How to Resurface a Brake Rotor

When it comes time to repair brake rotors, there are a few things you should know about. A brake rotor is something that can be resurfaced and repaired several times before it must be replaced. It is important that you know how and when it's the right time to resurface a brake rotor. If brake rotors are resurfaced too much, it can result in shortening the life of the rotor as each time it's resurfaced, the rotor becomes thinner.

Step 1 – Know When Resurface Is Necessary

One of the main reasons for resurfacing brake rotors is due to parallelism. If you notice that your vehicle is having trouble staying parallel, this is one of the first indicators brake rotors need to be resurfaced. Also, look for rotor scoring. Rotor scoring could be a cause of a bad pad formulation.

Step 2 – Sand

A rotor surface may need to be cleaned with 120 grit sandpaper to remove old material build-up. Use the sandpaper to get the surface clean and free of excess material. This is something you can do without having to resurface the rotors. You can also use roll lock discs to do the cleaning job. These two items will get your rotor clean and smooth without having to do the actual job of resurfacing.

Step 3 – Resurface

Whenever rotors need to be resurfaced, it is recommended you use the services of a center specializing in brake repair. A professional center has the equipment and experienced staff to do the job properly. Ask the service technician if it is time to replace the rotors or if resurfacing is recommended. If resurfacing is all that's needed, once completed at the service center, you can reinstall the rotor yourself.

Step 4 - Test

Test drive your vehicle to determine if the resurfacing process has made a difference in the way the vehicle functions. If there is no change, it may be resurfacing is not enough to address the problem and it's time to replace the rotors.

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How to repair a Dent in Your Car

There are few things that can ruin the good looks of a car quite as fast as an unexpected dent or ding. Whether the dent originated from a runaway shopping cart at the supermarket or from a careless driver on the freeway, getting a dent in your car's body can be detrimental to its appearance and value, and repairing those dents at the local body shop can be tremendously expensive.

Luckily, there a number of affordable ways to fix car dents.

Note: Depending how severe the damage actually is, what metals your car’s body is made from, and the dent’s size, it may not respond to the do-it-yourself approach.


Understanding DIY Dent Repair

The only way to completely eradicate a dent is to have an expert use their time, a number of tools, and dozens, if not hundreds, of precision “bends” to reshape the metal and completely erase any sign of warping.

For example, suction cup kits can technically fix a dent in the sense that the crater the dent created will no longer be present. Unfortunately, that same sharp suction action will likely pull the metal too far out, so instead of a dent, you’ll have a bulge. If you’re a stickler and want your car back exactly the way it was, these kits may not be for you, as they may just end up swapping one ugly problem for a less ugly, but still slightly ugly, problem.

However, if you’re like the many people who purchase these dent-puller kits online and in stores, you’ll probably be okay with making that compromise. The post repair bumps that pop outward are not as noticeable or unattractive as conventional dent craters.

If you’re willing to attempt them and sincerely want to avoid paying a body shop, one of these kits is certainly worth a try.

efore getting started, be sure to borrow or purchase a dent pulling kit or dent pulling tool, along with a dolly, which is a specially designed tool made for flattening and reshaping metal. A metalworking hammer will be necessary as well.

Step 1 - Find Your Center

Locate the center of the dent and use a hot glue gun to glue a plastic adapter to the center of the dent. These plastic adapters and glue guns are included in many dent removal kits.

Alternatively, if you are willing to puncture the finish you can drill a hole in the dent’s center with a 1/8" drill bit.

Step 2 - Placing the Dent Puller

Thread the dent-pulling tool into the newly drilled hole, or attach the dent-pulling tool to the plastic circle that is glued on the dent. After the dent pulling tool is in place, pull on it to bring the indented part of the body outward so that it will bend into a position that is more flush with the surrounding body.


Step 3 - Hammering

Carefully hammer the front of the dent using the metalworking hammer, while at the same time holding the dolly firmly against the back of the dent. It may be necessary to go underneath the car, open the trunk, or go behind hood in order to reach the back of the dent.

Step 4 - Grinding Paint

Use a medium-grit disk mounted on a drill to grind the paint down to the bare metal, extending the area out at least 1" around the dent itself. Then fill the entire area with a quality body filler.

Step 5 - Sanding

Allow the body filler to dry completely, then carefully sand the area with sandpaper that has been wrapped around a block of wood. When sanding, begin with a 36-grit sandpaper and work up to a 120-grit sandpaper.

Step 6 - Apply Primer

Use a spray primer to prime the area, being sure to use a primer specially designed for automotive use. Six coats of primer should be used, allowing each coat of primer to dry completely before applying the next coat. Sand the primer using a 600-grit wet and dry sandpaper. This will help to remove any scratches.

Step 7 - Repaint

The area should then be touched up with a matching automotive paint. If the paint is not smooth, sand and repaint the area until you have a smooth surface.
Myths About Popping Out Dents

As you saw above, that fix requires a fair amount of work and equipment. Again, even with your coaxing, dents don’t magically pop out. The furthest you’ll get with suction and hammering a car’s body is a bulge instead of a crater.
Temperature

A common myth about dents is that under the right temperature conditions, heat and expanding gases on the other side of the indentation will force the metal to shift and the dent will pop back in to shape. On the other end of the spectrum are the people who suggest using dry ice for similar claims of spontaneous self-repair. Neither of these approaches have been proven to work.
Paintless Dent Repair

This refers to a situation where a dent can be repaired so seamlessly and without fuss that the process of fixing it won’t even require you to paint any of the body afterwards. This one isn’t a myth, but it is an incredibly specialized skill set that is usually limited to those who work in body shops.

PROS AND CONS OF SUSPENSION LOWERING

Should you invest the time and money required to have your vehicle’s suspension lowered? It’s a question that many drivers never even think about. Before you make the decision to proceed with lowering your vehicle’s suspension, consider the options and understand the pros and cons that a lowered suspension entails.

Why Get a Lowered Suspension?

Lowering your suspension is an aftermarket alteration that makes your vehicle sit a little bit lower to the ground. There are several implications to this, including a number of performance and safety advantages.

Here are some of the main advantages of lowering your suspension:

Improved aerodynamics. When the vehicle sits closer to the ground, it means there is less air going underneath the vehicle, which in turn means less wind drag on the car.

Improved handling and traction. Generally speaking, lowering the vehicle closer to the ground improves the tires’ grip on the road, leading to improved handling. But this is not true across the board, as lowering the suspension on some vehicles may actually impair handling.

Reduced risk of rollover. A high center of gravity is a liability for any vehicle, giving it a higher risk of rollover. Lowering the suspension lowers the center of gravity and reduces the risk of a rollover.

Enhanced comfort. This is somewhat subjective, but some drivers say that lowering the suspension simply makes their vehicle more comfortable and less prone to rattling around.

Are There Disadvantages to Lowering the Suspension?

The perks of suspension lowering are significant, but it’s also important to note some of the potential downsides to lowering the suspension of a vehicle. Here are some of the main downfalls:

Increased bottoming out. When you lower the suspension, you raise the risk of the vehicle’s bottom skidding against the ground, especially when it bounces. Speed bumps can be especially difficult here. Contact with the ground can leave many of your vehicle’s components vulnerable.

Unevenness in the tire wear. In some instances, lowering the suspension can have ill effects on the tire wear patterns. This is definitely something to ask about before you have the suspension lowered.

Conflict with other systems and components. Sometimes when you lower the suspension, you bring it into closer contact with other parts of the car. The results of this can be problematic, especially when you bring the suspension too close to the anti-lock brake system, the tire sidewalls, etc.
Making Changes to Your Suspension

The bottom line is that changing your suspension has both positive and negative effects on your vehicle. It’s best to talk about this process with a trained mechanic who can help you think through all the implications. Don’t make any suspension changes until you’re confident about how they will pan out.

What is Brake Problems?

Brake Light is On
 
If your brake light is on then you need to find out why right away. Your brake warning light is there to tell you that something is wrong in your braking system. This section will tell you the most common causes as well as what you should do about it.

Brake Noise
 
If you've noticed some type of brake noise other than squeaking brakes then this is the section for you. I explain the most common causes of brake noise and why they happen. I also explain some of the best ways to avoid and/or fix this problem.

Squeaking Brakes
 
If you have noticed your brakes squeaking lately then check out this article. I'll tell you the most likely causes or this noise as well as some of the likely fixes as well. Some of them you can easily fix yourself while others need to be fixed by a mechanic.

Steering Wheel Shakes When Braking

If you have this problem there is one thing that will cause it 99% of the time. Read more to find out what it is and how to fix it.

Brake Fade

If you've ever been driving down a long hill and noticed that your brakes didn't really stop the car the way it should then you may have a problem with brake fade. In almost all cases brake fade can be completely avoided. I'll explain why this happens and how to keep it from happening again.

Master Cylinder Problems

At some point you will probably have to deal with replacing your master cylinder. Here is a look at some of the common things that might be causing your problem along with what to do about it.

Brake Caliper Sticking

This is not a common problem, but it does happen sometimes. If you have this problem, or suspect it I'll show you some of the main areas of concern and what might be causing the problem. I'll also give you some of the most common ways to fix it.

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