As I would imagine most Midwest owners of a 20+ year old car are facing... My brake dust shields aren't doing much more these days than making noise when they get touched and start rubbing against the rotor. I have a wheel hub project coming up, so perfect time to replace them. $30+ a piece? Really?

Anyone know of something a bit less wallet raping?

 

Where are you getting your pricing from?

 

Google search. eBay. I can only imagine they are twice that at the dealer.

 

I always just remove mine. No issues have ever come up.

 

Depending on what car you are trying to get them for they can be reasonably priced. For example my 99 si they run about $30 each brand new from Honda (online dealership price), honestly that is pretty decently priced in my opinion.

 

I suppose I'm just being cheap. I know that it's pretty much a one shot deal.. Ya don't take the hub off very often... And having new ones resolves the rattle/grind annoyance and definitely improves the look. $30 for an 8 inch circle of sheet metal does suck though.

 

Rattle and grinds are due to misalignment. Straightened them out and it will be fine. Mine was grinding at full lock turn. Reach under, bent it out away from movieng part. No more grind.

 

I wish I had a picture of the shields to share. These things are beat to hell and very flimsy. When I bent it out on one side, it starts rubbing somewhere else. I'll probably buy a full set when I do my bearings, and give each of them a shot of pounding them back flat. I've even considered brazing them afterwards for added rigidity and painting them red to match the rest of the car if that's feasible.

The only barrier to that would be if the dealer considers them 'special order' -- which is likely. In that case, I'll just use the new ones and be done with it.

 

buy them new if you're really **** about the look.

most people up here just take/rip/cut them off when they start rubbing because in my experience they'll always just keep bending back and start hitting the rotor again as they continue to rot

They're not necessary for any car

 

I have read conflicting opinions on this. I live in Ohio, and we get a fair amount of snow here. Some say without them, the poor roads damage the brakes. I honestly don't know....

 

I live in Ohio too. I've always removed mine and never had any issues.

 

Then if they are shot, I'll just remove them. Thanks.