Brake Disk Facing

[E L N I N O]

My front brake disks are having quite a bit of grooves and was adviced to get them faced before replacing the brake pads. Found a recommened place called "Viskam Brothers" from this thread and after going there I found out that it's a machine shop and they do not do the removal and fixing stuff. So opted to go to a nearby garage and they quoted 3500 for both disks to be faced from Viskam and to fix back.

Then I found another place around Pachikawatta called "MyTools" which quoted 4000 for both and they said they are not removing the disk for facing, instead they fix some machinery to the wheel and do it. They claim it's the better way to do it as it doesn't mess up the current setup how the wheel sits on the hub.

Has anybody done it that way? Is there any truth to what they claim? Any other recommended places? I would like some place around panchi as I need to go find brake pads while the disks are being faced. Thank you.

[The Don]

My front brake disks are having quite a bit of grooves and was adviced to get them faced before replacing the brake pads. Found a recommened place called "Viskam Brothers" from this thread and after going there I found out that it's a machine shop and they do not do the removal and fixing stuff. So opted to go to a nearby garage and they quoted 3500 for both disks to be faced from Viskam and to fix back.

Then I found another place around Pachikawatta called "MyTools" which quoted 4000 for both and they said they are not removing the disk for facing, instead they fix some machinery to the wheel and do it. They claim it's the better way to do it as it doesn't mess up the current setup how the wheel sits on the hub.

Has anybody done it that way? Is there any truth to what they claim? Any other recommended places? I would like some place around panchi as I need to go find brake pads while the disks are being faced. Thank you.

I have not heard of the above way of doing it. To be honest with the backing plate, caliper etc I can't see how you can do a clean good job with the disc still fixed to the hub.

Removing the discs and fitting them back is NOT a complicated job. Since its cheaper and the place is reccomended, I say you go and get it done the old fasioned way!

[E L N I N O]

I have not heard of the above way of doing it. To be honest with the backing plate, caliper etc I can't see how you can do a clean good job with the disc still fixed to the hub.

Removing the discs and fitting them back is NOT a complicated job. Since its cheaper and the place is reccomended, I say you go and get it done the old fasioned way!

Thanks Don.

[maersk]

I have not heard of the above way of doing it. To be honest with the backing plate, caliper etc I can't see how you can do a clean good job with the disc still fixed to the hub.

Removing the discs and fitting them back is NOT a complicated job. Since its cheaper and the place is reccomended, I say you go and get it done the old fasioned way!

Technology in general is called 'In-Situ Machining' and it's widely in use in various industries which can save lot of money and time.

'In situ break disc skimming or on-car brake lathe technology' is also the industry standard now. There are mobile services as well for break disc skimming, probably not in SL.

I'd rather use this method if every thing else is OK other than break disks.

'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'

[Kavvz]

Technology in general is called 'In-Situ Machining' and it's widely in use in various industries which can save lot of money and time.

'In situ break disc skimming or on-car brake lathe technology' is also the industry standard now. There are mobile services as well for break disc skimming, probably not in SL.

I'd rather use this method if every thing else is OK other than break disks.

'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'

Wow. That sounds pretty advanced- What country is this? ( Where 'In situ break disc skimming or on-car brake lathe technology' is the industry standard?)

[Davy]

I have not heard of the above way of doing it. To be honest with the backing plate, caliper etc I can't see how you can do a clean good job with the disc still fixed to the hub.

Did this on the Holden Nova I was using for a couple of months and what's done is the brake calliper is lifted off the rotor (only one nut was removed and the calliper assembly was hung on the strut spring using a cable). The car was on a hoist about 2 feet off the ground. The resurfacing unit was secured to the wheel studs so that it can spin the rotor as it resurfaces it. Then the cutting tool was positioned in the same place that the brake calliper was located - because the rotor is exposed from both sides in that specific place. The cutting bit was correctly positioned after some fine tuning and then at the flip of a button and about 10 minutes, the rotor was looking brand new. Pretty good piece of machinery.

There is of course nothing wrong with doing it the traditional way because the rotor actually just slips out of the hub and only the calliper needs to be taken out. Wheel alignment or any other adjustment is not affected. A competent guy at a good machine shop will be able to do an equally good job IMO.

[The Don]

Did this on the Holden Nova I was using for a couple of months and what's done is the brake calliper is lifted off the rotor (only one nut was removed and the calliper assembly was hung on the strut spring using a cable). The car was on a hoist about 2 feet off the ground. The resurfacing unit was secured to the wheel studs so that it can spin the rotor as it resurfaces it. Then the cutting tool was positioned in the same place that the brake calliper was located - because the rotor is exposed from both sides in that specific place. The cutting bit was correctly positioned after some fine tuning and then at the flip of a button and about 10 minutes, the rotor was looking brand new. Pretty good piece of machinery.

There is of course nothing wrong with doing it the traditional way because the rotor actually just slips out of the hub and only the calliper needs to be taken out. Wheel alignment or any other adjustment is not affected. A competent guy at a good machine shop will be able to do an equally good job IMO.

To be honest Davy, over here, if the discs are scraped, they are just replaced, hence I've never seen this done at workshops here. A pair of brake discs only cost about £25 and compared to an hour of labour its peanuts.

Also there is this issue of how much to take off and still be within manufacturer tolerances.

Sounds like a good piece of kit. But in SL, labour is cheap, when you take off the calipers, the sliders will be re lubricated before installation, the caliper rubbers inspected and all in all you will get more value for money. And most machine shops have old fasioned brake lathes.

This technique was developed to make re facing brake discs cheaper. But in the above case it is more expensive. I don't see the point of paying more and getting less.

[E L N I N O]

Thanks maersk and Davy for your input. I actually went today morning to get this done and although I was skeptical I opted to try out the new method.

It was just as Davy had explained and a neat portable lathe fixed right into the caliper assembly. Captured a video since it was cool. The job was done professionally, no mishaps.

Edited June 23, 2015 by E L N I N O

[NRX]

Did I see some wobble in the disk ?

[E L N I N O]

Did I see some wobble in the disk ?

Yeah I noticed that too. It seems like the inner face has some irregularity. Not sure how that happened, but I don't think the disk is warped. That sort of offset on the outer face wouldn't go unnoticed.

[Davy]

To be honest Davy, over here, if the discs are scraped, they are just replaced, hence I've never seen this done at workshops here. A pair of brake discs only cost about £25 and compared to an hour of labour its peanuts.

Also there is this issue of how much to take off and still be within manufacturer tolerances.

Sounds like a good piece of kit. But in SL, labour is cheap, when you take off the calipers, the sliders will be re lubricated before installation, the caliper rubbers inspected and all in all you will get more value for money. And most machine shops have old fasioned brake lathes.

This technique was developed to make re facing brake discs cheaper. But in the above case it is more expensive. I don't see the point of paying more and getting less.

Pretty much the same here as well The Don. In my case, the rotors were okay, but the car had not been used for almost 4 years - belongs to my cousin. The rotors had surface rust and only a very subtle resurfacing was done. It was part of putting her back on the road until I can buy a car of my own. Luckily, I have a Sri Lankan friend who owns a workshop here, so labour charges are okay; Obviously not as cheap as it is in Sri Lanka.

Thanks maersk and Davy for your input. I actually went today morning to get this done and although I was skeptical I opted to try out the new method.

It was just as Davy had explained and a neat portable lathe fixed right into the caliper assembly. Captured a video since it was cool. The job was done professionally, no mishaps.

Looks a bit different to the one that was used on the Holden, but did pretty much the same job. Glad that these are available in Sri Lanka.

Yeah I noticed that too. It seems like the inner face has some irregularity. Not sure how that happened, but I don't think the disk is warped. That sort of offset on the outer face wouldn't go unnoticed.

That is a result of the brake rotor being balanced. Don't worry about it. When rotors are manufactured, sometimes irregularities exist right after the rotor is removed from the cast. Each rotor is put on a balancer and parts of the rotor is shaved off the inner side to balance it.

[E L N I N O]

That is a result of the brake rotor being balanced. Don't worry about it. When rotors are manufactured, sometimes irregularities exist right after the rotor is removed from the cast. Each rotor is put on a balancer and parts of the rotor is shaved off the inner side to balance it.

Thanks Davy, I never knew that. You learn something new everyday

[NRX]

or could it be a warped disk, when you remove the outer surface in a lathe machine it will become regular but the inner surface will still be the same eh ?

Scratch that anyways. How is the change of braking power after the job ?

Edited June 24, 2015 by NRX

[E L N I N O]

or could it be a warped disk, when you remove the outer surface in a lathe machine it will become regular but the inner surface will still be the same eh ?

Scrap that anyways. How is the change of braking power after the job ?

I inspected the disk and seems a fine strip is machined off the inner edge. No sign of damage or any other irregular thickness around it so probably that's how it came with the car. Yeah I should have scrapped the disks though, never knew they are cheap. I checked out some Brembo disks while I was buying the pads and was surprised to know they cost less the 4k. May be next time.

The braking power is absolutely mad now. I suppose it'll get better with time when the new pads seat in properly. I threw in FBL branded ones and yet to see how they score against the brake dust problem. I flushed the brake fluid too while this repair got done. Not sure if that had an effect but sure it helped me to sleep at night in peace

Edited June 24, 2015 by E L N I N O

[NRX]

I inspected the disk and seems a fine strip is machined off the inner edge. No sign of damage or any other irregular thickness around it so probably that's how it came with the car. Yeah I should have scrapped the disks though, never knew they are cheap. I checked out some Brembo disks while I was buying the pads and was surprised to know they costs less the 4k. May be next time.

The braking power is absolutely mad now. I suppose it'll get better when the new pads seat in properly with time. I threw in FBL branded ones and yet to see how they score against the brake dust problem. I flushed the brake fluid too while this repair got done. Not sure if that had an effect but sure it helped me to sleep at night in peace

Oops. I actually didn't mean to tell you to throw them away. Printing mistake of mine. fixed it

When it comes to brake dust, FBL is a lot better than FBK.

Edited June 24, 2015 by NRX