Hey all, been a long time. Okay, I absolutely need rear brakes (according to my mechanic, 2 months ago [:@]). My rotors have been shot for a while. Whenever I brake , especially at high speeds, my car shakes (steering wheel).

I want to purchase the parts myself and have a mechanic install. How do I figure out which rotors are warped? Can I diagnose by driving? Also, please recommend an online store as I'm sure the Honda parts are ridiculously expensive from the dealer. Note the mileage of my car below... If I get to 180K I'll be happy. sheesh.

thanks!!

 

From posts, the consensus seems to be that inexpensive rotors from Autozone, ORiellys, et al are OK for typical use.

I would start w/ both front rotors and see how that works. Warped rear rotors shouldn't cause steering wheel shake but would cause some pulsation in the brake pedal.

good luck

 

Thanks TH, Would you recommend changing the brake pads out for front at the same time the rotors are replaced. Also, this sounds like a dumb question, but when my mechanic mentioned I need rear brakes for the rear, do you suppose he naturally meant pads? Or would have said "callipers" for replacing the actual brakes?

thanks

 

Absolutely new pads w/ new front rotors.

Rear, I would wait to see unless the pads are completely gone.

good luck

 

You can use a dial indicator to measure runout and a micrometer to measure parallelism.

 

thanks, where am I getting these tools from and what is the process?

 

I'd go with Brembo blank rotors. They cost about $40 a piece and are made better than no-names.

 

I think I've read here in the past that putting new rotors on can be a pain. Is this true? and....if so, what is the usual charge to have a mechanic install them? I just asked the guy who installed my master and slave cylinder for 120 and he quoted me 150 to install the rotors (front)... This seems like a ton of money! Any help on this would be fantastic!

thanks

-Josh

 

rotors in our cars are a pretty big pain, you have to take off the axle nut to get to them, and those things have a several-hundred-ft-lb breakout torque. I'm with falkore on buying brembo blank rotors, their $40 apiece and have heard nothing but good things about them. As far as figuring out which rotors are warped, your most likely going to have to take the car to a mechanic who has the aformentioned tools, as those are not cheap.

 

I can't speak for a 5th gen, but the 7th gen's are a breeze to replace; took me a whole 20 minutes to do all 4...

If you're talking about vibrations in the steering wheel/column, chances are those are the front rotors... as TH said most of the time rear warped rotors cause a knocking/vibration feeling in the pedal only; or in the rear of the car if it's strong enough...

If you have drums in the back, there's a chance that those AREN'T warped... those are harder to warp, and don't wear down that fast... I've seen cars 20+ yrs old on the original rear pads/rotors!!!!

I would try to get both the fronts machined at OReilly for $10/rotor and call it a day...