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How on EARTH?!?!

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
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Just saw a Ford TV commercial with that guy who does dirty jobs... An ad about checking your brakes. The schill is holding a disc rotor ground down to the point where the brake rotor surface has been eaten down to the cooling fins!

What IDIOT would drive a vehicle with the brakes rebelling so long as to grind down thru at LEAST a quarter-inch of cast iron?!?!

I can only conclude: "We Drive Among 'em."

...or MadAve is alive and well, and now they've discovered the wonderment of The Lathe.

:devilgrin:

:smirk:

Anyone here ever read a book entitled: "Subliminal Seduction"??
 
Wake up don.... you are dreaming
grin.gif
 
DrEntropy said:
Just saw a Ford TV commercial with that guy who does dirty jobs... An ad about checking your brakes. The schill is holding a disc rotor ground down to the point where the brake rotor surface has been eaten down to the cooling fins!

And if you look closely, half of the rotor face is gone exposing fins, the other half is still there. Had to have been doctored.
 
Like this?
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Nope. Not doctored. We used to have one like that hung on the wall......one side had a ground up rotor face, the other was ground up fins.
Had one where the inner part had stuck, it was a stationary rotor inside the pads (or the pad backings), and a loose hub. Vehicle came in for "brakes pulling to one side", and yes, only one side worked.
That happens, unfortunately. Moron drivers with very good sound deadening and LOUD stereos.
Got kids bring their POS cars in, "running funny", climbed in, turned on the ignition, and 2 seconds later when the amps spooled up, your eardrums quit.
Turn the stereo off, go have a cup of coffee until hearing returned......drive it......brakes grinding, CV joints clacking, lifters clattering (usually 3 quarts low on oil), transaxle howling, muffler fallen off, axle bearings SHOT......I used to teach classes on car maintenance, told everyone turn your stupid stereo OFF, and roll the windows down once in a while, and HEAR what your car is telling you.
Your repair bills will be MUCH less if you do.
 
When I was cutting my teeth in one shop while I was young I had the pleasure of seeing a solid rear rotor on a 280ZX that had been worn down to about 1/8" in thickness. When the head mechanic grabbed it and gave it a tug it fractured around the hub. Looked at me and said, "I guess the louder the squeak got, the louder the radio got". Yes, they do drive among us.
 
I second TOC. I've seen that exact scenario 2 times in my career. Came in for brakes pulling and a noise. Yea, the noise was the loose rotor plate banging around on the hub and caliper!!!
Once those pads go metal to metal the rotor gets eaten VERY quickly.
Lots of times, the outboard pad will drag because the caliper slides seize. that's when you see the above condition. The inboard pad is ok, while the outboard disappears quickly, then it's on to the rotor, of which the outboard side is what connects it all to the hub.
Note: both the ones I worked on belonged to older folks.
 
Banjo said:
Note: both the ones I worked on belonged to older folks.

HEY!!!

Watch yer moufff. youngin'!


:jester:
 
had a car come in on the hook with the wheel locked up. rotor was so thin that a piece had come out and the pad was stuck in the hole..
 
TOC said:
.....brakes grinding, CV joints clacking, lifters clattering (usually 3 quarts low on oil), transaxle howling, muffler fallen off, axle bearings SHOT.....

And this is why annual safety checks are a good idea...
 
70herald said:
TOC said:
.....brakes grinding, CV joints clacking, lifters clattering (usually 3 quarts low on oil), transaxle howling, muffler fallen off, axle bearings SHOT.....

<span style="font-size: 11pt">And around here, they usually have one temp donut spare tire on the car, running 60/65 MPH!</span>
 
All too often true, Paul. :shocked:
 
I've seen 'em like that as well as one worn so bad, it went past the fins to the other side and wore that down to about an 1/8" or so. Now you think that's bad but that aint it, the caliper drug on the bottom side of what was left and cut the friction part of the rotor OFF like you did it w/ a lathe. Weird thing is the cut off piece was flexible. I kept both pieces on the counter with a little sign that read, "Psst, het buddy, checked your brakes lately?"
 
:lol:

Love it, Billy!
 
I had a pair of MGA rotors that you could just about shave with. Worn away very nicely and smoothly. Very cool. I had someone bring in some sort of mini van with the half worn away rotor, and they were suprised when I showed it to them (Car was in for something OTHER than brakes.)I asked them about noise, they had not heard a thing.... I just try to imagine what the current crop of mechanical incompetants would have done if faced with driving back in the Model T era for instance....
 
Jesse said:
I just try to imagine what the current crop of mechanical incompetants would have done if faced with driving back in the Model T era for instance....

Just had this discussion this AM. Concluded if things get <span style="font-style: italic">really</span> sideways with the economy, they'll be reduced to eating one-another.
 
DrEntropy said:
Jesse said:
I just try to imagine what the current crop of mechanical incompetants would have done if faced with driving back in the Model T era for instance....

Just had this discussion this AM. Concluded if things get <span style="font-style: italic">really</span> sideways with the economy, they'll be reduced to eating one-another.

Pass the Tony Chachere's please. :thumbsup:
 
TOC said:
Nope. Not doctored. We used to have one like that hung on the wall......one side had a ground up rotor face, the other was ground up fins.

I can believe that.

The Ford spot shows one side of a rotor... 180deg of the face has fins exposed, the other 180deg of the same face has 1/4in or more of solid surface remaining. Can't envision a scenario to wear a rotor that way. The pad (or backing) would hang up on the lip locking the rotor.
 
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