My wife has nearly finished off her front brake pads. The rotors show some wear, but are not deeply grooved or warped. Can the rotors be turned, or are they only supposed to be replaced?

I only ask because some other European makes don't ever suggest you turn the rotors - it makes them too thin.

If they do need to be replaced, where is a good place to purchase them (mail order, Internet, dealer...)?

Thanks in advance.

You're gonna get varying responses on this.

The majority opinion is, don't EVER turn the rotors.

Me, I'm with the minority!

On my turbo wagon, the Front brakes juddered (warped) on hard application. I turned/cut them. That was 20,000 km ago, no juddering till now. And I'm no sedate driver...

jeff

95 855T5A SAM chip, IPD swaybars, full S/sprint exos, Bilsteins

First of all, do you need to change your rotors? How much of them is left? Are they warped? Are we talking about fronts, rears, or both?

For the fronts, the minimum disc thickness is .905", the maximum disc run out is .0015" and the maximum disc thickness variation is .0003".

For the rears, the minimum disc thickness is .331", the maximum disc runout .003" and the maximum disc thickness variation is .0003".

You should be able to get the gauges/tools for free as a loan from your local auto parts store. If not, ask your Volvo dealership if you could borrow one for a day. I've borrowed one from my local Volvo dealership to help a friend measure his out once. It helps to REALLY know the people at the dealership and bring offerings, i.e. donuts, coffee, etc. And don't skimp, get enough for everyone. This costs around $10-15, at the most, with a large dealership, it'll cost you $20-25, and it makes you tonnes of friends, saves you money and makes you feel good.

In general, the rears last twice as long as the fronts, and rotors last about two sets of pads.

Depending on thickness, the rears can be machined. However, for the fronts, it is NOT recommended to machine them.

If you don't already know, the number one reason rotors warp is because of improper torque on the lugs. ALWAYS use a torque wrench when mounting the rims. If you don't know the proper torque numbers, it's about 81 ft.-lbs, actually a pinch over like 81.1 or so. And do this with the wheels off the ground, or without load. Obviously the wheels will roll a bit of they are totally off the ground, so just lower the jack enough to have the tires touching enough to not rotate.

As for where I get my OE parts, I get them from a local dealership that has a 20% off minimum "garage sale" every fall. They are in Mississauga, or on the west side of Toronto. So I get them the OE rotors and pads pretty cheap. If you don't live in the area, I'm sure people will provide internet or phone order companies throughout the US and Europe. But, as I've already said, since I've already got a sweet deal going, I haven't had the need to go looking.