I drive a 1988 Volvo 740 sedan with Bendix brake calipers on the front wheels. Rcently, I began hearing a scraping, grinding sound whenever I applied the brakes. I had just changed the front brake pads back in September, only about 11,000 miles ago, so that was the last thing I thought could possibly be causing the brake noise. For a couple of weeks, I looked at everything else (rear pads & rotors, the parking brake, the brake fluid & lines, the master cylinder) and I couldn't find the problem. Finally, I decided to take off the front wheels to get a better look at the situation, and lo and behold, the damn right front outboard pad was worn out and the rotor was pretty badly torn up! Meanwhile, the inboard pad was hardly worn down at all. What could have caused one pad to wear through to metal in only five months while the other one showed normal wear? I don't want to go through the expense and bother of having the rotor turned or replaced and new pads put on if the same thing is just going to happen again. Please help.
While I'm at it, what are the advantages to resurfacing the rotor versus replacing it? I haven't measured the thickness yet, but it looks pretty thin and it probably has been turned before. If I do, as I suspect, have to replace the rotor, how much will one cost me? Is it a project I can handle myself? Thanks for your help.