rangerteret

My wife has a 2005 Sport Trac,We need a Brake Job. One Service center says they don't "Turn" on the Explorer/Sport Trac,or she mean't also other models.She said there isn't enough metal on our model(NOT LOOKED AT YET!) What's the recommended procedure for the 05 Sport Trac,2WD? Rotors turned? Her Brake light is coming on,and we want to do whats best.The "Other" guys say they turn rotors! Was this Sears gal correct? Like a previous post that also suggests Not "Cutting" rotors?

mre_power

no she was wrong. you almost always should turn rotors when changing brake pads. some time you may be able to get by with out. but for the most part yeah its not done anymore because of people not doing their own work on their cars as much any more, some places that did turn them for the average joe quite doing it for liability reasons

when you turn rotors you have thickness tolerances. so that the rotor /drum arent too thin for the pistons to push the pad against the rotor as the pads get towards the end of their life. if the rotor is too thin it will cause the piston to push out of the housing causing a brake blow out and loss of brakes.

with normal tire wear you only approach needing to be replaced and not turnable after a long while. but one episode of bad pads can kill the rotors turn ability

i suspect that they just are being lazy/ or dont have the machine to turn it any more.

rangerteret

Thanks for the info! I Used to do my Brakes in the "Old" days, but I'm getting "Old" ,so I count on "Strangers" to do my /family jobs! So the old adage still stands "Pretty Much"? Turn Rotors/Drums,that have tolerances permitting it?Thanks MRE!!

johnny94

you may also want to check with a parts store or even a dealership. Some of the rotor on the newer vehicles are "throw away" parts. meaning they have a very li ited amount of material that can be removed. some just get replaced when they are worn instead of turning them.It may also depend on the composition of the rotor itself. Some of them are a bi-metal composition and may not be able to be turned because of this.

Brakes aren't something to take lightly..so be safe and double check