01RedCLS

Just curious if it is normal practice for our cars that the rotors, whether front OR back, be resurfaced with EVERY pad change? My front pads were changed in June 2007 and my mechanic friend didn't resurface since he indicated that they weren't warped at the time. However, now I have some steering wheel shaking when braking at high speeds.

Can someone answer this for me?

TheWeez

The CL kills rotors long before pads. I just replaced my rotors with 14k on them while the pads still look new. Not sure on the resurfacing part. I haven't had rotors resurfaced in years. Just get new ones as most made these days don't seem to be up to resurfacing.

01RedCLS

Do you think I can reuse the pads I have on there now?

Also, my friend said the dealer may have to do it if it's "one of those cars" where you cannot take the rotors off without tools that most home mechanics wouldn't have. Is that the case? Just making sure he's not covering for a mistake here..

TheWeez

You'll just have to check the pad thickness when you take the caliper off. I'd buy new pads just so you have them should you need them and return them if you don't.

Dealer doesn't have to do it. The rotors are held on with 2 small screws on the hat. The screws may require some Liquid Wrench to get loose and it's really up to you if you wanna put them back on when replacing them.