Jim said:
My dealer recommended replacing front brake rotors after 66000K (40000
Miles). I looked at the old ones and there was some rust, but not that bad.
The service manager said he could not turn the rotors because there was not
enough metal there and he would expect warping if he did.
Anybody have any experience or opinions on this?
Seems like a very short life for an important part.
jimmp
Hmmm - rust? That usually forms only on the unimportant part of the
rotor and has nothing to do with it needing replacing. Yours may or may
not need replacing, but don't do it for rust on the non-wearing
surfaces.
As Art said, with as marginal as they make the rotor designs these days,
you're just as well off replacing the rotors as having them turned since
turning costs half of what a new rotor costs and can be more likely to
warp.
If your Concorde came from the factory with 16" or larger wheels, then I
have a recommendation for you: Get the NAPA rotor P/N 86777 - $47 each
(they are Raybestos rotors re-boxed as NAPA's in-house United Brake
brand). It is the rotor that comes on the 300M and Intrepid with the
performance brake systems (respectively referred to as PHP and R/T).
That rotor will bolt right in place of your original rotor with
absolutely no mods and uses the same calipers and pads. That rotor
differs from your factory rotors only in that it has better venting (for
better cooling/warp resistance). (I upgraded my Concorde that
originally came with 15" wheels to that rotor - I had to replace the
steering knuckles to do make room for the larger rotor, but even then it
was worth it. Like I said, if yours came with 16" wheels, it is
infinitely easier - no mods needed.)
Don't worry about the rear rotors - they don't get much wear or heat -
concentrate on the fronts.
You also might consider upgrading pads to Hawk HPS. LH car owners
(including myself) on other forums have had good results with those
pads.
Another option on rotors if you're interested: The 300M ezBoard and the
www.dodgeintrepid.net forums have a discount set up with irotors for a
set of 4 rotors - drilled, slotted, and plated for just over $200 IIRC.
For the money, I preferred plain rotors (and my original rear rotors
were fine) and so got the NAPA front rotors only instead (I had a
special treatment done on them, but won't go into that here - it upsets
certain people). 8^)
Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")
