Hello guys, here's an easy way to reuse rotors if they have plenty of meat left with NO deep gouges, lots of rust, warped or have groves, will save you time . Enjoy the video :)
People... my English is not the best ,you need to understand that i'm only "resurfacing" the rotor to remove the glaze and the outer rusty lip this way when i install the new pads it prevents the new brakes not to damage the rotors and start to pulsate , this method will NOT work if your rotors are thin, deep gauges very rusty or warped. I will change the description to " RESURFACING ROTORS FOR FREE " if it makes you guys feel more safe. I did not make this video for fun or to see people get hurt cause of my stupidity but to help one another specially for people that have common sense and understand ,thanks for watching.
Your knowledge about "resurfacing" is completely wrong and one should never attempt putting a grinder to a brake disc/rotor. By doing so you are actually causing more damage to the rotor and new brake pads. Not to mention " pulsating brake pedal". Should your brake pedal start jumping or judder, as I like to call it, it is your rear brakes which need repair. But thats just me. Im no expert...
as a tech I can see several things wrong with this method, one the coarse wheel he is using is a grinding wheel the second wheel is a sanding wheel known as a flapper wheel. When doing this the grinding wheel is wearing and the angle of cut is not staying consistent across rotor surface. A brake lathe is always the best option as it keeps consistent pressure and speed while cutting the rotor. I bet if you used a dial indicator on that rotor you will find low and high spots like crazy.
This method can be applied safely, but it does require a very high level of skill and common sense. So if you are questioning it, you shouldn't even attempt to do it in the first place. This is Jedi level stuff!
It's a workable method of smoothing off the outer lip and inner lip from a part-worn disc if there's no engineering facility or new discs immediately available, but personally i would shy away from grinding across the entire surface.
He's using a flap disk to de-glaze. Not abrasive enough to gouge or remove material beyond the rust lip. That said, cutting and de-glazing are completely different. Video title is misleading and inaccurate.
I've done this, and it works. Don't listen to all the tool salesmen (and poverty stricken mechanics who bought into their bull-shoot finance programs) dogging this guy. Obviously you need to use some common sense, never go to thin (easy to get specs & measure).
I was discussing with my brother about taking a drill chuck,fine thread All thread,a few nuts that fit all thread,some metal stock material and a welder. I've already have some lathe cutters laying around. I think you can see where I'm going with this. I'm sure many would nay say my method of doing valves by hand. But I've got diesels still running years later with hand ground valves and lapping them in.
Its got noting to do with as you said "tool salesmen (and poverty stricken mechanics who bought into their bull-shoot finance programs) dogging this guy! Its clear you nor this guy has ever worked in a real fab shop! If you did then you and him both would know better!
I do valves with right angle die grinder for many years by hand. Then lap them in. I've done diesels and gas using that method. I've often thought of doing rotors like this. And have used grinder to take ridges off. But Im going to give this method a try. Nothing to lose.
I have a smaller buddy and i found the best way is to remove the rotors from the vehicle, tie a rope onto the rotor and allow my buddybto ride on the rotor while i pull it behind my truck on the road. The concrete gives it a very smooth better than factory finish. Do it around the 4th of july or new years and nobody really questions it at all!
The smart guy use a micrometer to make sure it’s within the right measurements. On another note, race car mechanics when they don’t have the resources to fix things with machines they use whatever it’s available and this is one of them. It’s all a mechanical quick fix. If in the middle of nowhere you need to fix your brakes this way, believe me, you’ll do it this way.
You'd maybe do regular maintenance and check the brakes periodically, no reason for you to just be blindsided that your brakes need to be replaced halfway on your trip to florida.
Also ive had relatively good " luck" with swapping rotors from side to side and chaging direction of braking force relative to the rotor itself. This especially works when you first notice a slight pulsating in brakes. I always break thr glaze with sandpaper anytime i and just replacing pads. Ive had slight warpage completely go away swapping rotors from side to side.
I do this all the time ( we live in the RustBelt) I thought I was the only one who did this..haha I've never had a problem and we put a lot of miles on them. Deep gouges don't matter either...racing rotors have cuts in them from factory after all. Here in Canada I haven't seen anyone use a brake lathe anymore..all the shops just replace them.
Amen. I'm so happy someone else does this. People pretend that rotors need to be so smooth when most people drive around on trashed rusty rotors and don't even know it.
Great for removing the ridges, but very tricky to get rotor surface perfectly flat like on a lathe, that's why I was going to try and put my angle grinder disc as flat as possible against the rotor surfaces, even modified the grinder center nut to give full clearance against the rotor, also finishing off with a flat abrasive wheel for a less harsh surface on the rotor, as I'm just trying to remove the grooves for new pads, awesome idea thanks, great minds think alike, (lol my girlfriend always got that saying wrong and said "small minds think alike") as I thought of this last night, I live way out in the country, but I can still buy new rotors for $30 with delivery, like I did with the rear drums, its almost a pity they are so cheap to replace and nobody wants to recondition anything anymore.
Don't do this... not only does this NOT fix any warpage, but you're likely to not end up with a smooth surface on the rotor. In fact this will probably make the rotors worse than before you cut it. Just take your old rotors to a local brake shop and have them turn them if you don't want to fork out for new rotors.
It should also be noted that there is such a thing as cutting your rotors too thin. If you don't know your rotors' minimum thickness or even have a decent micrometer to measure your rotors' thickness then you can end up machining your rotors thin enough that they will crack and break apart during normal braking.
Yeah I work at oreillys and we have a $15k brake lathe that's able to cut within .0005in give you a perfect cut surface that will actually provide a working rotor to put back on your car. Not to mention alot of your basic rotors are off up to .008in so we can improve even new rotors with our lathe.
There is no doubt, new rotors are the best way to go. Turning them professionally is second best. If you can't afford to do that, then taking the glaze off of an otherwise good rotor, may be an option. Removing the outer lip is easy enough to do with a file, but the surface where the brake pads do the work is a critical area. Wouldn't it be safer to use a sanding pad with maybe 100 grit paper and even work your way to 150, 220, or higher, just to score the surface, but with minimal effect to the sizing of the rotor? You only want to de-glaze it. And by all means, check the thickness before even starting. There are always limits to safety that must not be exceeded, and you need to consider others you share the road with.
I can tell this man knows what he’s doing the way he let’s the calliper hang by the flexible brake pipe,whilst this method of cleaning up the surface looks good if that disc is warped in any way it will NOT correct it,taking the wear lip off the outer edge is not a bad idea but trying to machine the whole surface is NOT.
Like you said, its good for removing glaze but will NOT fix warped rotors that shutter when breaking. To get rid of that they must be machined parallel to each other in order for smooth breaking. What you're doing is just deglazing which is fine. Good hack!
So many people on here with their wise guy comments must have lots of money to just go out and buy rotors all the time. I personally, have a bunch of vehicles and the cost of rotors, especially for trucks, aren't as cheap as they all make you think! They add up! Any time someone can come up with an idea like this that works for them and saves them money,, dude,, I am all for it! Especially if they video what they do and I can get ideas from it for myself to save a ton of money,, that all you rich people obviously have to blow every brake job!!! I am personally tired of tossing rotors that cost almost 100 bucks a piece for a truck that has lots of meat on them yet, just because they have tiny grooves or rust from pads that either got chewed up on one side due to a sticking caliper, etc! So now, I have to buy pads, caliper, and a rotor???, when I can just do something like this to work out the groove or rust and still have a good meaty rotor???! I just saved a good chunk of money i dont have to throw away by cleaning rotors myself!! Good video dude! And the heck with everyone else!! But I gotta say,, that guy who commented stating he has his friend ride the rotor behind the truck on the pavement,,that gave me a chuckle!!
i do this to remove rust ridges before putting the rotor on a lathe but doing it this way all the way across does not achieve the proper finish or remove rotor runout/warpage
Alessio Sangalli If you have a micrometer to check several places on the rotor to make sure it has no run out and there isn’t a terrible rust ring then just put the new pads on
@@cokecollector12 an indicator is cheaper than a micrometer and I believe more appropriate. Many (not all) pads leave a lip on the rotor that I think is best to remove when installing a new pad. Also I think smoothing out the surface would help with the bedding of a new pad.
@Waylon Stewart. You can tell if the rotors need machining by just a test drive. If the brakes don't pulsate you have a good rotor if it is not worn thin.
Great video, I just wish people could understand that they don't have to do this and at no point did you say this is something you have to do... common sense would indicate this is a "do at own risk" method and it can be done without killing yourself but just like anything else when working on a vehicle you must be careful. Thanks for the video and keep it up!
Do you enjoy not being able to stop as you pull into your garage and putting a car-sized hole through your back wall? How about rearending the car in front of you? Blowing through red lights, even though your brake pedal is to the floor? Or maybe even having your brake rotors crack and explode as you try to stop? If you like any of the things stated above, then this modification is for you!!
Grinding them down like that will leave the surface uneven, making it harder for the brake pad to grab onto the rotor, reducing stopping power. Grinding them down too far will make them build up heat faster and prone to shatter. If your'e going to do it, do it right. otherwise, you don't deserve to drive a car and endanger you and everyone else on the road.
Its opposite, uneven surface makes brake pads catching surface easier, why do you think you have papillar lines on your fingers ;) I agree that thinner brake discs easier overheat, but taking 0.1mm of each side wont make that difference
thats taking off more than you think.. and no, uneven brake discs dont make it easier to stop... if you have ever watched someone turn brake rotors, they make sure that the cuts are even all the way across, and usually use a dial indicator to check the surface. also, have you ever seen brand new brake rotors? they're as smooth as a babies bottom
this is a great way to get another cycle of pads out of a set of rotors. to all the nay sayers out there you have no fucking idea how many cars are on the road where new cheapo pads are slapped on an old grooved set of rotors and they work fine. dont need to ask because ive seen it done, by cheap shops, co workers, and even myself. as long as the rotors arent warped they will be fine.
Yeah right. It's basically like brand new again. Do you have any idea how many people let their brake pads grind down to metal and still drive daily with deep scoring in their rotors? This is WAY better than that.
To see if it worked properly just test drive did steering wheel pulsating go away. Or for rear pulsating in pedal and seat. If your worried about rotor thickness buy a micrometer they are cheap. But i worked on brakes 25 years seen enough i had them come in showing vanes before and i could still stop. Anyway nice job if you really know what your doing you can find unorthodox ways of fixing many things while still being safe and checking your work within reason, but obviously this is aimed at saving money of course new factory rotors or equivalent high carbon rotor would be best followed by a real brake lathe with a non directional finished aplied after the cut.
I have found on EVERY car I have owned or done the brakes on, the rotors or discs as they are called in the UK, are cheaper to replace than the pads, about half the price in some cases so why mess about like this? I am not just trollin on this, are they really that expensive there?
He could do more harm to the rotors as they war before grinding , if they war warped he just copied the same counter , bu at least he clean the rusted lips formed by the old pads , if he had a way to rest that grinder and a steady hand probably he could bring them in specs 80% . I don't see any danger to this method , brakes on the car gonna work perfectly . Bt the way .. Nice job cleaning the rotors!.. Anderson .
NO! Don't waste a sanding disk like that. Use metal cutting disc (preferably the thicker once for grinding and not cutting) and bring that edge flush. THEN sand the actual disc surface. This is good for brits who get raped on MOT for silly things such as "below limit" stuff. This method will full an MOT tester thinking your brake discs still have plenty of life in them because the edge is within tolerance. Same thing with brake pipes. Sand them so the copper/metal shows up so they don't fail you and force some work hours out of your pocket to keep the garage from bankruptcy.
Very creative but my situation is a little different if have light groves no pulsation on the rotors could I smooth them out with just replacing pads with new semi metallic ones?
Buen trabajo. La gente habla del peligro, pero... Vale, partimos de la base de que, obviamente, unos discos nuevos es la mejor solucion. Pero para un cambio de pastillas (manteniendo el disco), vosotros habeis visto lo que sucede? La pastilla golpea las partes exteriores e interiores del disco y estará muchos kilometros haciendolo hasta su degaste, reduciendo asi la superficie de contacto entre la propia pastilla y el disco de freno, con la consiguiente ineficiencia en el frenado. Por tanto, trasa opción del disco nuevo o el torneo de este, siempre es mejor esto que no hacer nada.😊
yes you can, i have done this before and turn on well, remember to make sure the rotor or drum is not to thin and also not warped or have deep groves in it other then that you'll be fine..
Not got an angle grinder? Axle stand both fronts up, turn engine on, 2nd gear and let the discs spin. Use a hand file on the rotating lip and sand paper block on flat surfaces to remove any surface rust. ❤🇬🇧 army method lol
Judder, judder, brake judder, squealsqueal, holy crap, grinding & scraping metal away so it's shiny may work for head porting but stick to emery paper for brakes or renew
....you Always use a micrometer to determine the Minimum working thickness of the rotor or drums. The Minimum Specs are stamped On the rotor and drum by the manufacturer, or reference your Vehicles Service Manual.... Always! It's The Safest Work Practices, Procedure and Maintenance 🤨
If you need something quick in a pinch. It's not a bad idea. My concern is safety. Doesn't look very safe. Make sure you're wearing a mask and safety glasses.
@@slycooper61 Just a gut feeling, but I'd pass on the gloves and be sure to roll up my sleeves. If your gloves or sleeves get hooked onto that spinning hub by catching a nut or a bit of rough lug thread, you'll be sucked in and killed, maimed at best. Seems counterintuitive, but it's like a lathe. I'd never wear gloves operating a lathe. It's a deathwish.
I love all the doubters. Keyboard warriors I assume. This is an excellent method to clean up a rotor, used quite frequently in the rust belt. Heck many shops will do brake jobs, just replace the pads and leave the rotors as is. This method ensures the rotor is cleaned up and ready to mate with a new pad. He literally scratched the surface with that amount of grinding.
Well put. So many people criticizing without even trying. I think they would have a heart attack if they knew what we really do in the trade. It makes perfect engineering sense to clean up old rotors that have many years of life left in them. I always got annoyed at customers who brought rotors in for machining when a simple clean up would have been sufficient. Also great for cleaning up Flywheels and Clutch plates.
put the rotor on a bench grinder, same method really... but uh how can you be so sure that its all level ? my rotors are badly warped slight touch of brake the front end shakes violently at 40+mph
Also a heads up to all the "know it all individuals" rotors don't warp. Typically parts of the brake pad embed into the rotor creating high and low spots. This method may actually assist in getting rid of the uneven surface!
Rotors do warp.. spend 10 bucks a rotor and have them cut on a lathe. When i buy new rotors and i cut them right out of the box, 50% of the time i see .004-.006 runout on the NEW rotor. They are warped
Grate video. Don't mind all the haters. Ha ha ha. I will be doing this to my Rotors soon, along with dimpling and painting my rotors and calipers. Then replacing the brake lines and a full brake flush. I recently lifted my vehicle and I want a safe ride when I go mall crawling ha ha ha. But yes grate video. Next time do this on a work bench with it attached to a bench grinder and the axle.
Great idea. Turn your car and an angle grinder into a high precision metal lathe (with respect to the stone age) . Maybe this what they have to do in Russia or Cuba or other 3rd world countries. Rotors are high precision machinery components that are machined within 0.001" or less. I have no doubt you can see the divots in the with the naked eye. This is simply bizarre.
And then they get used as a disposable car part and lose that 0.001" tolerance. And yet people still drive like that and stop like that for years upon years on the same old grooved pitted scaled and glazed rotors. Imagine. Wow. Crazy.
But the disk are all shiny now so it much be good, right? No, it's really much more about the rotor being true than the surface being smooth. You don't seem to understand that.
Awesome! This is the truth in a real world! Down with the Nay Sayers. This is what I do with mine until it's time for new ones. And to the Negative people if your car stops it is safe.
I can see the value of this as an on sight farm or off road repair in a pinch or just to keep a beater on the road for a month or two. You have a steady hand and it doesn't appear that your removing much metal and I'm sure if your good this does work...but why? No matter how good you are at this you can never match a lathe's accuracy by hand for a long term quality repair besides, no one turns rotors any more...some newer cars like BMW's for example have hardened surfaces that cannot be turned because you'll burn through the hardened outer surface. New rotors are cheap, dead flat and true...and you've already got the old rotors off at this point. I wouldn't be recommending this to people unless you explain to them the risks. I've seen home grinding jigs that work like this but at least the tool is not being held by hand but still...why bother to save $16-$24 to have (2) of them turned on a lathe or buy new rotors for $30-$60 a pair? Time is $$$$.
James you have a point, I was in the middle of no where pretty much and it was late . I don't recommend this to anyone unless they know what they are doing , everytime you cut or I should say resurface a rotor I used a new (disk (40 or 60 rough) per rotor and that cuts very well .
your hand is not a machine that can have constant pressure and movement.....so you can not be sure if you stayed longer or you pressed harder in some spots
Shade tree mechanic. What shop do you work in so the people know NEVER to go anywhere near you and your Mickey Mouse BS... Don't waste your time or money doing this. It's cheap and easy enough to properly resurface your rotors. I'm a certified repair technician who works for Goodyear.
Stop saying you're an experience technician if you didn't even know this was the old school way. It work for your ancestor. Are you calling your ancestor an idiot. The only difference in today is that we have machine to do everything. Is also make a lot of you people lazier and more useless than ever.
Nice job , but why would you use the second cutting wheel , you say is to make it shinier? But Is it not the shine that you want to remove in the first place , why not just use the rough wheel and leave it alone ?
JOGO Well the first pad is way to rough for the new pads so the second one takes away the roughness but does not make it shiny even though in the video it looks like the disk is shiny.
People... my English is not the best ,you need to understand that i'm only "resurfacing" the rotor to remove the glaze and the outer rusty lip this way when i install the new pads it prevents the new brakes not to damage the rotors and start to pulsate , this method will NOT work if your rotors are thin, deep gauges very rusty or warped. I will change the description to " RESURFACING ROTORS FOR FREE " if it makes you guys feel more safe. I did not make this video for fun or to see people get hurt cause of my stupidity but to help one another specially for people that have common sense and understand ,thanks for watching.
Fuck ignorant people with no common sense. Survival of the fittest baby!
Anderson E Rockefeller that's what I say if it's not pulsating than fuck everyone else
Yes,
Everyone need to specific, detailed, explaining.. to all stu.pid human.
This world full of HUMANS getting worst. (Stu.pi.d)
Great video, ignore the arrogance of people on here - how many videos have they made to help people I wonder?
Your knowledge about "resurfacing" is completely wrong and one should never attempt putting a grinder to a brake disc/rotor. By doing so you are actually causing more damage to the rotor and new brake pads. Not to mention " pulsating brake pedal". Should your brake pedal start jumping or judder, as I like to call it, it is your rear brakes which need repair. But thats just me. Im no expert...
as a tech I can see several things wrong with this method, one the coarse wheel he is using is a grinding wheel the second wheel is a sanding wheel known as a flapper wheel. When doing this the grinding wheel is wearing and the angle of cut is not staying consistent across rotor surface. A brake lathe is always the best option as it keeps consistent pressure and speed while cutting the rotor. I bet if you used a dial indicator on that rotor you will find low and high spots like crazy.
Dial indicator?! I can see the low spots with my eyes. This video is a joke.
@@gdc5ind That's what I'm saying
Much slower grind would be perfect. Lathing went over double the price from 2 yrs to July 2022...and rotors prices are outrageous/absurd
Ustedes No Saben La Onda!😂
balatalar bir süre sonra yerine alışır 👍
This method can be applied safely, but it does require a very high level of skill and common sense. So if you are questioning it, you shouldn't even attempt to do it in the first place. This is Jedi level stuff!
🤣🤣🤣 Jedi? No! ....more like Jethro Bodine 🤣🤣🤣
Keep your stick on the ice -- Red Green 🤔
@@Texaca It's a Jedi thing, you wouldn't understand.
Keep your head up.
It's a workable method of smoothing off the outer lip and inner lip from a part-worn disc if there's no engineering facility or new discs immediately available, but personally i would shy away from grinding across the entire surface.
Truuee I'm sure it's a cringe of some sort that'll make anyone feel like they can fuck up at any second when nearing the inner core
He's using a flap disk to de-glaze. Not abrasive enough to gouge or remove material beyond the rust lip.
That said, cutting and de-glazing are completely different. Video title is misleading and inaccurate.
I've done this, and it works. Don't listen to all the tool salesmen (and poverty stricken mechanics who bought into their bull-shoot finance programs) dogging this guy. Obviously you need to use some common sense, never go to thin (easy to get specs & measure).
I was discussing with my brother about taking a drill chuck,fine thread All thread,a few nuts that fit all thread,some metal stock material and a welder. I've already have some lathe cutters laying around. I think you can see where I'm going with this.
I'm sure many would nay say my method of doing valves by hand. But I've got diesels still running years later with hand ground valves and lapping them in.
Its got noting to do with as you said "tool salesmen (and poverty stricken mechanics who bought into their bull-shoot finance programs) dogging this guy! Its clear you nor this guy has ever worked in a real fab shop! If you did then you and him both would know better!
I live in the middle of nowhere too 3 auto parts stores all don't turn rotors.
You either have to buy new rotors or do this method
I do valves with right angle die grinder for many years by hand. Then lap them in. I've done diesels and gas using that method. I've often thought of doing rotors like this. And have used grinder to take ridges off. But Im going to give this method a try. Nothing to lose.
I have a smaller buddy and i found the best way is to remove the rotors from the vehicle, tie a rope onto the rotor and allow my buddybto ride on the rotor while i pull it behind my truck on the road. The concrete gives it a very smooth better than factory finish. Do it around the 4th of july or new years and nobody really questions it at all!
😂😂😂 🎆
This, this video is why auto shop needs to be taught in schools again.
Got my rotors ruined at o'reileys auto parts. Kid had no idea what he was doing on that machine. They're marginally better after I did this.
The smart guy use a micrometer to make sure it’s within the right measurements. On another note, race car mechanics when they don’t have the resources to fix things with machines they use whatever it’s available and this is one of them. It’s all a mechanical quick fix. If in the middle of nowhere you need to fix your brakes this way, believe me, you’ll do it this way.
You'd maybe do regular maintenance and check the brakes periodically, no reason for you to just be blindsided that your brakes need to be replaced halfway on your trip to florida.
Bro who has a grinder in the middle of nowhere?
Also ive had relatively good " luck" with swapping rotors from side to side and chaging direction of braking force relative to the rotor itself. This especially works when you first notice a slight pulsating in brakes. I always break thr glaze with sandpaper anytime i and just replacing pads. Ive had slight warpage completely go away swapping rotors from side to side.
I do this all the time ( we live in the RustBelt)
I thought I was the only one who did this..haha
I've never had a problem and we put a lot of miles on them.
Deep gouges don't matter either...racing rotors have cuts in them from factory after all.
Here in Canada I haven't seen anyone use a brake lathe anymore..all the shops just replace them.
so true those lathe are collecting dust lol
Any tips for staying flat?
Amen. I'm so happy someone else does this. People pretend that rotors need to be so smooth when most people drive around on trashed rusty rotors and don't even know it.
@@silo3com Don't grind too long on the same spot.
Great for removing the ridges, but very tricky to get rotor surface perfectly flat like on a lathe, that's why I was going to try and put my angle grinder disc as flat as possible against the rotor surfaces, even modified the grinder center nut to give full clearance against the rotor, also finishing off with a flat abrasive wheel for a less harsh surface on the rotor, as I'm just trying to remove the grooves for new pads, awesome idea thanks, great minds think alike, (lol my girlfriend always got that saying wrong and said "small minds think alike") as I thought of this last night, I live way out in the country, but I can still buy new rotors for $30 with delivery, like I did with the rear drums, its almost a pity they are so cheap to replace and nobody wants to recondition anything anymore.
but how to you control the flatness of the surface along the radius? it may end up not having enough surface for the pads to apply the braking force.
Indicator gauge? It only takes a couple of minutes
...you Always use a Micrometer, they are Inexpensive 🤔
You can't control it with this medoth. This is why this achieves nothing.
Don't do this... not only does this NOT fix any warpage, but you're likely to not end up with a smooth surface on the rotor. In fact this will probably make the rotors worse than before you cut it. Just take your old rotors to a local brake shop and have them turn them if you don't want to fork out for new rotors.
It should also be noted that there is such a thing as cutting your rotors too thin. If you don't know your rotors' minimum thickness or even have a decent micrometer to measure your rotors' thickness then you can end up machining your rotors thin enough that they will crack and break apart during normal braking.
Joseph Conder micrometer? hahahaha You only need caliper :D
Joseph Conder Many of the local auto parts stores turn rotors. A few weekends ago one of them offered to turn a pair for me. 10$ each.
Same as paying to have it done, with out machine
Diy
Yeah I work at oreillys and we have a $15k brake lathe that's able to cut within .0005in give you a perfect cut surface that will actually provide a working rotor to put back on your car. Not to mention alot of your basic rotors are off up to .008in so we can improve even new rotors with our lathe.
What sound comes out when you play this on an audio turntable? I'm guessing "replace me please"
"end my suffering"
There is no doubt, new rotors are the best way to go. Turning them professionally is second best. If you can't afford to do that, then taking the glaze off of an otherwise good rotor, may be an option. Removing the outer lip is easy enough to do with a file, but the surface where the brake pads do the work is a critical area. Wouldn't it be safer to use a sanding pad with maybe 100 grit paper and even work your way to 150, 220, or higher, just to score the surface, but with minimal effect to the sizing of the rotor? You only want to de-glaze it. And by all means, check the thickness before even starting. There are always limits to safety that must not be exceeded, and you need to consider others you share the road with.
In 3rd world countries people just do what works and saves money. As long as it's better than it was which I'm sure it is then that's great.
I can tell this man knows what he’s doing the way he let’s the calliper hang by the flexible brake pipe,whilst this method of cleaning up the surface looks good if that disc is warped in any way it will NOT correct it,taking the wear lip off the outer edge is not a bad idea but trying to machine the whole surface is NOT.
Like you said, its good for removing glaze but will NOT fix warped rotors that shutter when breaking. To get rid of that they must be machined parallel to each other in order for smooth breaking. What you're doing is just deglazing which is fine. Good hack!
Now mount your dial indiactor and see your .025 run-out. If brake lath isn't used cut custemr will return every time.
So many people on here with their wise guy comments must have lots of money to just go out and buy rotors all the time. I personally, have a bunch of vehicles and the cost of rotors, especially for trucks, aren't as cheap as they all make you think! They add up! Any time someone can come up with an idea like this that works for them and saves them money,, dude,, I am all for it! Especially if they video what they do and I can get ideas from it for myself to save a ton of money,, that all you rich people obviously have to blow every brake job!!! I am personally tired of tossing rotors that cost almost 100 bucks a piece for a truck that has lots of meat on them yet, just because they have tiny grooves or rust from pads that either got chewed up on one side due to a sticking caliper, etc! So now, I have to buy pads, caliper, and a rotor???, when I can just do something like this to work out the groove or rust and still have a good meaty rotor???! I just saved a good chunk of money i dont have to throw away by cleaning rotors myself!! Good video dude! And the heck with everyone else!! But I gotta say,, that guy who commented stating he has his friend ride the rotor behind the truck on the pavement,,that gave me a chuckle!!
i do this to remove rust ridges before putting the rotor on a lathe but doing it this way all the way across does not achieve the proper finish or remove rotor runout/warpage
But if one doesn't have warpage and run-out is within spec? Would you just put new pads without doing anything?
Alessio Sangalli If you have a micrometer to check several places on the rotor to make sure it has no run out and there isn’t a terrible rust ring then just put the new pads on
@@cokecollector12 an indicator is cheaper than a micrometer and I believe more appropriate. Many (not all) pads leave a lip on the rotor that I think is best to remove when installing a new pad. Also I think smoothing out the surface would help with the bedding of a new pad.
@Waylon Stewart. You can tell if the rotors need machining by just a test drive. If the brakes don't pulsate you have a good rotor if it is not worn thin.
Great video, I just wish people could understand that they don't have to do this and at no point did you say this is something you have to do... common sense would indicate this is a "do at own risk" method and it can be done without killing yourself but just like anything else when working on a vehicle you must be careful. Thanks for the video and keep it up!
you read my mind ! I have a little warpage and they don't turn rotors anymore too much time and effort. Mine on a motorhome are pricey.
Do you enjoy not being able to stop as you pull into your garage and putting a car-sized hole through your back wall? How about rearending the car in front of you? Blowing through red lights, even though your brake pedal is to the floor? Or maybe even having your brake rotors crack and explode as you try to stop? If you like any of the things stated above, then this modification is for you!!
lol
HomeAudioProject elaborate please, how gringing brake disks will cause all of that, hm?
Grinding them down like that will leave the surface uneven, making it harder for the brake pad to grab onto the rotor, reducing stopping power. Grinding them down too far will make them build up heat faster and prone to shatter. If your'e going to do it, do it right. otherwise, you don't deserve to drive a car and endanger you and everyone else on the road.
Its opposite, uneven surface makes brake pads catching surface easier, why do you think you have papillar lines on your fingers ;) I agree that thinner brake discs easier overheat, but taking 0.1mm of each side wont make that difference
thats taking off more than you think.. and no, uneven brake discs dont make it easier to stop... if you have ever watched someone turn brake rotors, they make sure that the cuts are even all the way across, and usually use a dial indicator to check the surface. also, have you ever seen brand new brake rotors? they're as smooth as a babies bottom
Do you soak your oil filter in gasoline and reuse them too?
this is a great way to get another cycle of pads out of a set of rotors. to all the nay sayers out there you have no fucking idea how many cars are on the road where new cheapo pads are slapped on an old grooved set of rotors and they work fine. dont need to ask because ive seen it done, by cheap shops, co workers, and even myself. as long as the rotors arent warped they will be fine.
Thanks for sharing.
One question please.
You did the inner side after that in the same way?
Thanks in advance, stay healthy.
Yes.
This is a great video. You did a great job.
I bet a smooth grinder disc after would give pretty great results.
Cue Elvis, In The Ghetto!
did the specs say that ya had enough to take off, (that's most important).
Let this video be another example of why TH-cam shouldn't have hidden the dislikes counter
Yeah right. It's basically like brand new again. Do you have any idea how many people let their brake pads grind down to metal and still drive daily with deep scoring in their rotors? This is WAY better than that.
@@nevinkuser9892 lol
@@nevinkuser9892 have you ever machined a set of rotors before???
To see if it worked properly just test drive did steering wheel pulsating go away. Or for rear pulsating in pedal and seat. If your worried about rotor thickness buy a micrometer they are cheap. But i worked on brakes 25 years seen enough i had them come in showing vanes before and i could still stop. Anyway nice job if you really know what your doing you can find unorthodox ways of fixing many things while still being safe and checking your work within reason, but obviously this is aimed at saving money of course new factory rotors or equivalent high carbon rotor would be best followed by a real brake lathe with a non directional finished aplied after the cut.
Tack denna metod hjälpte mig att spara 4000 kr
Du är best Tack för video
From sweden
If your pads are still good do you still have to change them?
I have found on EVERY car I have owned or done the brakes on, the rotors or discs as they are called in the UK, are cheaper to replace than the pads, about half the price in some cases so why mess about like this? I am not just trollin on this, are they really that expensive there?
they usually run double the cost of the pads to replace both. this guy is a moron tho since you can get them turned most places for $8-12
He could do more harm to the rotors as they war before grinding , if they war warped he just copied the same counter , bu at least he clean the rusted lips formed by the old pads , if he had a way to rest that grinder and a steady hand probably he could bring them in specs 80% .
I don't see any danger to this method , brakes on the car gonna work perfectly .
Bt the way .. Nice job cleaning the rotors!.. Anderson .
Are you going to war?
He couldve just an 80-100 grit sandpaper then fine sanded with a 3-400 grit on a small orbital sander...
That's a good video good tip would that fix a warped rotor you think. Also how would you do that for the front
Will not fix a warped rotor. This is not the correct way of fixing a rotor
how did you stop the car without the wheels turning if you have no breaks??
When the engine stops cracking, as the transmission is not in neutral, it will lock the wheels too.
NO! Don't waste a sanding disk like that. Use metal cutting disc (preferably the thicker once for grinding and not cutting) and bring that edge flush. THEN sand the actual disc surface. This is good for brits who get raped on MOT for silly things such as "below limit" stuff. This method will full an MOT tester thinking your brake discs still have plenty of life in them because the edge is within tolerance. Same thing with brake pipes. Sand them so the copper/metal shows up so they don't fail you and force some work hours out of your pocket to keep the garage from bankruptcy.
Do you check for minimum thickness before doing this?
One could, if they wanted to
Well, that’s pretty wild….and you need a steady hand!👍
Very creative but my situation is a little different if have light groves no pulsation on the rotors could I smooth them out with just replacing pads with new semi metallic ones?
Either cut the rotors on a real brake lathe or replace them. Don't ask a hack like this guy for advice, it's your fucking brakes for Christ's sake.
I've done exactly that. But I always break the glaze with a rough sandpaper by hand or with palm sander. Before putting any new pads on old rotors.
what tools did you use ?
Buen trabajo. La gente habla del peligro, pero... Vale, partimos de la base de que, obviamente, unos discos nuevos es la mejor solucion. Pero para un cambio de pastillas (manteniendo el disco), vosotros habeis visto lo que sucede? La pastilla golpea las partes exteriores e interiores del disco y estará muchos kilometros haciendolo hasta su degaste, reduciendo asi la superficie de contacto entre la propia pastilla y el disco de freno, con la consiguiente ineficiencia en el frenado.
Por tanto, trasa opción del disco nuevo o el torneo de este, siempre es mejor esto que no hacer nada.😊
Good job.
Great!!!thx nice job man!
how fast mph does the car need to be going ?
What is the size of the disc to cut the rotors
Can you do this with a rear wheel drive,somehow put the rotor over the drum brakes
yes you can, i have done this before and turn on well, remember to make sure the rotor or drum is not to thin and also not warped or have deep groves in it other then that you'll be fine..
Darwin award winner!
Not got an angle grinder? Axle stand both fronts up, turn engine on, 2nd gear and let the discs spin.
Use a hand file on the rotating lip and sand paper block on flat surfaces to remove any surface rust.
❤🇬🇧 army method lol
This is how new laws bans are made.
You gotta love the cheapness!
have your rotors turned in a lathe!
Just when you thought you saw it all
Whats the point in taking the outer groove off if the brake pads never touch it.
So its easier for you to take the pad out next time. You can just slide the pad out easily without anything blocking it.
What size grit to start n finish?
Hey shade tree put a straight edge on it and shine a light from the back.
Judder, judder, brake judder, squealsqueal, holy crap, grinding & scraping metal away so it's shiny may work for head porting but stick to emery paper for brakes or renew
How would you know how much your taking off. I dont know about that one.
....you Always use a micrometer to determine the Minimum working thickness of the rotor or drums. The Minimum Specs are stamped On the rotor and drum by the manufacturer, or reference your Vehicles Service Manual.... Always!
It's The Safest Work Practices, Procedure and Maintenance 🤨
what about back side of it?
If you need something quick in a pinch. It's not a bad idea. My concern is safety. Doesn't look very safe. Make sure you're wearing a mask and safety glasses.
Oh and gloves too.
@@slycooper61 Just a gut feeling, but I'd pass on the gloves and be sure to roll up my sleeves. If your gloves or sleeves get hooked onto that spinning hub by catching a nut or a bit of rough lug thread, you'll be sucked in and killed, maimed at best. Seems counterintuitive, but it's like a lathe. I'd never wear gloves operating a lathe. It's a deathwish.
I was thinking about doing it, but it only costs $12 and I have a shop near.
Might look good but how true are they. Be better off putting 80 grit paper on old brake pads and driving around the block a few times
What if you have a larger groove
I love all the doubters. Keyboard warriors I assume. This is an excellent method to clean up a rotor, used quite frequently in the rust belt. Heck many shops will do brake jobs, just replace the pads and leave the rotors as is.
This method ensures the rotor is cleaned up and ready to mate with a new pad. He literally scratched the surface with that amount of grinding.
Well put. So many people criticizing without even trying. I think they would have a heart attack if they knew what we really do in the trade. It makes perfect engineering sense to clean up old rotors that have many years of life left in them. I always got annoyed at customers who brought rotors in for machining when a simple clean up would have been sufficient. Also great for cleaning up Flywheels and Clutch plates.
put the rotor on a bench grinder, same method really...
but uh how can you be so sure that its all level ?
my rotors are badly warped slight touch of brake the front end shakes violently at 40+mph
If your rotors are warped then this this method won't work, I highly recommend you get them professionally cut or just replace the rotors.
Also a heads up to all the "know it all individuals" rotors don't warp. Typically parts of the brake pad embed into the rotor creating high and low spots. This method may actually assist in getting rid of the uneven surface!
Rotors do warp.. spend 10 bucks a rotor and have them cut on a lathe. When i buy new rotors and i cut them right out of the box, 50% of the time i see .004-.006 runout on the NEW rotor. They are warped
Of course they warp 🤦
Grate video. Don't mind all the haters. Ha ha ha. I will be doing this to my Rotors soon, along with dimpling and painting my rotors and calipers. Then replacing the brake lines and a full brake flush. I recently lifted my vehicle and I want a safe ride when I go mall crawling ha ha ha. But yes grate video. Next time do this on a work bench with it attached to a bench grinder and the axle.
Attached to the bench grinder AS the axle.
This dude still alive?
this work its uprecise,you dont have a flat surface
This works great , I'd just slow down the rotor speed.
Great idea. Turn your car and an angle grinder into a high precision metal lathe (with respect to the stone age) . Maybe this what they have to do in Russia or Cuba or other 3rd world countries. Rotors are high precision machinery components that are machined within 0.001" or less. I have no doubt you can see the divots in the with the naked eye. This is simply bizarre.
And then they get used as a disposable car part and lose that 0.001" tolerance. And yet people still drive like that and stop like that for years upon years on the same old grooved pitted scaled and glazed rotors. Imagine. Wow. Crazy.
Now put a micrometer on those rotors and see if they are legally thick enough
good idea
What kind of pads do I get?
ya tight bugger buy some new ones just for safety reasons alone
Seems to me that you could just hold the sanding disk while the wheel is spinning
Woo... nice.. but you might accidentally cut a grove the hub support
The BIGGEST reason we cut rotors is to remove pedal pulsing, which is because both sides of the rotor are not paralell. This will NOT fix that....
But the disk are all shiny now so it much be good, right?
No, it's really much more about the rotor being true than the surface being smooth.
You don't seem to understand that.
If only Darwin was still giving out awards.
Oh just wait my friend, he's about to start again!
Awesome! This is the truth in a real world! Down with the Nay Sayers. This is what I do with mine until it's time for new ones. And to the Negative people if your car stops it is safe.
what about the other side?
did it work, did it shake when you press on the brakes when driving
Not at all, same as before i cut the rotors, if you don't remove the glaze then expect to pulsate. How do i know this? from past experience.
I can see the value of this as an on sight farm or off road repair in a pinch or just to keep a beater on the road for a month or two. You have a steady hand and it doesn't appear that your removing much metal and I'm sure if your good this does work...but why? No matter how good you are at this you can never match a lathe's accuracy by hand for a long term quality repair besides, no one turns rotors any more...some newer cars like BMW's for example have hardened surfaces that cannot be turned because you'll burn through the hardened outer surface. New rotors are cheap, dead flat and true...and you've already got the old rotors off at this point. I wouldn't be recommending this to people unless you explain to them the risks. I've seen home grinding jigs that work like this but at least the tool is not being held by hand but still...why bother to save $16-$24 to have (2) of them turned on a lathe or buy new rotors for $30-$60 a pair? Time is $$$$.
James you have a point, I was in the middle of no where pretty much and it was late . I don't recommend this to anyone unless they know what they are doing , everytime you cut or I should say resurface a rotor I used a new (disk (40 or 60 rough) per rotor and that cuts very well .
how do you do the rear rotors
Take from rear and mount on front backward with bolts in-between the wheel hub and rotor.
poor folks love it, not so poor folks hate it.... Your call.
Flying sparks ouch!
your hand is not a machine that can have constant pressure and movement.....so you can not be sure if you stayed longer or you pressed harder in some spots
I will keep this poor guy in my prayers.
Rough pass is perfect. Turned rotors are not shiny
Shade tree mechanic. What shop do you work in so the people know NEVER to go anywhere near you and your Mickey Mouse BS...
Don't waste your time or money doing this. It's cheap and easy enough to properly resurface your rotors.
I'm a certified repair technician who works for Goodyear.
Everyone has their opinion you were taught by the book, I learn in a real life and from experience.
Stop saying you're an experience technician if you didn't even know this was the old school way. It work for your ancestor. Are you calling your ancestor an idiot. The only difference in today is that we have machine to do everything. Is also make a lot of you people lazier and more useless than ever.
Nice job , but why would you use the second cutting wheel , you say is to make it shinier? But Is it not the shine that you want to remove in the first place , why not just use the rough wheel and leave it alone ?
JOGO Well the first pad is way to rough for the new pads so the second one takes away the roughness but does not make it shiny even though in the video it looks like the disk is shiny.
JOGO What you're referring to is glaze on the rotors, that must be removed before installing new pads or the vehicle will never stop as it should.
Got yah , thanks
you can atleast tie the caliper up so it's not dangling like that.
One of the first things I noticed!
flat piece of thick steel and sand paper is better than that in the middle of nowhere