`06 brakes rotors: more glaze than a box of Krispy Kreme's

[Quack_Addict]

After a couple months of increasing brake fade and a noticeable (but not horrible) brake pedal pulsation, I tore into my 2006 with 38k miles on it yesterday after work.

All 4 of the rotors are heavily rusted and glazed on the inner faces. I think what I'm seeing is actually glaze on top of rust. Over the phone, the guy at my local shop told me $40 to turn the rotors; then he bumped his price to $80 or $90 when I brought him the rotors this morning - at which point he tried to sell me a new set of rotors and pads (lol).

Is this my fault for not driving the truck on a daily basis, or is it a known issue on these trucks? Any ideas why the inside faces of all 4 rotors got the worst of it but the outside faces came away almost unscathed?

[Mark Rinker]

I have seen rotors like this, when purchasing used Duramaxes. However, the rusted, pitted surfaces never lasted long under heavy towing duty, they cleaned themselves up nicely in short order.

Wondering if a set of aftermarket stainless rotors might be available for daily drivers, where corrosion can get ahead of heavy use...?

Wouldn't that solve the problem? You might even be able to reuse the pads, although I'd spend the extra to start fresh with a new set of Akebono ceramics (http://www.akebonobrakes.com/) ...

[Duramaster]

Since I'm not familiar with Michigan, is it fair to say the the rotors will rust anyway because of all the salt used on the roads in the winter time? Out here in the Pacific NW they have started to use some sort of liquid de-icer on the roads when there is actually ice on the roads, but other than that they just sand the roads.

[Mark Rinker]

I have heard of these guys in the past - but never used their products. Just an idea, not a testimonial, but hey, stainless won't rust...

http://ssbrakes.com/content/images/catalogs/8063_web_med.pdf

[Quack_Addict]

is it fair to say the the rotors will rust anyway because of all the salt used on the roads in the winter time?

Yes, they do salt the roads in MI during the winter months; hence the term "rust belt" you sometimes hear when refering to the upper mid-west... but that normally applies to vehicle bodies, not rotors... lol.

I don't think the 'issue' I have with my rotors is salt-induced corrosion. I have had rotors rust in the past on other vehicles, and like Mark said, after a few miles the rust wears itself off. In this case, the stopping performance of the truck degraded with accrued mileage; although I suppose that could be due to brake pad media becomming embedded in/on the rusted surfaces? I originally noted a brake performance complaint during a dealer visit around 18-20k miles; brake performance has steadily and progressively decreased since then. The dealer claimed they can only service brakes under warranty for up to 12k miles, so I was on my own or paying them $90/hr to do the repairs for me.

Anyhow, I installed 4 new rotors and ceramic pads (aftermarket) on my truck the other afternoon; truck stops like new again and the brake fade is gone.

After doing a bit of poking around on this topic, some of the local brake and parts shops mentioned HD trucks having brake rotor issues like this with OEM rotors - some vehicles as low as 10k miles.

Note how the inside faces of the rotors got the worst of it...

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/QuackAddict/IM002759.jpg

http://i441.photobucket.com/albums/qq135/QuackAddict/IM002760.jpg

[mark45678]

I dont have any pictures but my 2006 2500hd rotors looked like the ones in the picture , the truck is driven every day during the work week and maybe one day on the weekend. My truck has never been left sitting anywhere . It drove off the car carrier at the dealer and was driven home the next day , it had 70,000 on it when I replaced the brakes. At that time the pads still had 70% and the rotors had rust and a black glaze from the stock pads. My cure was to install Hawk pads and drilled and sloted rotors . the rotors where $230 for all 4 and have some type of anti rust coating like nickle or something like it. With this combo the truck stops better then when it was new and has zero heat fade even when its heavy . Stock pads should be thrown in the trash and rotors deglazed early in the life cycle of these trucks , install some high quality aftermarket pad on a fresh surface and this should help long term. I am on my 4th 2500 hd since 2001 , every truck around 20000 ~ 30000 miles the brakes had glazed rotors and didnt stop as good as new.

[tx dave]

You guys must be real heavy on the brakes. I pull a 5th wheel sometimes and a GN horse trailer. My 01 DMAX has 226K with the original brakes and rotors. At 100K I bought new pads but when I pull the calipers and saw the like new condition of the pads, I took the new pads back to the dealer. Rechecked at 200k and there was a lot of pad left so the original are still in place. I'll recheck at 300K. Just my 2cents.:eek:

[Quack_Addict]

You guys must be real heavy on the brakes.

Nope.

Congrats on your brake longevity. Based upon my neighbor's similar experience with his `06 3/4 ton Suburban (8.1L), I'm guessing something changed over the years - i.e. a cost savings which looked good on paper but does not hold up in the field. My neighbor is an older gentleman - the type of driver where it's a safe bet he's never had it opened up to over 65mph if you know what I mean.

[JohnC]

Light usage and salted roads are the problem. Once there's a spot of rust it erodes the pad which leads to an unswept area on the disc which rusts more...

You can see from the photos that the unaffected disc surface is significantly below the glaze.

Then you cut them and they're too thin and they warp...