We discovered that our 99 mercury Mountaineer had bad rotors. last night I hooked up a trailer and was going to help a friend move a couch when I heard a loud grinding sound. I turned around and determined it was comming from the wheel. I purchased a new set of pads and started to change…

If you install new brake pads on old rotors that don’t have the proper finish the brakes can make noise. And if the brake rotor finish is really messed up the noise will probably get worse and the brake pads will wear out quicker. If this isn’t an everyday vehicle you’ll be good for now. But eventu…

So the for the sake of my wife who insists she knows better than me… driving with bad rotors results in a quicker wear time for brake pads and possibly more wear on rotors that already need to be replaced… other than that (generally speaking) nothing else is impacted?

Because of the poor friction material contact the brakes are going to run hotter. This is what causes the rotors to warp. It’s possible the brakes can get so hot where it damages the calipers. But when brakes get this hot you can usually smell it. So other than that, the only things effected are th…

A lot depends on just how “bad” the rotors are…If they are really ripped up, badly scored, the new pads will QUICKLY wear out and your braking ability greatly reduced because of the over-heating and poor pad contact. Sometimes you can get away with minor scoring, but the pads will still wear quickly…

What does “bad rotors” mean? Are they rusted? Are they worn below specs? Are they warped causing uneven braking? The new pads will wear quicker on used rotors since the rotors are “grooved”. As long as you stop reasonably quickly you should be ok. If you have extemely long stopping distances a…

Don’t drive the vehicle until it’s properly repaired. If you can’t afford new rotors, park it until you can.

On a side note speaking from experience the rotors and calipers can get so hot that they melt the carters key that holds your wheel actually on and while your driving down the road at whatever speed your tire can actually come off which is not good at all …trust me …

At the front a badly ground up rotor will quickly wipe the pads down to steel and after a few stops metal to metal the outer rotor surface will lose metal and the gap between the caliper end and the rotor will widen enough to allow the backing plate to drop out and result in immediate loss of brakes…

Ahhhh, caught me again. 2011. Musta gotten new rotors by now.

What happens if you drive with damaged rotors?

Maintenance/Repairs

missileman March 20, 2011, 8:05pm 4

I agree with Tester 100% and the answer to your latest question is yes. One point however…your braking system will be slightly degraded so avoid panic stops.

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What happens if you drive with damaged rotors?

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