2004 Front Brake Rotor Replacement

They should have mic'd the front rotors or measured the thickness with a micrometer at different points on the rotor. There is a minimum thickness stamped on the rotor itself, if they turned the rotor down if it was too thin or even to the minimum thickness (not supposed to do that) - then they seriously jeopardized your safety and the performance of the car. But then, vibrations can come from many sources. The pads have to be properly bedded into the rotor surface, otherwise you will have poor braking performance, noisy operation, and usually vibration or pulsing brakes. If the wheels are torqued down too tightly, they can distort the rotors causing them to vibrate or pulse while braking.

You should be able to tell if they turned down the rotors. Looking at the surface, the rotors should have a relatively smooth finish - there should be no grooves or ridges.

If you are set to replace the rotors (should also replace the pads again - assuming that the old rotors were not turned down properly, they would have cut grooves, ridges into the pads very quickly). Here is an example on a typical disc brake setup (note: this is not for a Corolla, but the steps would be identical). http://www.2carpros.com/how_to/how_to_replace_brakes.htm

You'll need some metric sockets (14mm for the caliper bolts, 17mm for the torque plate), a torque wrench (important, don't skip this tool - buy or rent one), a breaker bad to loosen the torque plate (brake caliper mount in the link), wire coathanger or zip ties to hold the caliper and strain relief the brake hose, C-clamp or caliper compression tool, and high temp disc brake grease to lube the shims and Lithium soap base glycol grease for the sliding pins (high temp grease would work here - just have to watch how much you put in). Torque rating on the caliper bolts are 25ft.lbs, the torque plate bolts are 79ft.lbs. This is well within the reach of your comprehensive DIYer - but if any of it doesn't make sense or you feel unsure (i.e., haven't done this yourself before) - DO NOT DIY.

Brakes are a critical component, don't want to mess up this installation. Not hard once you see how everything fits together and the tricks to get the job done - easiest if you have someone that has done this before show you firsthand and help you out when you do this. After that first time or so - should be a piece of cake replacing pads and rotors.

Great to hear! Disc brakes can be daunting at first - but once you see how they work and how easy it is to work on it, you'll be surprised by why some places charge hundreds of dollars to do that work. What did you end up using for replacement parts? Pad choice?

Sounds good! Let us know how they work out for you - performance wise after you got some miles on the new brakes.

Long time no see TDK!

A rotor stuck on a hub is tough to break free. Chances are, rust has completely worked around the bore of the rotor and it is frozen to the hub. If your rotor has little threaded holes, might be able to press them out - but can be tough. I know on the rear drums on my Corolla - I have little holes that I've threaded some M8x1.25 bolts in there. Ended up distorting the face of the drum before it pulled off the hub. I just beat the other one off and replaced both the drums.

Might have to resort to heat to swell the rotor and/or a big hammer (assuming that you are planning to replace the rotors). If you used WD-40 and PB Blaster with no luck - might have a try at Kroil/AeroKroil penertrating lubes. I've have good luck with those when something like PB Blaster can't get in there to loosen the parts.

Other than that - beating the tar out of the rotor with a plastic or rubber mallet helps the penertrating lube get in there - so does a couple of good whacks with a ballpeen or small sledge usually loosens it up with little collateral damage. If you get really frustrated - couple of good karate kicks might work.

Not only time - but location as well. Doesn't matter how soon you look at the brakes, if you live in the "salt belt" - drums, rotors, just about any metal part on the car will rust solid. Same goes for ones close to a marine environment.

Make sure you pick up a name brand rotor, not some cheaper knock off or store brand one (though you could get lucky from time to time). Some of them look almost identical to OEM rotors from a distance - but compare them side to side closely and you will immediately pickup that the OEM style rotors are generally much heavier/thicker. Example pic here: http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/rotor_warning.jpg

Sounds counter-intuitive, as thinner would mean better heat dissipation, but would also mean higher likely hood to warp - as they don't have enough material for heat capacity. For the 8th gen Corolla - OEM were rebranded Brembo brakes - I got my replacement from Tirerack - about $35/each. OEM wants well over $150/each - compare them side to side - exact same dimensions, stampings, machining marks, etc.

From the sounds of your rotors - probably not enough material left to turn down. Most OEM rotors start off only 1-2mm thicker than minimum safe thickness. Doesn't take a whole lot of grooving to get down past that. Since rotors have really dropped in prices, I usually opt to replace the rotors when I do my pads. I still keep the old ones, as some pads like to be "seasoned" on older rotors first (doesn't apply to all pads though, so don't worry too much about that).

Pad choice is pretty critical - that's the part that is doing the actual braking. OEM pads, run about $40+ a set, and are a good mix of pad life, stopping power, and quiet operation. But given certain conditions - entirely possible to grind them down within a year or two (I got about 24K miles on mine - but I deal with DC Metro traffic on my commuters). Better aftermarket pads are a composite material - usually a mix of carbon and iron or other soft metal, iron sponge material, ceramic and fine wires, kevlar, carbon fiber, etc. Tons of reviews - pros/cons out on the net. Lot of people like the higher performance pads, some like quiet and/or less dusting pads - that case ceramic might be the way to go.

Higher performance pads generally will hold up to higher temperatures and heavier applications of brake - like stop and go traffic or heavy deceleration from high speeds. You will pay for that performance, both in price of the pads (generally run $70 or more a set), and certain "features" that vary from pad to pad. Like excessive dusting, squealing noises when cold, and brake "bite" characteristics. Most performance pads have a much higher initial brake bite - once you get used to it, can help you modulate your brakes more effectively. From what it sounds like in your case, the pad was still a little "green" or wasn't burnished enough when made (typical of cheaper pads) - under heavy braking, you could cook the pad enough to cause it to crack all over the surface of the pad. Get a little water in there and it could pop chunks out or just disintegrate.

You don't have to go all out and spend a serious amount of money on parts - but you really don't want to save a few bucks here and there either. At current prices - you could get a set of Brembo blanks (plain, vented rotors) for about $35/each, Hawk HPS Street Performance pads for about $70 a set, $30 for chemicals (high temperature disc brake grease for the caliper pins, pad quiet material for the back of the pads, couple cans of disc brake cleaner, fresh brake fluid - would be a good time to flush out the brake lines, especially if the fluid is starting to take on a dark, golden color or been in there for more than 3 years.) Total about $170 - more than half of what you'd typically pay an independent mechanic, even a better deal compared to a dealership. If you opted for premium ceramic pads and maybe wait on the brake fluid - that will shave another $30-$40 off that total - could be looking at as little as $130 for brand new brakes up front.

if only one of my rotors is messed up, would it make sense to only replace one right now? or will that do some crazy funk to the balance of things? I was originally planning on saving up for some decent rotors and pads, do it right, you know? Just, didn't expect brakes to go bad so soon.

 

I will look for brembro blank rotors. If I were looking at knock-offs, I should look for a nice, thick rotor as opposed to a thinner rotor, then, right?

For pads, I just want a good balance, I don't need amazing performance, as I am not at all an aggressive brake user. so I'd expect to pay ~$40/pair?

brake grease sounds important, I hope its not too 'spensive, though. Perhaps they will have little "single serving" packets?

and pad quiet material, is that necessary? if there is already some there, can I reuse it?

There is Powerslot Pro Stop rotors - supposed to be pretty decent, but from what I've seen - they seem to get chewed through quicker than stock OEM rotors (could be the pad material, though, never used them myself). Should be OK going with AZ rotors - a few had them here on other forums - but you might be right on that 8-12 month timetable. Couple guys on the 9th gen forum burned up a set in less than 10K miles ~ 8 months of driving. Some have burned up AZ branded rear brake shoes! in that amount of time. Like they say - you get what you pay for. But new brakes are better than no brakes - get what you can afford and then address at a later date - so sense waiting on a critical safety item like brakes.

Sounds like a pretty decent buy - better than no brakes. Lots of ceramic pads look like organic pads visually, most ceramic pads are composites - mixed in with other stuff, so no worries there.

Timing chain has no set replacement interval - depends on the car and how it was driven. Some people have run over 200K miles on their 1ZZ-FE engines, chain was still intact. My 2002 has over 150K miles, but I'm not worried about the chain letting go on me - and I tend to "drive" the car, no babying it at all. As long as you have kept up on the maintenance and checked the oil levels frequently, should have no issues with the chain. Though if you want to be thorough - you can check to see if the chain has stretched past spec's.

Cost will vary from area to area - but count on spending a few hundred dollars to have this checked out. Non-trivial repair for a DIYer, unless you've had some prior experience or feel really comfortable ripping into an engine and have the necessary tools. Tuneups are generally above and beyond something of this nature - sort of like a timing belt replacement, no tuneup included.

Tune-up on the 8th gen Corolla is pretty limited, made that way to reduce the number of items that people have to repair or replace. Drawback is that tends to make the parts more expensive, since they are designed to hold up better. Typically tune up items include the following (copy and pasted from the Toyota factory maintenance schedule, with some additional info):

- Replace engine oil and oil filter

- Replace engine air filter

- Replace engine coolant (stick with the same stuff they put in)

- Replace spark plugs (if you haven't already, stick with iridium plugs for best performance/life)

- Rotate tires

- Replace automatic transmission fluid or manual transmission oil

- Flush brake lines and replace brake fluid (every two years for best performance)

- Replace powersteering fluid (can be done over several fluid exchanges, shoot for every other year)

- If a model year 2000 and up, inspect and clean the MAF/IAT sensor (in the airbox)

- Inspect and clean the throttle body (should be done every 30K miles or sooner)

Check for obvious signs of damage to hoses, wiring, any leaks, etc. Places to concentrate an inspection on:

- Ball joints and dust covers

- Brake lines and hoses

- Brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs

- Drive belts (serpentine belt)

- Drive shaft boots (CV joints)

- Engine valve clearance (audible check first)

- Exhaust pipes and mountings

- Induction system (intake system)

- Fuel lines and connections, fuel tank band and fuel tank vapor vent system hoses

- Fuel tank cap gasket (rubber o-ring, just replace if questionable)

- Steering gear box / steering linkage and boots

- Electrical overlook (check all lighting, bulbs, etc.)