I am currently in the homework phase of swapping out the consumable elements of my brakes. At 55,000 miles and counting, new brakes will be needed in the next 10,000 miles I guess.

Looking at the current condition of things, I'm at or slightly below 5mm and am seeing more brake dust stain up on my front wheels.

In short, I'll probably need new brakes front and rear in the next 6-12 months.

I know LR recommend changing pads and rotors. This is the boiler-plate, optimized instructions for new brakes, across the board.

New pads on new rotors is more predictable, has less variables in play and is no doubt best practice.

From a practical and cost standpoint ,if the rotors are in good shape, showing little to no wear, with no signs or symptoms of deformation, are there any big contra-indication to just swapping pads?

I'd love to hear from folks who've done their brake changes on Defender, Land Rovers or other similarly weighted vehicles.

Changing pads alone is simpler, less costly and give me fewer things to do and børk up. I'm not completely averse to the idea of doing both but am simply trying to learn more before tackling this job. Choices are

• Pads and wear sensors
• Pads, rotors and wear sensors
• Pads rotors, wear sensors and flexible brake hoses. (The latter is a service item at 63,000 miles)

 

Typically you can get more than one set of pads on the rotors. But 60k miles is a decent life and you run risks around pulsating braking etc

If you want to do it properly buy a digital caliper measurement tool (about $10) and measure the thickness of front and back caliper. Compare to spec to see how far worn they are.
But - even if they are ok, still a risk of uneven wear and pulsation
It's a modest cost if you are doing it yourself so if i were you id do rotors too

You will need to replace the brake wear sensor - it goes brittle and can break when you remove it. So have a replacement. Aftermarket ones much cheaper and work fine.

 

@BritCars I appreciate the info on the measuring tool for the rotors. That’s a great idea.

while I do like the idea of doing things by the book so to speak, a savings of about $800 in rotors is not to be sniffed at.

I may end up doing both as you’re not wrong. 60000 miles is a decent lifespan.

The rotors just look so new. I’m in two minds.

 

If the rotors are not scored or grooved and look good, no vibration with braking.
I would only change the pads with new original ones.

 

The only way to know if your existing rotors can still be used, is to get them turned on the lathe and see if they stay in spec. Finding shops to turn rotors seems to be getting fewer and fewer. Many manufacturers are making rotors only so thin that they are a one-and-done use (thinner rotors = less cost) Any variation on the surface of rotors will give you issues and ruin the replacement pads you just installed.

 

I don’t own a lathe so having the rotors turned and tuned up isn’t on the cards.

I suppose new pads on old rotors, while less than ideal, won’t diminish breaking performance from where I’m at now. But it may take some time for the new pads to wear in better resulting in less life on the new pads. Perhaps not.

 

good to know. @Defendit.. Thanks. From someone who has pretty much disassembled and reassembled their entire Defender to respray it, I tend to trust your wisdom.

changing pads just seems so routine on most cars. Rotors being swapped is a bit alien to me.

 

I've 82k miles on my Defender P400 110 of which 22k have been towing a 6,700 trailer. I've had to replace the rear pads twice and both times kept the original rotors. No pulsing or any other noticeable issues. Front pads still have plenty of life and when time, will do a pad-only replacement there also.

 

Thanks for this info. Very helpful indeed.

 

Add 1 more vote for just doing pads, unless you are experiencing any pad pulsing. I've not done a Defender yet, but I have a lot of experience with brakes on everything from performance cars to medium duty trucks.

Check rotor thickness, and if you want to get really detailed but not have them turned, you can use a dial indicator to check runout.

If you don't have a problem with pulsing, I wouldn't worry about it--measure thickness and if it's in spec, just change pads.

I would recommend following a pad-bedding or curing process to reduce the risk of your new pads causing an issue with pulsing from thermal transfer of pad material.