[drevil]

Drove car this winter a moderate amount in the Washington state rain rain rain.

Now some waterspots on engine, also, lots of rust around brake drums and lug nuts.

Any thoughts on getting the brakes, lug nuts cleaned up? Improved a bit as I have driven more but still rusty, kills the look.

Ideas to clean the waterspots on engine?

 

[oldmansan]

Drove car this winter a moderate amount in the Washington state rain rain rain.

Now some waterspots on engine, also, lots of rust around brake drums and lug nuts.

Any thoughts on getting the brakes, lug nuts cleaned up? Improved a bit as I have driven more but still rusty, kills the look.

Ideas to clean the waterspots on engine?

You mean rotor hats (not aware of Elise "brake drums")? You mean lug bolts? Maybe a pic would make things clearer.

San

 

[Nessal]

To clean the brake disc, just drive the car. To clean the lug nuts, get a ultrasonic cleaner. Use 50% vinegar and 50% water. Put them in the cleaner for 10 minutes. Comes out great. Can be used for your wife's jewelry too! Double win!

 

[drevil]

To clean the brake disc, just drive the car. To clean the lug nuts, get a ultrasonic cleaner. Use 50% vinegar and 50% water. Put them in the cleaner for 10 minutes. Comes out great. Can be used for your wife's jewelry too! Double win!

Cool thanks!

 

[drevil]

wheel pictures

[/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

This is what I mean

 

[Nessal]

Yeah, the rust on the rotor face comes off after a few miles of driving and braking. It does that all the time especially if you wash your car because the rotors are made out of iron. You can get a cheap ultrasonic cleaner from harbor freight. I think I bought mine for like $25. They even have a 20% coupon that you can print out online. Fit 4 lugs at a time. Using warm water helps clean it faster but not necessary. For the rust on the bleeder nipple and the caliper bolts, I would just take steel wool to it. Not worth draining the brake fluid and taking apart the caliper for that. Just IMO of course.

 

[oldmansan]

I'd spray WD-40 on the brake caliper bolts and bleeder screw but DO NOT get any on the brake rotors.

WD-40 stands for Water Displacement 40th formula. It was developed for missiles and tested extensively at Vandenberg Air Force Base. There's your fun fact for the day.

San

 

[sleepe]

The caliper bolts look horrendous.
I would replace them and put a metal
anti-corrissive sealant on the head of the new bolts
once installed. (or use light coating of suspension
grease to keep them rust free)

Also, the calipers are heavily
corroded. Maybe clean them up and
paint them...? Your Elise needs some TLC.
Good luck.
-Robert

 

[enderw88]

I just went through this last weekend, but not as severe as yours. For the rotors I wire brushed the hats to get the loose corrosion off then masked and sprayed some silver ceramic brake caliper paint. As said earlier the friction surface will get cleaned the first time you use the brakes, but the hats won't. A few coats of paint will keep the corrosion away.

I hit the calipers with manual wire brush to get rid of the scale.
For the caliper bolts I removed one at a time cleaned them with a wire wheel on a rotary tool, shot the heads with a bit of black high heat paint and reinstalled them.

I replaced the lugs with BMW black units.

 

[drevil]

I just went through this last weekend, but not as severe as yours. For the rotors I wire brushed the hats to get the loose corrosion off then masked and sprayed some silver ceramic brake caliper paint. As said earlier the friction surface will get cleaned the first time you use the brakes, but the hats won't. A few coats of paint will keep the corrosion away.

I hit the calipers with manual wire brush to get rid of the scale.
For the caliper bolts I removed one at a time cleaned them with a wire wheel on a rotary tool, shot the heads with a bit of black high heat paint and reinstalled them.

I replaced the lugs with BMW black units.

really helpful thanks!

 

[enderw88]

really helpful thanks!

I forgot to mention that I used a small round wire brush to get the rust dust out of the caliper bolt recesses once a caliper bolt was removed. I also couldn't find a torque spec. So remove those things at your own peril...

 

[pwildfire]

I just went through this last weekend, but not as severe as yours. For the rotors I wire brushed the hats to get the loose corrosion off then masked and sprayed some silver ceramic brake caliper paint. As said earlier the friction surface will get cleaned the first time you use the brakes, but the hats won't. A few coats of paint will keep the corrosion away.

I hit the calipers with manual wire brush to get rid of the scale.
For the caliper bolts I removed one at a time cleaned them with a wire wheel on a rotary tool, shot the heads with a bit of black high heat paint and reinstalled them.

I replaced the lugs with BMW black units.

This.
You can also paint the calipers if you want.
Lugs can be painted with regular spray paint, but if you have leftover caliper paint use that, it is a little tougher.

 

[driftwood]

This is what I mean

just another reason why I refuse to put my 'fun car' through northern winter elements... I can respect you guys who want to enjoy driving as much as possible but you will only do more harm than good when it comes to winter driving on salty roads.

I suppose a good rule of thumb for those who can afford an Elige, is that you can also afford a 2nd car to daily drive through the crap months in our sh!t climate

 

[drevil]

Would it be overkill, unnecessary expense to replace the rotors with some aftermarket ones to deal with this issue??

 

[enderw88]

Would it be overkill, unnecessary expense to replace the rotors with some aftermarket ones to deal with this issue??

Yes.

 

[drevil]

I've read mixed things about resurfacing yes or no ?

 

[enderw88]

If the rotors are warped they need to be replaced. If they are true then bedding in the brake pads properly removes any need to turn them.



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