Out of the blue I could smell something coming from the back of my 4runner. I noticed the rear drivers brake rotor was super hot. When I spit on it, it sizzled.

I took it apart today and the caliper depressed like normal, the pad were still 70% or better but glazed (assuming from heat)

I checked for play in the wheel bearing and it didnt have any movement other than a little slop left to right which I assume is normal.

I adjusted the parking brake all the way out, and then tightened it up little by little until the rotor fit on snug.

Installed new pads and tested it out.

Same issue.

I think tomorrorw morning im going to replace the caliper and back the ebrake all the way out to see if that can isolate the problem.

Is there something common with these 4th gens that I should know about?

I did search and read a few threads where people had simliar issues, but never posted a result of fix.

Thanks in advance for your help.



and a pic of my 4runner for your time

Well since you posted a pic........

I'd say its probably just a frozen caliper. Slap a new one of those on there and go from there.

I've read plenty about frozen caliper pistons on these trucks, but I thought they were all front calipers. Did I miss something?

The pads were glazed, and you think it was the pads and not the shoes dragging. Did you look at the slide pins? I've been using moly CV grease on my slide pins, seems to work better than straight silicone brake grease. You adjusted the parking brake, did it seem to need adjusting? Was the cable free in the housing? Do you ever use your parking brake?

I ordered the caliper last night, it should be in any time now this morning.

Hoping that fixes it. Not gonna drive until I try that out first.

how much slack do you guys leave for your ebrake shoes? I was doing just enough to put the rotor on snug

Was there the smell of burnt brakes? It could be your caliper, but they should be easy to determine if your pads are worn more on the side with the problem. You can also check the caliper by compressing it to see if it is stuck. I would do that before replacing it. I also would replace both if you are going to replace a caliper.

Adjusting the parking brake, i adjust it tight then back off. Even if you get it over tight, it will burn off with time.