Brake rotors replacement ‘07 V70

OliPhant · Post by **OliPhant** » 20 Aug 2025, 07:37

Hello All,
I’d value thoughts on the question of replacing front brake rotors now, and the rears later.

Brakes currently 100% no pulse. But front rotors are noticeably thin. Maybe do nothing till pulsing starts? Maybe replace fronts only?

Do some shops insist on all or nothing?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Post by **cn90** » 20 Aug 2025, 07:49

Measure the thickness.
In gen, 1 rotor is good for 2 pads.

Post by **chrism** » 21 Aug 2025, 19:15

It’s perfectly acceptable to replace just the front (or just the rear) rotors. BTW, the outer edge of the rotor should have the minimum allowable thickness stamped into metal. It may be hard to read if the edge is heavily rusted.

Post by **erikv11** » 21 Aug 2025, 19:53

What chrism said! Typically the rear rotors will last much longer than the fronts. Replace in pairs.

Post by **abscate** » 22 Aug 2025, 01:48

For guidance

2005 Volvo V70
L5-2.4L VIN 61 B5244S
Front
Vehicle
Brakes and Traction Control
Disc Brake System
Brake Rotor/Disc
Specifications
Mechanical (including Torque)
Front
FRONT
Front Brake Rotor Specifications

305 mm diameter:
Thickness, new .................... 28.0 mm
Wear limit .................... 25.0 mm
Wear limit for brake pad replacement .................... 25.8 mm

Maximum runout, off hub .................... .020 mm
Maximum runout, on hub .................... .040 mm

wahiddd · Post by **wahiddd** » 22 Aug 2025, 02:45

Plenty of people replace in stages. If money's tight, just do the fronts now since they take most of the braking load anyway. The rears usually wear slower, so you can safely hold off until they're closer to spec or you start to notice issues

Post by **abscate** » 22 Aug 2025, 03:14

This is sacrilegious to some but I’ve replaced many a single brake pad and rotor ftom a frozen caliper on Volvo and VW.

Bed them in, then test braking evenness on a 60 mph - 0 mph. hard stop

No garage will do that for you due to “ replace in pairs “ religion, but braking tests tells all.

Use case matters too. For my cars on the LIE I would not do this. A town driver at 30-45 mph, absolutely.

FCP will take back a good and a bad rotor on warranty.

OliPhant · Post by **OliPhant** » 01 Oct 2025, 13:46

Thanks to everyone for these thoughts on brake maintenance.

Post by **cn90** » 02 Oct 2025, 11:56

If you are tight on money, then at least have the rotors resurfaced. The only local shop that does it is local O'Reilly's for me. I know the guy and he charges me $10/each.

If the thickness is near Min, they may not want to resurface for you. But if he is your buddy, then he can do that. In the past, I have pushed the rotors down 1-2 below Min such as 23 mm. But I am a gentle driver and don't slam on the brake. Remember brake specs are published for the worst case scenario with crazy maniac drivers.

awizarddresden · Post by **awizarddresden** » 04 Oct 2025, 07:06

You can look into resurfacing like cn90 mentioned. But the last time I checked around. At least in my smallish town, the only shop that did it was O'Reilly's and they wanted to charge me 50$ a rotor. Check local machine shops too though. Most of those joints have at least a lathe and an old guy willing to try lol.