Re: disc brake conversions

Posted by Tim Cole On 2011/7/15 18:27:48

To Mr Kanter:

From 2005 through 2007 I was living in Africa. My car was stored in a newly built garage during that period with absolutely no water leaks. The cylinders were filled with oil and the gas tank stabilized.

When I took the car out of storage the brake rotors were badly pitted and needed to be replaced. The master cylinder also had corrosion damage. The PCV deteriorated and had to be replaced. The exhaust system rotted as well. The NAPA65 battery held up because it was disconnected.

I presently do a fair amount of brake work on cars that are from a used car lot. After as little as one month on the lot the rotors can be damaged from the weather.

I also do repairs on vehicles that have been at the airport and have brake performance complaints due to being parked outside at the airport.

There is one car I service that is owned by an 84 year old who doesn't drive very much. It fails inspection every year because of rusted brake rotors.

Now this rust problem also occurs on drum brakes but at a much slower rate.

As I said, unless the car is stored in a controlled environment the rotors should be removed and stored.

Now I guess that is a pretty stout recommendation, so perhaps using zip ties and garbage bags over each wheel is something most situations can handle. And the wheels should be off the car anyway.

One thing that many people don't notice is the gradual decrease in brake performance that occurs with this problem.
You don't notice what is happening until you pull the wheels for inspection.

For these old cars this is really a problem because drums are becoming impossible to obtain. Thus, if I was storing any car in an unheated garage for an extended period I would remove the drums and store them inside.