[switang]

Not too long after my purchase, I notice the brake rotors rusting. Not the normal rust from the pad/rotor contact area, but actually on the rotor near the wheel hub.

I doubt it's anymore than cosmetic light rust right now (seems to be increasing), but since I have the 5-spoke wheels, it is pretty glaring.

I was just going to take the rotors off, remove what rust I can with a wire brush and paint them matte black with a high-temp paint. Sound reasonable?

Any suggestions, considering removing the rotors and calipers? Wheel sensors, etc. The last FWD car I replaced the pads on, the rotor would simply slide off after wheel and caliper was removed. My old truck, the rotor rides directly on the bearings, so you have to remove a nut. I could just mask and paint the rotors on the car, but rather not risk the over spray.

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2010 TDI Sportwagen

 

[chittychittybangbang]

It's considered normal. You could also use a high temp zinc paint.

Remove the brake caliper and the 1 phillips set screw. The screw often strips. It's the only additional thing holding the rotor on and has a light torque. Do not let the caliper hang by the brake line or else it can damage the line and cause loss of braking authority.

For installation, torque the front carrier bolts to 140 ft-lb. Make sure to clean the threads and bolts before using. The front caliper guide pins (the ones with a cap) are torqued to 22 ft-lb.

The service manual doesn't say to replace the front carrier bolts but the rear carrier bolts are single use only. Rear carrier are 66 ft-lb+ 1/4 turn and rear caliper bolts are 26 ft-lb.

 

[switang]

Awesome thanks, sounds pretty straightforward.

If the Rustolem doesn't hold up or the black looks stupid, I'll find me some of the high-temp zinc...

I'm glad you mentioned the torque specs.

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Edit: Well I got that done, only did the front. Was pretty simple. I should have taken some before and after pictures.

Some things to note:
1. Turn you wheels to the outside to get enough leverage on the carrier bolts (assuming you are just jacking up one tire like me...)
2. Carrier bolts are 21mm, 13/16 is practically the same
3. Left front has the brake pad sensor, unplug before removing caliper
4. The rotor retainer screw is a T30
5. I used some 14-16 gauge stranded wire from the caliper to the strut (there are some small holes) to suspend the caliper and remove brake line tension