head, why let them touch the part which stops your car?

 

[Midwayman]

As long I'm not having brake pulsation and thickness is good, I just throw pads on twice and call it a day. The pad quickly bed into any irregularities.

 

[pauldun170]

Seems cheap. Rotors on my car are 33 a piece (cheapest).

Is it best to just get it replaced?

Out of curiosity, why are you looking at getting this done?
Are they warped or out of spec?

 

[MongGrel]

Turning a rotor is a pretty simple thing, not that from what I've seen happen in some places it would be impossible to screw up.

It's not even precision machining, as long as they get em on the machine right it just turns a bit off pretty fast.

Not like they are slapping something on a lathe and indicating it in and trying to hold .0001 or something.

If they are warped I'd get new ones.

 

[steppinthrax]

Out of curiosity, why are you looking at getting this done?
Are they warped or out of spec?

New pads.

I'm also planning to do the drums anyway. The rear shoes have never been replaced. The car has about 142K.

 

[pauldun170]

As long I'm not having brake pulsation and thickness is good, I just throw pads on twice and call it a day. The pad quickly bed into any irregularities.

This...
My last car was sold at 140K with the original factory rotors.
No pulsation. Technically still in spec (but I will admit they were borderline when I sold it). Not bad on a then 13 year old car with close to 140K)

My current car (a 2002 with 77K on it is also still on the original rotors.

Since I'm "inexperienced" at this constantly replacing \resurfacing rotors thing I always interested when others talk about it.

 

[pauldun170]

New pads.

I'm also planning to do the drums anyway. The rear shoes have never been replaced. The car has about 142K.

What kinda car?

 

[Ramses]

Rotors on most cars last a long time if you don't put rock hard pads on em.
Some cars are over powered or over weight for the brakes and wear faster,
some are just bad designs, but overall given reasonable softish pads rotors
will last for ages.

 

[steppinthrax]

What kinda car?

Toyota Camry, there is some slight pulsation that occurs. Happens every once and a while.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah, I would not trust some JiffyLube type monkey to do precision machining which is what "turning" a rotor is. I'd buy new ones or if you really want to keep them, take them to a machine shop.

You wouldn't trust a JiffyLube monkey to plane a head, why let them touch the part which stops your car?

Turning a rotor isn't rocket science. Even if they do manage to fuck it up it's not as though your car is going to explode and kill you the next time you press on the brake pedal.

 

[steppinthrax]

Turning a rotor isn't rocket science. Even if they do manage to fuck it up it's not as though your car is going to explode and kill you the next time you press on the brake pedal.

Where do you get the rotors turned on your Pontiac Aztek?

 

[steppinthrax]

Turning a rotor isn't rocket science. Even if they do manage to fuck it up it's not as though your car is going to explode and kill you the next time you press on the brake pedal.

You know if they don't look at the min thickness and they continue to cut at it. You might put the rotor on, it might shatter during braking??? Could potentially be dangerous....

 

[JulesMaximus]

You know if they don't look at the min thickness and they continue to cut at it. You might put the rotor on, it might shatter during braking??? Could potentially be dangerous....

You should do that before you even consider turning your rotors and definitely do it after.

I drove a car once with brakes so bad the rotors were worn down to the fins and cracked in many places. They still managed to stop the car. It was a rental car and the customer had driven it for thousands of miles with pads that were worn down to the plates so the plates were cutting into the rotors.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Where do you get the rotors turned on your Pontiac Aztek?

I've never turned the rotors on the Aztek. Anyway, I sold the Aztek to my mechanic recently and paid cash for a black Chrysler 300. It goes with my black hat and dark sunglasses.

 

[Ramses]

Less likely to cause an actual accident or such but doing something twice blows, most guys don't have a mag mount dial gauge to check runout on car before reassembly, which is the proper way. There are some multi-piston caliper setups that out of true rotors will cause a loss of braking ability via a pumping effect but that's fairly rare and eccentric.
You don't see them so often anymore but there used to be on-car brake lathes that worked really well. All in all unless I've got a lathe on hand, I just replace the damn things. Time is money and all that.

 

[steppinthrax]

You should do that before you even consider turning your rotors and definitely do it after.

I drove a car once with brakes so bad the rotors were worn down to the fins and cracked in many places. They still managed to stop the car. It was a rental car and the customer had driven it for thousands of miles with pads that were worn down to the plates so the plates were cutting into the rotors.

The technician should use a micrometer to measure thickness. Usually the inside of the rotor will have a stamp on it MIN=some number....

Some people with very little car exp might just take off their rotors and head to the shop...

 

[steppinthrax]

I've never turned the rotors on the Aztek. Anyway, I sold the Aztek to my mechanic recently and paid cash for a black Chrysler 300. It goes with my black hat and dark sunglasses.

Yeah that was after you made that bad turn to avoid taking your DEA brother-in-law to your place of employment.....

 

[JulesMaximus]

Less likely to cause an actual accident or such but doing something twice blows, most guys don't have a mag mount dial gauge to check runout on car before reassembly, which is the proper way. There are some multi-piston caliper setups that out of true rotors will cause a loss of braking ability via a pumping effect but that's fairly rare and eccentric.
You don't see them so often anymore but there used to be on-car brake lathes that worked really well. All in all unless I've got a lathe on hand, I just replace the damn things. Time is money and all that.

Things are too cheap these days. Just throw the old one away and buy a new one is the mentality. 20 years ago I had a Ford Mustang and a set of front brake rotors for that were $150 each. I remember a place called Drum Garden which was just a warehouse with acres of used brake rotors and drums you could sift through to find a decent pair. They marked the thickness on the rotor and I think I remember picking up a pair for less than $75. They also had a lathe and would turn rotors or drums for $5 each.

If time is money then why are you wrenching on your own car in the first place?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah that was after you made that bad turn to avoid taking your DEA brother-in-law to your place of employment.....

Not one of my better days...

 

[Ramses]

I work on lots of peoples cars, mostly I've got to where I can just wrench a desk for a living now though. I quit doing generic cars years ago because people wanted to save $20 on stuff like turning rotors, so I moved into high end euro service and resto, which was somewhat better. Anyway I don't disagree, throwaway sucks and my household has always been big on recycling and repurposing, but something that can be easily re-purposed like a brake rotor I don't mind tossing a pair every ten or twenty years or so to speed things alone and remove a potential headache. There was a place in OKC when I was a kid that re-arched leaf springs still.

 

[schmuckley]

Not a bad deal..I'd do it.

 

[DrPizza]

Just for the sake of time, at that cost, I'd replace the rotors. Otherwise, I'm juggling cars - taking the rotors off one car, driving into town, waiting for them to get turned, driving back home...