rap413

Under any degree of braking, including very slight braking, there is a loud grinding from the front brakes (possibly rear as well). the abs even kicks in sometimes. and other times i can barely slow the car down!! The car just passed 67,000 miles. are my pads going or is it my rotors? I dont think the pads have ever been replaced (my dad, who drove the car for 54K of the 67K miles, wasnt sure). Or is it not my pads or rotors at all and is amore serious problem? with winter already ehre i want to fix this problem as soon as possible. any help is greatly appreciated!

Bill In SoCal

the caliper and rotor. Also feel the rotor to see if it's smooth although this probably wont' tell you much.

Oh and make sure the brakes are cooled first

johngdonnelly

My car has this a little - its not severe though. I had a major service just completed and i was told that i need new discs at the back + pads, and new pads at the front, but that i should just go ahead and run my existing brakes over the winter and get them changed in springtime.

I might need new calipers at the rear also which are a lot more expensive than just the discs

do your discs have any rust on them at all?

rap413

yes along the top of each of them there is a thick coating of rust, could this be causing the grinding?

johngdonnelly

yep - my back discs are pretty rusty - this causes a griding noise - especially when cold and damp.

new discs at the front and rear arent too expensive though. - im getting new discs all round for about £80 - which is around $120 i think - you need new discs every couple of years as they start rusting away over time.

check your pads too - might as well get them replaced at the same time and youll have a brake system that shouldnt give you any worries for a couple of years

ColoradoMark

Unless your car sits for a very long time I doubt if your discs will rust through even in foggy England. The reasons to replace discs are if the rotors are worn from use, debris getting between the pad causing scoring the rotor or if they warp. Surface rust gets taken off with braking.

Rap, it takes just a few minutes to pull a wheel and see if the pads are wearing evenly, or if you're down to the backing plate.

johngdonnelly

yeah but if your car is used in a wet climate and does sit for a few days at at time or say a month or so, then the rust will become a little to bad to just grind off with use.

my car was sitting for a month and thats why my back discs are a bit rusted through. its still the original discs anyway so theyve lasted a good 6 and a half years which is not bad.

if youve worn your pads through (which may be the grinding noise) then youll probably need new discs by now.