brake rotors

[tensors22288]

my 97 pathfinder has some very rusty brake rotors on the front and drums on the back... is there anyway to remove the rust and will spraying a degreaser on it damage the brake function? my plan is to remove the wheels, spray a degreaser on and scrub with a tough either metal or other brush, then spray off...will this damage anything?

[Kraig]

Drive it around the block.

[tensors22288]

is that saracstic or do u mean drive it around the block after spraying a degreaser on?

[Rollman]

Originally Posted by Kraig

Drive it around the block.

Originally Posted by tensors22288

is that saracstic or do u mean drive it around the block after spraying a degreaser on?

No he's not being sarcastic , if your refering to the surface where the brake pads make contact with the rotor's being rusty , then a simple drive around the block will knock that rust off. How ever if your talking about the rust on the edge of the rotor's a wire brush should clean that up . Same goes for your drums .

[Black240SX]

He means that to remove rust from the friction surface of a rotor or drum, you just drive around the block and it will wear off.

I'm thinking you have rust on the other parts of your rotors and drums. For cleaning grime off you want to use brake cleaner, which is an oil-free solvent. To get the rust off, you'll probably have to sand or grind it off. Then maybe paint those areas.

[tensors22288]

sorry kraig, i read that incorrectly. the car is a daily driver so i don't think driving around the block would knock any new rust off considering i drive it everyday. But i will go with the wire brush roll, thanx for clarifying that. and if i took my wheels off one at a time on a jack, would that mess up the allignment at all?

[AndyH_STi]

Originally Posted by tensors22288

and if i took my wheels off one at a time on a jack, would that mess up the allignment at all?

Of course not, removing a wheel won't mess with either the balance of the wheel (unless you knock off a wheel weight) nor the alignment of the vehicle.

[tensors22288]

alrite good. im only 17 so im new to the car world. i will deffinitely remove my rims now and seal them for winter. and i look at my rotors on the front, they have no rust. its just the outside of the drum on the back wheels that looks horrible.

[G35stilez]

Use a stiff wire brush to remove the rust. Spray degreaser, rinse, and air dry. Then paint with a metal, hi-temp paint.

[tensors22288]

i assume the paint would just be black or whatever to match the old color? yellow drums seem kinda loud lol. and u cant paint the part of the rotor that touches the pads im assuming? this is gonna be a fun project, thanx for the advice. maybe ill paint the visible undercariage too now that im doin this

[Accumulator]

tensors22288- Often, getting rid of the rust so that it doesn't come back is easier said than done. Look up a company called Eastwood (sorry, no link handy). They sell everything you need to do this sort of job right the first time.

No, the stuff you use to clean these areas won't damage surrounding components.

Wear safety glasses if you use a wire brush, you don't want to catch a piece of it in the eye and it *will* shed some bristles.

Pulling off wheels won't affect anything like the alignment because the alignment is determined by adjustments to suspension/steering components and is not related to the wheels. Better to ask than to do/not do something that seems intuitively obvious and then regret it

If your wheels/tires are the same size front and back, this might also be a good time to rotate them. Just a thought.

While you have it jacked up and the wheel(s) pulled off, put a jackstand under the frame (or a hefty suspension component) just in case the jack craps out at an inopoortune time. This is also a good time to look around and see if anything looks amiss. Even if you don't really know/understand what you're looking at, stuff like torn pieces of rubber or other obvious problems could be worth noting. At least you'll know that something needs attended to.