Upon swapping out my steel wheels for 16" Legacy GT alloys, I just noticed that the rotors on my brakes are rusty. I'm not talking about the part that's over the caliper, but the part that the tire mounts to. Is this normal? The rotors were replaced just a month ago? They stop fine and there are no other issues other than the rust. I guess that having steels and a hubcap hides the rust, so it wasn't an issue before. Now with the alloys, they kinda look bleah. Any suggestions?

1) Put car in drive/1st gear

2) Depress accelerator

3) Get up to some speed

4) Depress brake pedel

5) Stop vehicle

6) Get out and look at the lack of rust on the rotors

:-p

They wil rust up over night if the conditions are right. Follow Andjo's directions, it works every time

 

 

nipper

he's talking about the area under the wheel, not the caliper. rotors rust very, very easily. remove wheels and clean them off, clean off wheels as well and then reinstall properly.

after you clean off the hat you can spray it with some high temp paint. That will keep it from happening so quickly.

If you keep thecar moving no one will notice it

 

 

nipper

Or if they rust completely, they will be red, which will also look sharp too... Just as an fyi, all rotors rust, right? Or are mine doing it because they were inexpensive (???)

Rust never sleeps ...

 

they all rust. Afterall they are bare unpainted metal.

 

Of course you can apply brake rotor antirust spray (right next to the blinker fluid on the store shelf, below the muffler bearings), but the car doesnt stop well after that.

 

 

nipper

ahhh crap.. i forgot to fill up my blinker fluid, THAT'S why the car isn't working well :cool:

Of course you can apply brake rotor antirust spray (right next to the blinker fluid on the store shelf, below the muffler bearings), but the car doesnt stop well after that.

crack ,to think i've been walking past it all these years.

 

actually while we're on the subject.....i have rotors sitting in my garage and of course they're going to want to rust...engine cylinders too. what's the best way to prevent that. i've oiled and sprayed cylinder walls but i'd like something i don't have to repeat all the time. i guess the rotors need to be bagged with dessicant to keep from rusting?

When I stored my BAJA last winter, I took the rotors off (front and rear) too keep them from rotting. I let it sit for a month before they were removed.

 

They were oiled, bagged, and stored at my house for the winter.

 

Come spring, I open the bags.... and the rust that had started last fall had now brought them to the point of no return "rusted de-lamination!" *UGH*

So in laymans terms, just drive the car and don't worry about it, right?

RIGHT

 

I have always found that rotors last best when used frequently.

 

Actually, whole cars in general last best when used frequently

crack ,to think i've been walking past it all these years.

 

actually while we're on the subject.....i have rotors sitting in my garage and of course they're going to want to rust...engine cylinders too. what's the best way to prevent that. i've oiled and sprayed cylinder walls but i'd like something i don't have to repeat all the time. i guess the rotors need to be bagged with dessicant to keep from rusting?

 

There is actually a spray on protector you can use, as it washes right off with a solvent. i forget the name of it, but its availanble in autopart stores.

 

For the engine, just wipe it down with a film of oil.

 

You shouldnt have to repeat it. My freind has a dodge hemi block sitting in his garage thats over 30 years old and no rust.

 

nipper

I've developed a practice of brushing on a thin layer of never-seize (or similar) around and over where the rim seats on the rotor/drum. I find that it really helps with removal of the wheel later on when the rust would have stuck it in place. My friend's legacy sat for a while and the rotors rusted so bad we had to pound the rims off with hammers and wood blocks. Never-seize on the mating surface would have prevented this easily.

After a good wire brushing, I've been spraying kanolabs molyfilm on the hub to rotor interfaces and the rotor to wheel interfaces. The stuff sticks pretty well and rust doesn't form through it. It dries fast too (but it smells something horrible in the process), so dirt won't stick to it like it might with something greasy/oily.

 

For cylinder and other storage prep, sta-bil (pepboys has the sta-bil fogging oil) or amsoil may work well. The amsoil fogging oil smells a lot like lube control LC20 which could probably also be used for anti-rust storage. Those should come off pretty easily with solvent/brake cleaner. Amsoil heavy duty metal protector works very well too, but it isn't as easy to remove. Kanolabs also has a 'weatherpruf' product that says removes easily with mineral spirits and protects up to one year outdoors.

 

For parts you don't want to get oily, VCI paper (volatile corrosion inhibitor) might work. That's what some Subaru parts come packed in such as cam sprockets and oil pumps. It is impregnated with something that offgases I think to help protect against rust.

 

Do your rotors look like this? If so it might be excessive:

 

Other pics:

KalCoAuto synthetic blinker fluid says it's good for 1.5MM blinks...

My brakes aren't that rusty... yet

That's going to take a WHOLE lot of brakeing to get rid of