Technically no. When you have the rotors turned down you take away more meat from the rotor(depending on how warped). The rotor heats up faster and cools down faster which contributes to warpage and cracking. Rotor material is also important... if they have warped before there is a good chance that they will warp again because the metal is just not up to it(possibly due to performance pads which are a harsher compound in my case). I am not sure how much it will cost to turn down some rotors but for about 100 bucks for the front you should go with some brembo's. Breaks isn't something that should be compromised on.
Kevin

 

On my 93 Toyota, 11 1/2 years and 109,000 miles without warping. I still have original rotors, I turned them once when I replaced the pads at about 85,000 miles.

My 97 BMW 328i is on it's 3rd set of rotors on the front and 2nd set on the back at 93,000 miles.

 

There is one thing there that nobody is addressing and I would be willing to bet money is your problem:

Rear brakes out of adjustment/bad pads/other rear brake problem.

I have seen this a dozen times before...The most likely reason for recurring front rotor warping is that the rear brakes aren't doing their job. This causes the front brakes to have to dissipate more speed energy (which EQUALS HEAT) than they normally should. They heat up way too much and too often, and this warps them.

PLEASE, I'm not saying that all the suggestions about a different pad or torquing your lugs isn't good advice, it's just not even close to as likely as a rear brake problem. Check them out...pull the drums, etc.

NOTE: especially check the valve that attaches to your rear brake lines that is attached by a simple rod to the rear axle. It is a rear brake proportioning setup that adjusts the rear brake power according to how much weight you have in the rear of the vehicle (keeps the rear wheels from locking under heavy braking if the back end is light). Neat setup, actually. But if the mechanism is broken, or the rod is disconnected, it can cause the proportioning valve to drastically reduce rear brake function.

Trust me on this one, man. Pads aren't your problem.

 

Whether you have judder from deposits or warpage, turning the rotors will correct the problem. I'd try changing the pads and going thru a bed-in procedure first (perhaps in combo with brake cleaner and a green pad). If that doesn't help, I'd turn the rotors then bed them in.

Note that I've never had a rotor crack on me (and one person is a small sample size). Shops due have minimum thicknesses for being able to turn a rotor. I'd like to believe that these depths include a good safety margin.

 

Make sure to read my post above, AgRunner, before you worry about turning rotors, new pads, etc. Not trying to be arrogant, I've just had LOTS of experience with this problem.

PM me if you need any further help with it. It's a pretty easy thing to narrow down.

 

Yeah, I will be paying my rear brakes some attention when I do my brake job. I'm planning on pulling the adjuster off and oiling it so that it adjusts smoothly. Then I'm going to adjust my brakes so they have some decent drag on the drum.

My front brakes need to be done because my pads are on the wear indicator. Since my rotors are already warped, I'm going to go ahead and have them turned so I have two new surfaces to break-in. The rotors were brand new ($75) when I did my brakes the last time so I'm going to try to get some more life out of them before I shell out $100 for a new set.

My LPSV is still mounted to the bracket that Downey gave me. Is there a way to test whether it is working correctly?

I will be following the break-in procedure the guy explains on his site and see if that helps me.

Oh yeah, is it absolutely necessary to replace the grease seal on the hub when you pull it off? If it's in good shape can I just reuse it? Those things were expensive.

Thanks for the help.

 

Good call, man. To test the LPSV, you can disconnect it at the axle, get some bailing wire or the equivalent, and tie it up close to the bed, to simulate that the rear end is heavily loaded and the axle is sitting closer to the bed. Drive in your parking lot or somewhere else safe and hit the brakes fairly hard from about 30mph. If it is working correctly, your rear brakes should lock up too early and skid. It is supposed to just sed more line pressure to the rear brakes IF there is a load in the back...if NO load, it reduces pressure and keeps them from locking prematurely...kinda a poor-man's ABS.

Note that you might not be able to test that function if the rear brakes are already not working, however.

Sounds like you are doing the right things. Let me know how it goes and if I can help!

Take care!

 

Oh, BTW, if the grease seal is iin good shape, with no leaks, and you grease the lips well when you slide the rotor/hub assembly back on and slide carefully onto the spindle, you can reuse it. I did about 20k ago and it's perfect still.

 

There was a write-up by "Click and Clack" in todays newspaper you may find helpful. It was titled "frequent brake jobs likely due to bad booster"

The bad booster causes the brakes to not release all the way, thus over-heating the rotors (warping them) and wearing out the pads fast.

 

Wow...neat concept! Never seen it, but definitely logical.

 

This thread is making me suspicious. I got my 01 with about 37K on it, and lo and behold, not only are the rotors warped, but they have already been turned at least once (shop guy said he wasn't sure they'd be up to thickness if he did it again.

 

One thing that should be noted, those that live or drive in the mountains use your gearing to brake down those big passes. On trips to Colorado I'm always seeing people that ride their brakes all the way down a 7% grade.

 

They are in the 90 4Runner album on my webshots page thats listed in my sig.