why do my rotors rust so fast?

ninjajim4 · Post by **ninjajim4** » October 5th, 2005, 3:05 pm

had my car up on the blocks while sorting out that brake issue -- literally over night the rotors developed a nice orange coat.

is this a sign of cheap rotors, or do they all end up this way?

bmwm3guy · Post by **bmwm3guy** » October 5th, 2005, 3:15 pm

pretty much all rotors are this way. The reason is because the pads are constantly scraping the surface of the metal, so it is bare metal sitting there. Even a humid day will cause rust. It's just surface rust though and comes off after a block.

Casino · Post by **Casino** » October 6th, 2005, 3:00 am

thats normal, just wait a block or so and it will be gone.

please dont go painting over the rotor or anything because that would lead to some problems

Gro Harlem · Post by **Gro Harlem** » October 6th, 2005, 4:23 am

its normal, even my brembo's rusted a lil when I was installing them in my humid-a-- garage and they were brand new

Chiggles · Post by **Chiggles** » October 6th, 2005, 12:10 pm

Hmmm..... I wonder if the rust on the rotors have anything to do with my oddity as described here??

At this point, a couple of people in that thread have suggested that it's my pads making the noise, but if the rust goes away after about a driving for a block, that sounds about the right time when that noise goes away. Is it rust that causes the grinding noise I experience momentarily in the mornings, or is it something of a combined situation where the rust makes the wearing out of my pads more obvious??[/url]

Gro Harlem · Post by **Gro Harlem** » October 6th, 2005, 4:41 pm

nope...rust won't "grind". YOu may hear a minor grinding when you first start driving your car IF it had been sitting for over a month, but it'll quickly go away once the rust is removed.

neutral · Post by **neutral** » October 6th, 2005, 7:43 pm

Chiggles wrote:...if the rust goes away after about a driving for a block, that sounds about the right time when that noise goes away. Is it rust that causes the grinding noise I experience momentarily in the mornings, or is it something of a combined situation where the rust makes the wearing out of my pads more obvious??[/url]

I get the same thing after a couple days or more of not driving the car. Goes away after one or two applications of the brake pedal. Light rust being removed by applying the brakes after some down time - Normal I do believe...

ninjajim4 · Post by **ninjajim4** » October 7th, 2005, 11:11 am

how come when i look at porsches etc they have such shiny rotors? my dad keeps saying mine are just s*tty rotors, but he's a big hater.

i was thinking of painting my calipers but it just looks crummy to me in contrast with all the rust on my rotors, which builds up like crazy where the pads dont touch. do those cad coated ones still rust a lot too?

i was thinkin of getting new ones, but it seems pointless the way it rusts so fast! and winter is coming along too...

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » October 7th, 2005, 12:56 pm

New rotors never hurt. If they're over 4 years old, they probably need to be replaced anyways - irregardless of this 'rust issue'.