Are my rotors ok?

[hotstang_46]

Hope this isn't a stupid question.....

Got this 00 stang and gor her to fire finally today after replacing the fuel pump. Took her for a little spin....another area that's really suffering are the brakes...Pads have life...rotors are not grooved or anything but the car had not moved for like 3 years and have alot of rust in between em... I'll probably get new brakes after I get all the body and paint done..(don't want to risk overspray on new components)...but for driving her around for the next week and visiting body shops for estimates and what not am I ok? should i replace the rotors with some cheap aftermarkets or something to putz around? I thought they would scrub off some crap and stuff from driving but after 15 miles they are still terrible to say the least....

thanks for any help!!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

They should be fine.

 

[ShortThrow50]

I dont replace rotors until I feel the steer wheel start to shimmer upon applying brake pressure. Rust certaintly wont ruin anything.

 

[Superhereaux]

working at a new car dealer this is a common occurance although 3 yrs is a bit much. new cars come shipped with plastic covers over the rotors to protect from rust

there was an old bulliten on this i figure i'd dig up:

"One of the most common causes for brake vibration/pulsation is corroded (rusty) brake rotors.
Normally, the light surface rust that may appear on a rotor, is worn away upon application of the
brakes during normal driving. However, if the rust layer has become too thick, (which occurs during
prolonged vehicle storage - when the protective wheel covers are not in place) the rust will not
be worn away completely through normal driving.
The result of this is that during braking, the this rust layer is converted to a very hard and wear
resistant material (sintered iron oxide), which can be seen as black areas on the rotor. As the
corrosion isn't the same all around the rotor, the clean iron surfaces, free from oxide, are worn at a
much higher rate. This results in disc thickness variation, THE MAIN CAUSE of brake
vibration/pulsation. Typically, vibration/pulsation can be felt the first few brakings when the rust is
fresh and may then disappear temporarily. However, after a few thousand miles, disc thickness
variation will increase and become great enough to be felt while braking."


so if it were me, yeah i'd change them