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College girl needs advice!!!!


jlynn616
03-13-2008, 06:00 PM
My brake pedal has been pulsing a lot lately. So I took it to a Midas in my town and got a "free brake check". They then proceed to tell me that I need 700 dollars worth of work to my crappy little 98 Saturn! I decided to take it to someone I know for only 70$ instead of 700$! However, I cant take it for a couple weeks and since Ive gotten my car back from my brake check the problem seems to be worse. I know I have warped rotors but my question is: will my brakes completely fail soon or can I get away with driving it for a couple weeks until I can get it to my friend? I babysit and sometime have children in the car. It makes me really nervous but the brake pedal only pulses. it still stops when I need it to - no drag. Do you think the mechanic at Midas could have put it together wrong and made the problem worse? And will I be safe driving for a couple weeks?

I really need the help - cant find the asnwer online! Thanks

jlynn616
03-13-2008, 06:00 PM
Can I drive on warped rotors for a couple weeks?

2.2 Straight six
03-13-2008, 06:09 PM
you can drive on them fine, but you'll get brake judder and feedback through the pedal from it.

2.2 Straight six
03-13-2008, 06:14 PM
warping is when the disks (rotors) are not "true" and by that i mean the contact surfaces are "wavy" but this is on a very small level, you get judder and pulsating through the pedal, because the warping on the disk effectively makes it "thicker" in places, which puts pressure back on the piston in the caliper, the hydraulic fluid then transmits this back through the lines to the master cylinder and eventually through the pedal.

it's not that it's unsafe, it's more that it's annoying.

slideways...
03-13-2008, 07:01 PM
long term it can cost money, because warped rotors will go through pads, and therefore calipers faster, but theres not really any short term downsides besides annoyance. (oh and it can make your car stop worse under very hard braking, so try not to slam on your brakes. or better yet dont get yourself into a situation where you need to).

jlynn616
03-13-2008, 07:15 PM
Thank you :)

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