Skimming a brake disk.

If the disk isnt intigrated in the hub, it should be cheap enough to replace.
I love to go, but also love the whow!

Sent from somewhere in East Texas by Jake Parker!
 
Lood said:
I had one of disks om my Land Cruiser skimmed and now it wobbles.:nono:

So, I thought that while I now have my own lathe, should there be any good reason why I can't skim it myself - properly. I would like advice on whether I can use a carbide cutting tool, what speed would be best, etc. I would appreciate any advice, please.
Click to expand...

Turning a disc brake rotor can be done as mentioned in the posts above. Once you try it you will see if it works for you or not. I have done a couple held in a 4 jaw, enjoyed the learning experience and would not hesitate to do more of it.
Carbide tool is a must. Chips are dusty like any other cast iron so I used a shop vac nozzle held at the tool. Disc was 12'' in diam., run at 180 rpm, feed was .002''
 
Last edited:
Last rotors I bought were at the minimum thickness right out of the box. Not even .001 to spare.
 
The engine in your car turns fuel into heat energy to accelerate it along the road, the brakes turn the forward momentum back into heat to slow the vehicle. If the brakes are unable to dissipate the heat fast enough, they will warp. The more metal you remove to correct the warp, the less metal there is to dissipate the heat. If this is an ongoing problem, try a different grade of pad, or improve cooling airflow to the brakes. In the UK we always fit new discs, and you sometimes find that a ventilated disc is available as an after market upgrade to correct overheating/warping problems.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MDC
the problem is getting the mount to be exactly true with what's on the car. You could (possibly) make a mandrill on the lathe, duplicating what's on the vehicle, and then "fasten" the disc to it, insuring you will be cutting true. BTW when I have tried other ways, besides the truing issue, the tool chatters like hxxx when cutting.
I'd take it back and "discuss" the matter with them. After all, you paid them not the other way around!!
 
All too often, I have heard my friends (who worked at those oil-change-and-brake-service places for a bit) tell me, "we look at the minimum thickness on the brake rotor, then hog it off to near that. Doing it on-car results in a beautiful smooth braking experience, at the cost of needing new rotors next pad change. Doing it off-car results in a small amount of pulsing (usually not noticed by the masses), and new rotors at the next pad change. They simply hog it off, because it's there, and the tools cut better on a heavier cut.

Myself, I'd rather mic the rotors and replace if necessary. I'm too old and done *FAR* too many brake jobs to fight with wonky rotors. And I'm only 38. I'm happy to check the replacements, and send them right the heck back if necessary, but I'd rather ride a day or two on a pulsing rotor than screw with it when anything I take off brings it within .002 of the recommended thickness.

Caveat - My ex-wife and I had a Mini Cooper with Ceramic pads. 48K miles, never had to change the brakes, but when we got rid of it, the rotors were absolutely *eaten* up. Aftermarket ceramics for $200 for all 4 corners, vs $800 for all new rotors, I'd rather skip the ceramics. I only used them about *twice* to their limits in 'normal' driving, otherwise they just squalled something god-awful and did no real advantages.

Side note - With Traction Control, Stability Control, a Loud Stereo, and a Sleeping (ex)Wife in the passenger seat at 2:45am, you have to *sneak* up on a highway transfer ramp to coax a 2006 Mini Cooper into a 4-wheel-screaming drift into the merge lane. Go-Kart on steroids, tends to understeer, but if you are gentle on the wheel and throttle, it will do it. But beware of the traction snap once you start to ease it back into a straight line.

"Holy Crap, did you see that raccoon?! I had to swerve!" *whistles to self*
 
Wouldn't you KNOW that they are making new rotors too thin to re turn? Another way to make you spend more money!!
 
Chip Maker said:
If you can get this set up on your lathe make sure that you don't exceed the minimum thickness for the rotor. It is usually marked on the rotor itself. This is why in many shops today they turn these rotors on the car to help with the runout problems. When I was still in business we replaced may rotors because of the run out problems. Good luck and if you can set it up you have nothing to loose in trying to surface it.
Click to expand...

I hear a lot of shops do this on Honda front disks, and I believe Honda actually sells their own brake lathe just to do that. Impossible to do them on the rear though, most all Hondas are only front wheel drive, with exceptions for the S2000, CR-V, Wagovan, and their new Japanese Kei car.

It's possible the surface between the disk and mandrel when skimmed wasn't clean, or wasn't clean then reassembled.
 
The last few brake jobs I've done, I should say my son has done, on the family cars, we have ordered new rotors and not waste any time on resurfacing rotors. We run all Toyota's in our family and go direct to Toyota for pads and most rotors. I'd stay away from the "auto store" brand of rotors and stay with the bigger name brand or OEM parts. We can still get some life out of drums before needing replacing by boring out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top