Brake servicing in rust belt north (Canada)

[Shando]

Hi,

I live in Montreal, Canada, where we are famous for salting our roads in winter. My question for folks who live in similar climates and drive in similar conditions, is: "Do you service your brakes regularly, ie, greasing of calipers, etc? How often do you do the servicing, and what does it really entail?"

The reason I ask is because I've never serviced my brakes before using the mechanic I use now. He recommends I service my brakes twice a year, once before winter, once right after. He told me he greases the brakes (probably a bad translation from French), to keep them working as they should. The last service, he told me there was a thin line of rust on the rotors, and he wants to buff it out (at a cost). I'm wondering about the cost of the maintenance vs the cost of replacing the brakes, and what ROI I get for being so diligent on the servicing of the brakes.

 

[Too Stroked]

Hi,

I live in Montreal, Canada, where we are famous for salting our roads in winter. My question for folks who live in similar climates and drive in similar conditions, is: "Do you service your brakes regularly, ie, greasing of calipers, etc? How often do you do the servicing, and what does it really entail?"

The reason I ask is because I've never serviced my brakes before using the mechanic I use now. He recommends I service my brakes twice a year, once before winter, once right after. He told me he greases the brakes (probably a bad translation from French), to keep them working as they should. The last service, he told me there was a thin line of rust on the rotors, and he wants to buff it out (at a cost). I'm wondering about the cost of the maintenance vs the cost of replacing the brakes, and what ROI I get for being so diligent on the servicing of the brakes.

I live across the lake in Rochester, NY and I'm pretty sure we put down at least as much salt as you. That said, I speak from experience.

As for "servicing" disk brakes, my son is a Toyota / Lexus certified Service Technician and he does most of the work on my two Toyotas. He takes the brakes partially apart every spring and cleans everything with spray Brake Cleaner. He then lubricates the tabs on the end of each brake pad with a special Toyota lubricant. (Do not use just any grease.) He also cleans the pins that hold the pads in place and / or replaces them if they're corroded. (Cheap insurance.) Any rubber parts (if you have them) get cleaned and lubricated with the Toyota Rubber Lube as shown below.

As for "polishing" the rotors to remove the rust ring around the edge, either he's blowing smoke up your skirt or you misunderstood what he said. The only way to remove that edge - if you need to - is to turn the rotors on a brake lathe. Unless that ridge (there are actually two) gets way out of hand, this is not needed.

The big question is whether or not you actually need to service brakes or just wait until they wear out. Personally, I like to get under there and service them just because it allows me to find problems before they get to be big problems. The problem with paying somebody to do what I described above is that it will cost you almost as much as a full brake job. My son works on my stuff for free - or maybe for dinner.

Hope that helps!

 

[T4R_Canuck]

Hi,

I live in Montreal, Canada, where we are famous for salting our roads in winter. My question for folks who live in similar climates and drive in similar conditions, is: "Do you service your brakes regularly, ie, greasing of calipers, etc? How often do you do the servicing, and what does it really entail?"

The reason I ask is because I've never serviced my brakes before using the mechanic I use now. He recommends I service my brakes twice a year, once before winter, once right after. He told me he greases the brakes (probably a bad translation from French), to keep them working as they should. The last service, he told me there was a thin line of rust on the rotors, and he wants to buff it out (at a cost). I'm wondering about the cost of the maintenance vs the cost of replacing the brakes, and what ROI I get for being so diligent on the servicing of the brakes.

I live in Alberta with very similar weather and normally service my brakes every spring. I basically follow the same procedure mentioned above, take my calipers off, remove the slide pins, brake pads and backing pads, clean all the surfaces with brake clean and a wire brush and then reassemble with some brake lubricant. The goal is to make sure the calipers are moving in/out properly so lubricating the slide pins and making sure the rubber boots are in good condition is my main concern, on top of just inspecting the pads and rotors for remaining lifespan. This whole process normally takes me about 30 minutes per corner, which includes jacking up the car, removing and reinstalling the wheels and torquing everything by hand.

 

[4r-4ever]

it's probably a good practice to service it but not required. i never service my brakes until i need to replace the pads and rotors. one thing to note though, after you drove your car in the snow with salt on the road, make sure to get it washed or rinsed when the weather is warm enough.

i have a hose inside my garage and i just spray the whole car and the bottom with water to rinse those salt away. a regular rinsing would be best i think.

 

[Shando]

Thank you all for the great advice, much appreciated!

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

 

[John in NC]

Servicing/ lubing can also reduce the chance of a dragging/ sticky caliper and it's related moving parts. A sticking caliper can reduce the lifespan of the pads and reduce your gas mileage. I have one sticking now a bit, the only way I know is I can hear it as I'm needing rear brakes badly all of the sudden, and I can hear the dragging after coming to a stop and accelerating. Darn! Going in tomorrow for service.

 

[osugsxr]

it's probably a good practice to service it but not required. i never service my brakes until i need to replace the pads and rotors. one thing to note though, after you drove your car in the snow with salt on the road, make sure to get it washed or rinsed when the weather is warm enough.

i have a hose inside my garage and i just spray the whole car and the bottom with water to rinse those salt away. a regular rinsing would be best i think.

pretty much do the same . Pending cost I'll let the dealer or a mom/pop shop change the brakes. Recently helped change brakes on a 17 camry and it was simple , the toughest part were the springs but that wasn't too horrible.

OP Rotors can build up some rest if sitting for awhile and just drive the car to wear it off. As for the salt just wash it off.

 

[catrains]

Thank you all for the great advice, much appreciated!

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

I use silicone brake grease . on the rubber seals and brake rubber components.
I also use a anti seize compound to put the brake pad backing plate. put the disk shaft axle hole to put a small amount ... then I like to take it out easy to remove it.
I rotate the tires and inspect all the brake components..
rust belt ..

 

[caper]

im in Nova Scotia the most corrosive spot in whole country , if ya don't do it once a year you will have brake problems , I do it twice a year when changing tires over winter/summer , the most important part that people never do in the rear ( cause ya got remove caliber brackets ) is under the abutment clips , they MUST be removed and rust cleaned out with a file or sand blasted and brake lube put on then clips reinstalled , if not rust jacking will cause yer pads to seize and intern cause your caliber to seize due to the pads not moving , and of course remove slide pins and clean and lube with silicone brake lube

in the front a small triangle file must be taken to where the pads sit-in the calliper , carefully not to hit rubber boots on pistons to remove rust and give the pads themselves a gentle rub with the file on the ends , along with the obvious wire wheeling of caliber hold pins , like I said if all this is not done minimum once a year you WILL have brake issues .