Shop wouldn't turn rotors....
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 161
Likes: 14
From: Florida
Shop wouldn't turn rotors....
My 2002 Convertible failed inspection yesterday because of the front brakes. The shop (Merchants) said they were too close to metal on metal. Fair enough. They also showed me that my rotors had developed a groove in them and suggested I replace them at the same time. Total cost for 2 rotors/2 brake pads installed = $466. Hmm. I took the rejection sticker because I wasn't sold.
They said they couldn't just turn the rotors, is this true or should I get a second opinion?
They said they couldn't just turn the rotors, is this true or should I get a second opinion?
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 228
Likes: 0
From: Ottawa Ontario
My 2002 Convertible failed inspection yesterday because of the front brakes. The shop (Merchants) said they were too close to metal on metal. Fair enough. They also showed me that my rotors had developed a groove in them and suggested I replace them at the same time. Total cost for 2 rotors/2 brake pads installed = $466. Hmm. I took the rejection sticker because I wasn't sold.
They said they couldn't just turn the rotors, is this true or should I get a second opinion?
They said they couldn't just turn the rotors, is this true or should I get a second opinion?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 6,021
Likes: 728
My 2002 Convertible failed inspection yesterday because of the front brakes. The shop (Merchants) said they were too close to metal on metal. Fair enough. They also showed me that my rotors had developed a groove in them and suggested I replace them at the same time. Total cost for 2 rotors/2 brake pads installed = $466. Hmm. I took the rejection sticker because I wasn't sold.
They said they couldn't just turn the rotors, is this true or should I get a second opinion?
They said they couldn't just turn the rotors, is this true or should I get a second opinion?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
I agree with dgrant3830. The C5 and for that matter C6 is a different animal than you are use to.
The bearings are a one piece sealed hub front and rear:
If you don't thrash your brakes (triple digit stops), HPDE and slalom track events,, turning the rotors will work just fine. Take them off and take them to a machine shop that is not interested in selling you more parts.
While you thinking BRAKE JOB, you also need to be thinking servicing the calipers. All your calipers SLIDE on greased pins. There are rubber boots on the calipers that seal in the grease. If the boots are torn or the grease gets old, your calipers cant slide and center on the rotors.
The pins require a special high temp synthetic grease to work correctly. If you use the wrong grease, it will FAIL. Any autoparts store sells the caliper pin grease
Remove the calipers and service the sliding pins.
OH,,, NAPA has several different inexpensive replacenent C5/C6 rotors Check them out. You can also get a militay discount if your military I used their premimum rotors on the ZO6 and they have been trouble free and work excellent!
Last edited by Bill Curlee; Mar 22, 2012 at 09:41 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 5,284
Likes: 235
From: Rockledge FL
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,454
Likes: 6
From: Pittsburgh PA
I'm going through this on a Pontiac I'm fixing to sell. I have an extra set of rotors from a parts car that are in nice shape but a little rusty from sitting. I used to take them to a local parts store that did them reasonable. But they went paint and body only. Local machine shop (NAPA) charges a fortune.
It seems a common operation has gone the way of the hula hoop. Another victim of the throw away mentality. One thing I liked about a good used rotor that was trimed up is that it was already heat cycled. I've heard reports that some of the cheap rotors out there will warp when heat cycled and then you are back to square one.
It seems a common operation has gone the way of the hula hoop. Another victim of the throw away mentality. One thing I liked about a good used rotor that was trimed up is that it was already heat cycled. I've heard reports that some of the cheap rotors out there will warp when heat cycled and then you are back to square one.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,591
Likes: 2
From: kent ct - "if i'm not in the vette, i damn well better be on the yacht."
St. Jude Donor '13
I just turned my fronts with 88K...within limits, thank God! Thirty bucks for the shop to do it, I R&R'd them.... New HPS pads And the front total was $125 plus hub correction spacers to correct runout (definately check this!) Those cost more than the rotor turning...BUT I'm running dead true on the front! All in all not too bad.
All in all not too bad.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 161
Likes: 14
From: Florida
Thanks guys! At work we have a corporate account with Advance Auto so that played into my decision to just buy new rotors. Cost with the discount for left and right rotors plus front brake pads was $185. Since I've never done brakes/rotors before I'm going to take it to a shop tomorrow for installation...$80. So, all in all, $265 is a HECK of a lot better than the $466 quoted by the inspection place.
Again, thanks for the replies!
Again, thanks for the replies!
