Hypermiling ruined my brakes! Toast after only 25k km / 15k miles

[IsaacCarlson]

Let me start by saying i don't want to heat up the discussion or argue. point made...
ok

i have done enough brake jobs to know that if you get grease/lube on the rotors whether it be from your hands or from guide pins or from bolts/bolt holes, it does not increase the stopping distance by more than a few yards, which is hardly measurable because your tires do not grip the same on cement vs asphalt or wet vs dry or from one stop to the next....its called brake fade on repeated stops. You could stop faster with some grease/lube on your rotors than you could on wet pavement (wet pavement can more than double your stopping distance). thats all i have to say.

Ike

[Ford Man]

I just rebuilt the wheel cylinders on my '88 Escort a few weeks ago and apparently I'm not using my brakes enough either. Even with brake fluid in the wheel cylinders one of the pistons had actually rusted to the point it wasn't moving, had to beat it out with a hammer and clean it and the cylinder bore up before rebuilding it.

[Shawn D.]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

I just rebuilt the wheel cylinders on my '88 Escort a few weeks ago and apparently I'm not using my brakes enough either. Even with brake fluid in the wheel cylinders one of the pistons had actually rusted to the point it wasn't moving, had to beat it out with a hammer and clean it and the cylinder bore up before rebuilding it.

Did you bleed the entire brake system with fresh fluid?

[Frank Lee]

"Sonax Chemical characterization: Corrosion inhibitors in a hydrocarbon compound"

"WD-40 is the trademark name of a water-displacing spray widely available in a variety of retail outlets. Developed in 1953 by Norm Larsen, then working for the San Diego Rocket Company, it was originally designed to repel water and prevent corrosion. WD-40 is primarily composed of various hydrocarbons.

WD-40's main ingredients, according to U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet information, are:

50%: Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits -- primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
10-%: Inert ingredients
The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety relevant ingredients:

60-80%: Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
1-5%: Carbon dioxide"

hmmmmm

[Ford Man]

Originally Posted by Shawn D.

Did you bleed the entire brake system with fresh fluid?

Yeah, I bled the system and freshened it up with all new fluid.

[tasdrouille]

Well, there's some oil in wd-40, so it will contaminate your pads. The question is if the contamination is significant or not. You could spray brake cleaner before use after storage. Worst case scenario is that you take out your pads and broil them in the oven for 30 minutes when there's too much contamination, it apparently helps "burn" the oil out.

[taredog]

Most of us have single piston calipers. It is very important that the caliper can move on it's mounting bolts. What did the inside pad and the other side of the caliper look like? May have been rust plus a frozen caliper problem.

[wagonman76]

That on top of the fact that when you get new rotors, they have oil all over them anyway... how many shops do you think actually use brake cleaner to get that stuff off? Sure, it's a liability if you wreck your car due to their negligence in not cleaning the light film of oil off the rotor before installing it, but the fact is, for many years, a large number of "mechanics" have been doing without this step... and there hasn't been any issues that have come to light about it, have there?

I always clean off the goo, and use a sanding wheel to scuff the surface to help seat the pads. Every brake shop I have seen does these things as well, and I thought it was standard procedure. However I don't doubt there are shops that don't. Many shops do a lot of bad things, like tighten lugnuts with an impact with no torque control and strip or break studs.

[Christ]

You're supposed to... (Supposed to, doesn't mean you HAVE to.)

When you change your brakes, (if you're a safe driver) you're going to stop with them before your ever get up to any amount of speed... if there's a problem, you'll notice it immediately.

I don't think I ever remember to buy brake cleaner or anything else, so to seat my brakes, I do a few hard stops from 30, 40, 55, and 65, in that order, pumping the brakes, not slamming on them. (Gives them a chance to cool down for a second, every time you let off them.)

This is how I've always done it, and how I was taught to do it by old guys who taught me to work on my own brakes. (Years ago, I was afraid to touch anything that could kill me or others if not done properly.)

[dremd]

I have not read this entire thread; but I have noticed that some rotors rust MUCH more quickly/ easily than others.

My Data is from hosing off cars that went off track when they get back to the pits; some will have a very noticeable layer of rust when they get in to their pit, and others have basically none. And yes I was fairly scientific making sure to wash every cars brakes. BUT not all cars had the same rotor temp when they came in; so they may be skewed.