[gbaker]

Hi all,

2008 4Runner Sport, V8. It's our 3rd vehicle that I use to plow our driveway and drive to work on really snowy days. I had our usual mechanic swap our snow tires on last week and he told me he was really worried about the rear rotors, and that the vehicle as a whole is getting "really tired" underneath. He's done plenty of work on the 4R over the years and knows that it's not a daily driver. He said if it was, he'd tell me to immediately stop driving it and not drive it until the rear rotors are replaced. He showed me some pics and I looked later, they are pretty brutal. He said we'll look at it closer in the spring to determine if it's worth putting money into the vehicle or not before inspection. We previously replaced the front pads, rotors, calipers, and sliders two years ago. At that time, they serviced the rear sliders to buy me some more time.

Long story short, I told myself when I bought this vehicle that I'd teach myself how to do the basic jobs when possible. I'm wondering if I should do the pads, rotors, and calipers since the calipers are in pretty rough shape too. Can you all advise me on whether I'm looking at the right kits, and/or, if not, what would you advise I purchase? I'm glad to buy from Amazon or eBay too. I attached my vehicle specs if needed. Below are the two kits I'm considering, I have no problem spending the extra $120 on the higher quality kit IF it's worth it. Thoughts?

POWER STOP KCOE2405A Stock Replacement; Includes Rotors, Ceramic Pads & Hardware Info - Rear
More Information for POWER STOP KCOE2405A

POWER STOP KC2405A Z23 Evolution Sport; Includes Drilled & Slotted Rotors, Coated Calipers, Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Pads & Hardware Info - Rear
More Information for POWER STOP KC2405A

What else will I need to do this job? I'm set in terms of power tools and hand tools.

[rdruss]

What level of quality did you opt for on the fronts two years ago? I would think the less expensive kit for the rear would be more than adequate considering the vehicles use. You should be able to do it yourself, pretty straightforward, watch a youtube. You do have the parking brake inside the rear rotors and they are probably trash too, they are not as easy to replace.

[Syr4RinNC]

I agree that the basic/ stock kit should be fine. Fortunately, this is a job that isnt terrible on 4runners as the bolts are pretty hearty and protected.

Toughest part may be removing the rotors if they are corroded to the wheel hub, so youll need lots of tricks to remove those

Bleeding the brakes with a new caliper can be a pain in the butt

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by gbaker

Hi all,

2008 4Runner Sport, V8. It's our 3rd vehicle that I use to plow our driveway and drive to work on really snowy days. I had our usual mechanic swap our snow tires on last week and he told me he was really worried about the rear rotors, and that the vehicle as a whole is getting "really tired" underneath. He's done plenty of work on the 4R over the years and knows that it's not a daily driver. He said if it was, he'd tell me to immediately stop driving it and not drive it until the rear rotors are replaced. He showed me some pics and I looked later, they are pretty brutal. He said we'll look at it closer in the spring to determine if it's worth putting money into the vehicle or not before inspection. We previously replaced the front pads, rotors, calipers, and sliders two years ago. At that time, they serviced the rear sliders to buy me some more time.

Long story short, I told myself when I bought this vehicle that I'd teach myself how to do the basic jobs when possible. I'm wondering if I should do the pads, rotors, and calipers since the calipers are in pretty rough shape too. Can you all advise me on whether I'm looking at the right kits, and/or, if not, what would you advise I purchase? I'm glad to buy from Amazon or eBay too. I attached my vehicle specs if needed. Below are the two kits I'm considering, I have no problem spending the extra $120 on the higher quality kit IF it's worth it. Thoughts?

POWER STOP KCOE2405A Stock Replacement; Includes Rotors, Ceramic Pads & Hardware Info - Rear
More Information for POWER STOP KCOE2405A

POWER STOP KC2405A Z23 Evolution Sport; Includes Drilled & Slotted Rotors, Coated Calipers, Carbon-Fiber Ceramic Pads & Hardware Info - Rear
More Information for POWER STOP KC2405A

What else will I need to do this job? I'm set in terms of power tools and hand tools.

I have used Powerstop on a number of brake installs with good success including front & rear on my 2005 V6 T4R, purchased from Rockauto. Agree about replacing the calipers. I like the Geomet fully coated rotors, Z17 pads and rebuilt non-coated calipers for this vehicle. The kits are most times more expensive than just buying the individual components but I always compare the prices. Make sure you look at shipping because it can be quite a bit different. I think the KC2405A ($363.79 + core & shipping) is overkill. I don't think the other kit ($247.79 + core & shipping) includes the Geomet fully coated rotors. These are the components I would recommend - total cost is $170.45 + core & shipping):

Z17 Pads - #17606 $20.99
Rebuilt Calipers - LR #L2727 $39.89, RR #L2726 $39.79
Geomet Fully Coated Rotors - #JB971EVC $34.89 x 2

You will likely have to back off the parking brake shoes to get the rotors off otherwise you can jack them up if you force it. If you get in there and find you need to replace the parking brake shoes (unlikely unless you damage them), you could use the Powerstop #B850 - $17.24 and, if necessary, the parking brake hardware kit Beck Arnley #0841662 - $19.68. If you need lubricant, recommend Permatex Silicone Ceramic Extreme Brake Parts Lubricant # 80653. It's the orange one and is good for both the rubber and metal components. Make sure you do a good job cleaning the hubs before installing the rotors. If you have access to a dial indicator rig, it's good to verify rotor runout is in spec.

Good luck!

[Buckaroo]

FYI, I have found those 5% Rockauto codes a little hard to find lately. Used this one today and it worked - supposedly good until Dec 1... 222074497196971560

[MikeinNH67]

Seeing it's not a daily driver, the rotors will probably rust before you wear them out. I'd go with coated rotors and calipers to make them last as long as possible. Bleeding the rears can be tedious and easier with 2 people. Try not to let all the fluid leak out or you will have lots of air to purge. Cap the ends while disconnected if you can. The toughest part you may run into is getting the metal lines off. Don't be surprised if you break some lines as the car is getting to the age that the rear lines are probably in bad shape. You should consider looking at them before jumping in, any bluing rust means failure is soon.

BTW, I would like to see your plow setup. I also plow with my 4Runner. I'm guessing this will be it's last year on the road because of rust. Will probably become someone else's yard plow next year.

[gbaker]

Thank you everyone for the helpful feedback, that gives me a lot to think about. My greatest barrier atm is I don't have a garage and it's late November lol. The ceramic coated rotors for rust prevention definitely seem like a no-brainer. Thanks for the heads up on the emergency brake component. I would have never thought buying the components separate would save money. Go figure!

Originally Posted by MikeinNH67

BTW, I would like to see your plow setup. I also plow with my 4Runner. I'm guessing this will be it's last year on the road because of rust. Will probably become someone else's yard plow next year.

I uploaded 4 pics. It's a snowsport personal plow. I luckily found the plow + front adapter on craigslist used locally and picked it up for about $800. So the only part I had to buy new was the front hitch and have it installed which was done very reasonably by our regular mechanic. I leave the front adapter on all winter, but really only put the plow on to plow with. Then I take the plow off by hand and set it next to the house. Obviously if I really wanted to, I could remove the front adapter in about 3 mins, but it feels cool to drive around with a battering ram on the front of my 4R lol. After 2-3 seasons I bought the $25 downward pressure strap, it actually makes a really big difference. SnowSport Hold Down Strap | 60220 Agri-Cover Pressure Strap.

[MikeinNH67]

Cool, beats shoveling. Post #6 in the link below is my rig. The white strip on the bottom was temp metal before I repaired a couple rust holes. I love the work that thing can do.

Fisher Snow Plow Mounted on 4Runner

[gbaker]

Originally Posted by MikeinNH67

Cool, beats shoveling. Post #6 in the link below is my rig. The white strip on the bottom was temp metal before I repaired a couple rust holes. I love the work that thing can do.

Fisher Snow Plow Mounted on 4Runner

Nice looks great, you definitely have a far wider range of skills than I do. You were able to design some pieces and weld. I was really looking for a very straight forward "plug and play" style solution. At times I wish I had something more extensive, other times I'm glad for the simplicity of putting it on and off by hand in about 1-2 minutes. Pros and cons to it all, but like you said, the range of work the 4R can do is amazing!

[MikeinNH67]

Thank you for the kind words. I modded it so it comes off super easily like Fisher's MM2 setup. I enjoy building and modifying things out of metal to suit my needs. It really wasn't that hard to modify the receiver bits to fit the 4runner, I copied the setup that Fisher used on the early Tundras.