Are these the rusty brakes of legend?

StephenBennett · April 28, 2004, 09:48

Hi all

Are these the kind of rusting brakes people get fixed under warranty? It looks horrible! It's on the edge of the pad and round the hub.

Regards

Stephen

Slacey · April 28, 2004, 09:53

Yep! Off to the dealer you go... mine have been changed twice and were nowhere near as bad as those.
I must say your callipers look in good nick though.

GSB · April 28, 2004, 09:53

Not the worst I've seen... Generally they wont entertain a claim until the rust is creeping off the disk and onto the hub towards the wheel.

StephenBennett · April 28, 2004, 11:13

Well that's conclusive then. s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Thanks anyhow..

The reason my calipers are OK is because I've only done 2800 miles in the 4 months I've had the car!

Regards

Stephen

SteveJ · April 28, 2004, 11:20

The rust on the hubs and the edges of the discs is NOT going to cause a problem with the operation of the brakes, and is a cosmetic issue and would be at the discretion of the dealership if they want to fix it under the warranty (with the risk that MrT will subsequently reject the claim).

IF the rust starts to intrude on the braking surface, THEN you should worry about it and report it as a warranty issue as it will reduce the braking effort available from that disc/pad.

We need to stop pushing the dealers to replace discs just because they have rust on what is ultimately a cosmetic part. I know it doesn't look good, but if we continue bullying the dealers, MrT are going to step in and stop all of the replacements without being inspected first by their regional tech's - something that none of us want as it will result in a lengthy delay to the process.

StephenBennett · April 28, 2004, 11:34

The discs rust on the surfaces all the time if the car is left for a day or so - but of course it comes off when I drive.

Surely cosmetic concerns are important? These brakes ruin the look of the car.

Regards

Stephen

Anonymous · April 28, 2004, 11:35

Those look exactly the same as mine did when they were changed under warranty at about 30k miles... along with all new pads... result!

Unfortunately the new discs went just as rusty as the old ones after about 6 months.. I presumed that I was getting "redesigned" discs.. but obviously I had exactly the same part put on again. s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Still, mustn't grumble! I'm at 50k miles now, and haven't paid a penny for "consumable" brakes yet! s8)

s8)

I have a wire brush attachment for my electric drill, so I'm going to whizz off all the rust, and paint them with the same silver I do my calipers with.. we shall see how it turns out!

Alternatively.. does anyone know if you can get heatproof clear laquer? I reckon an original looking "metal" colour would be better than silver paint..?

Tim

Anonymous · April 28, 2004, 12:11

Tim,

I think the whizzer on the drill is a good idea and have toyed with this myself. The car is out of warranty now, so won't get replacement discs, even though they are rusting and look as bad as they did before they were replaced a year ago.

So, I am going to try this too, although I am waiting for an extended period of good weather nearer summer to get most of these things done (and when my footy season is over too, so I can have ALL Sunday to do it......). So, Meguiars, calipers, discs, and wheel refurb, as well as touch ups and Langka are all on the agenda. If all of this stuff DOES work, then the car should end up looking almost brand new again! Which is all I want............ s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Oh, and must get some dent pullers too. Got a tiny thumb press in the rear wing........ s:evil: :evil: s:evil:

Peter Laborne · April 28, 2004, 12:54

Quote from: "c_a_r_t_e_r"I have a wire brush attachment for my electric drill, so I'm going to whizz off all the rust, and paint them with the same silver I do my calipers with.. we shall see how it turns out!

I've also been thinking about this. However, does the disk heat up more than the caliper as it is made from a different material? Would caliper paint be suitable for high temperature steel.

SteveJ · April 28, 2004, 12:58

Quote from: "Peter Laborne"I've also been thinking about this. However, does the disk heat up more than the caliper as it is made from a different material? Would caliper paint be suitable for high temperature steel.

Nothing to do with the material it is made from - the disc heats up because the pad is being pushed against it to slow the car down. The pad material is a thermal insulator so the heat does not transfer to the caliper (well not too much anyway as otherwise the brake fluid would boil all the time - NOT good s:shock: :shock: s:shock: )

Anonymous · April 28, 2004, 13:00

Hmmm, yes, the heat is a bit of a dilemma.

To be honest I much prefer the clear laquer route though, as I would rather they looked "steel" rather than silver... but what to use?!

MRMike · April 28, 2004, 13:02

I have mine painted Silver and they look excellent.. if a bit like a spacer!

crankshaft · April 28, 2004, 15:49

Urmm, forgive me if I am wrong, but aren't the rotors cast iron ?

If they are, then they will always rust, it can never be avoided, but the more frequently you use the car the less rust you will see. You will never be able to eliminate any rust which is not removed by contact or by a protective film ?!

Personally, I would only ask to get my disks replaced if I see scoring, gouging or deep grooving of the disc surface as this will obviously reduce the braking efficiency of the disk ?!

Are we taking Toyota for a ride by insisting that our disks look shiny & new when in reality, this is typical wear and tear.

It's difficult for me to believe that Toyota choose to make the MR2 disks from some inferior steel which is not used on any other car in their range, and if they did, they have had 4 years to put in a ECN to get the material changed ??!!!

Crankshaft

SteveJ · April 28, 2004, 15:59

Exactly the point I was making above - we are taking the p*ss expecting the dealers to replace the discs just because they dont look pretty (its a particular problem with the '2 because of the open design of the wheels). The problem comes when the braking is impaired as a result of the rust - then and ONLY then does it really become a warranty issue.

THEMOSS · April 28, 2004, 16:21

My car went in for its 40k service the other day. The front discs were rusty and had never been replaced to my knowledge. I wanted all four pads replaced. After looking at the car they said only the front pads needed replacing, but the front discs were 'badly corroded' and they would replace them under warranty. I hadn't even mentioned the discs because i can't be arsed arguing with people in shops.

I know the discs may have been badly worn, but i'm relly suprised they just offered to replace them. I know the car was under warranty etc, but its still nice to see dealers doing stuff voluntarily and without a fight. Top marks to Romford Toyota, even if they do take forever once the car's in.

I agree with other postings here. If the disks aren't falling apart, and braking performance is not affected, don't hassle the dealers! For info i've done the rear disks and hubs with silver caliper paint. Looks great at the moment, but if it looks a bunch of arse in a couple of weeks i'll let you know.... s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Darth Paul · April 28, 2004, 16:34

Devil's Advocate here. s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Putting corrosion warranties and anti-perforation warranties aside...

If your car had rust on a panel – but did not affect performance – would you go to the dealer? Course you would. Just because it's only an asthetic problem, doesn't meant it's right and shouldn't be fixed.

Also look at it another way. How many of you own, or have owned other cars? How many of you have 'suffered' rusting hubs? I never have...

Let battle commence... s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

DP

Anonymous · April 28, 2004, 16:46

I'm totally for changing the discs under warranty for cosmetic reasons... mine looked disgusting with brown rust all over the hub and fins - new discs totally lifted the appearance of the car!

Toyota painted the discs around the hub and the fins solely to prevent rust. Obviously the paint technique they used/still use was useless, so they should be expected to foot the bill for replacements.

I've had 5 spoke open alloy wheels on the last 3 of my previous cars, and none of them had rusty discs to this extent.

And don't even get me started on my bubbling flakey alloys out of warranty... very disappointing for my first brand new car. s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Tim

Tem · April 28, 2004, 22:03

Quote from: "Darth Paul"How many of you own, or have owned other cars? How many of you have 'suffered' rusting hubs?

I've had six cars...they all had rusty hubs (and discs with tons of other rusty "underside" parts)...

Darth Paul · April 28, 2004, 23:31

Quote from: "Tem"
Quote from: "Darth Paul"How many of you own, or have owned other cars? How many of you have 'suffered' rusting hubs?

I've had six cars...they all had rusty hubs (and discs with tons of other rusty "underside" parts)...

Ok, ok! Gimme a break! s:lol: :lol: s:lol: I was playing Devil's Advocate!

DP[/i]

Anonymous · April 29, 2004, 00:25

If you take the plastic wheel trims off my wife's mondeo and look through the holes in the wheel at the discs, they don't look much better than my 2...

Tem · April 29, 2004, 06:32

Quote from: "Darth Paul"Ok, ok! Gimme a break! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

That was only a subtle invitation to come to Finland s;)

s;)

StephenBennett · April 29, 2004, 13:48

I agree that cosmetic things are as important as mechanical ones. No other open-wheeled car I see has such rusty brake parts.

However, Toyota should fix the problem rather than just replacing them.

My Mr T said 'Oh yes, warranty issue' so it's obviously very common.

s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

Stephen

Anonymous · April 29, 2004, 13:52

When they did mine they showed me a 10yr old MX-5 and they weren't HALF as bad, might have been an exception though

Anonymous · April 29, 2004, 14:16

To put it bluntly, the discs shouldn't rust as much as they do. I've not had any other cars wheere the discs rust so easily, especially at the edge of the disc where it's vented. The fact that the rust creeps under the paint finish so easily suggests that maybe the quality / alloy of the steel is not the best choice that could have been made. In my mind the disk braking surface is always going to rust and that's not a problem but when you see rust appearing all over the disk, even the bits that have some kind of paint / coating on them then that ain't right regardless of whether it affects performance. s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

heathstimpson · April 30, 2004, 06:56

Toyota are meant to be the cream on continuous improvement within the manufacturing industry through their TPS (Toyota Production System). They are admired by most and my company Kodak have based our new system on theirs. All their employees have to work on improvement projects that they choose. It may be to improve production methods by employing easier methods or reducing waste etc, or some look at the biggest warrenty issues and make changes with their suppliers to eliminate this type of waste which includes time. I can't believe that the alloys and brake disc issues have not been picked up yet. Maybe we should write to the MR2 manufacturing site with some suggestions for their employee Kaizen events...