[Greenlawnracing]

My wife's 4Runner was squeaking a bit when she backed out of the garage, which in my experience means the rear brakes are starting to go. I've done countless brake jobs, and as a bonus I was headed to her parent's farm in rural America. A full shop with plenty of room and an experienced FIL always makes these jobs even more enjoyable. Truck had about 90K on it.

When I pulled the wheels all of the pads were in decent shape, much to my surprise. That would explain why the sound appeared to be somewhat intermittent, but to be fair I don't drive it enough to know.

I went ahead and replaced the pads on all four wheels with "premium" ceramic from Autozone, and had the rotors turned by an old school machine shop that my in laws have used for years.

Now the freaking thing drives me nuts when you come to a complete stop or are braking at a slow speed. It is borderline embarassing.

Only thing I could think of is that apparently brake pads don't always come with hardware kits now??!! These did not, so I bought a hardware kit that I'm planning to put in when I have "time".

Anything else I should check while I'm in there? I pulled all four wheels and calipers the other day....nothing looked abnormal.

[dezertbomber]

Originally Posted by Greenlawnracing

My wife's 4Runner was squeaking a bit when she backed out of the garage, which in my experience means the rear brakes are starting to go. I've done countless brake jobs, and as a bonus I was headed to her parent's farm in rural America. A full shop with plenty of room and an experienced FIL always makes these jobs even more enjoyable. Truck had about 90K on it.

When I pulled the wheels all of the pads were in decent shape, much to my surprise. That would explain why the sound appeared to be somewhat intermittent, but to be fair I don't drive it enough to know.

I went ahead and replaced the pads on all four wheels with "premium" ceramic from Autozone, and had the rotors turned by an old school machine shop that my in laws have used for years.

Now the freaking thing drives me nuts when you come to a complete stop or are braking at a slow speed. It is borderline embarassing.

Only thing I could think of is that apparently brake pads don't always come with hardware kits now??!! These did not, so I bought a hardware kit that I'm planning to put in when I have "time".

Anything else I should check while I'm in there? I pulled all four wheels and calipers the other day....nothing looked abnormal.

Even if you reused the old hardware it shouldn't squeal. Pull all the hardware out, clean with wire brush and wipe down, then use brake grease on hardware and all contact points of pad backing plates.

[fkheath]

Long life hard pads, like the ceramic you bought, have a tendency to squeal. Just the nature of the beast. Just be sure to use high temp brake grease as suggested above, especially on the back of the pads.

[Too Stroked]

In addition to the good advice you've already received above, I'd ask how you bedded the new brakes in after installation. In many, many instances, detailed bedding in procedures don't really have to be followed. In certain instances - particularly with high performance hardware - proper bedding is critical. I won't go into the details because there are more than enough videos out there, but this might also be an issue.

One last thought. Certain pad and rotor combinations just don't seem to play well together. My T4R (when new) had a rather nasty brake squeal when cold. The dealership cheerfully replaced the front pads and rotors with new OEM parts, but the problem returned within a few thousand miles. I took matters into my own hands and replaced the pads with premium aftermarket pads. Problem solved.

[Greenlawnracing]

Originally Posted by Too Stroked

In addition to the good advice you've already received above, I'd ask how you bedded the new brakes in after installation. In many, many instances, detailed bedding in procedures don't really have to be followed. In certain instances - particularly with high performance hardware - proper bedding is critical. I won't go into the details because there are more than enough videos out there, but this might also be an issue.

One last thought. Certain pad and rotor combinations just don't seem to play well together. My T4R (when new) had a rather nasty brake squeal when cold. The dealership cheerfully replaced the front pads and rotors with new OEM parts, but the problem returned within a few thousand miles. I took matters into my own hands and replaced the pads with premium aftermarket pads. Problem solved.

I followed the "regular" procedures that I've always used - controlled moderate pressure to ALMOST a complete stop, starting around 50 mph. Never did allow the brakes to completely rest on the rotor.

To your second point, I do wonder if perhaps the OEM rotors just don't like the new pads?

[Jetboy]

FWIW - I had the dealer do a brake job on mine at about 60k. I rarely have the dealer do any work, but i was busy and it was cheap enough. HUGE mistake. They used the cheap Toyota pads that are not same as OEM. Squeaked like hell. I took it back and made them re-do it. I wonder if its an issue with the ceramic pads on OEM rotors that don't play well together with respect to noise.

[RobS10]

Been a while since I've done a brake job myself, but seems to me there is a blue anti-squeak paste you put on the brake pad backing plate. Never heard of using grease, but not a mechanic.

[Too Stroked]

Originally Posted by RobS10

Never heard of using grease, but not a mechanic.

It's not actually grease. (That would be very bad for braking.) Toyota recommends a special high temperature lubricant that my son (a Toyota Tech.) uses on every brake job he does. Just a dab where the ears of the pads ride in the fit kit on the caliper. He also uses it on the pins that hold the brake pads in on certain models like the Tacoma and 4Runner. There is also a different special lubricant for use on the sliders that allow the caliper to float.

[RobS10]

Originally Posted by Too Stroked

It's not actually grease. (That would be very bad for braking.) Toyota recommends a special high temperature lubricant that my son (a Toyota Tech.) uses on every brake job he does. Just a dab where the ears of the pads ride in the fit kit on the caliper. He also uses it on the pins that hold the brake pads in on certain models like the Tacoma and 4Runner. There is also a different special lubricant for use on the sliders that allow the caliper to float.

Thanks, good info!

[Too Stroked]

Originally Posted by Greenlawnracing

I followed the "regular" procedures that I've always used - controlled moderate pressure to ALMOST a complete stop, starting around 50 mph. Never did allow the brakes to completely rest on the rotor.

To your second point, I do wonder if perhaps the OEM rotors just don't like the new pads?

The bedding process you describe should do just fine, so that's probably not it.

Did the pads you installed have separate anti-vibration pads that go between the back of the pad and the piston? (Some folks don't know it, but brake squeal is actually a very high frequency vibration of the pads.) Some pads have separate pieces, but most are now bonding them directly to the back of the pads because so many people didn't know what they were and simply tossed them out.

[MasterFoo]

I recently changed mine with the OEM blue pads. They have been great! Reused hardware and I did not use any anti-seize type lubes. They have a good bite and are quiet.

[Greenlawnracing]

Originally Posted by Too Stroked

The bedding process you describe should do just fine, so that's probably not it.

Did the pads you installed have separate anti-vibration pads that go between the back of the pad and the piston? (Some folks don't know it, but brake squeal is actually a very high frequency vibration of the pads.) Some pads have separate pieces, but most are now bonding them directly to the back of the pads because so many people didn't know what they were and simply tossed them out.

IIRC they did not have a separate anti vibration pad, it is bonded directly to it. I found a picture I took during the install that leads me to believe that my memory is correct. I also noticed on the box that it says "hardware included if specified by OEM". HA!

Re grease - I grabbed some of this that I was going to put on the back of the pads along with some regular bearing grease on the slides. Please let me know if your son advises differently.

https://www.autozone.com/greases-and...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I'm guessing that if a new hardware kit and some brake grease doesn't do it I'll need to toss my new pads and buy some OEM ones? For reference, this is what I used:


https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-...976/887808_0_0

When I looked them up I noticed for $10 more you'd get some that include a hardware kit, which I just paid like $20 for!

[Bry n]

Fun fact.. apparently there is another OEM ceramic pad that Toyota has that is cheaper and softer, but it will wear faster… BUT it solved any intermittent sounds in cold weather. I only found out about these pads because I asked for the pads by the recommended part number for the 4Runner but they were sold out on those.. but the parts managers told me about this alternative that fits but isn’t listed on there site as compatible. Paired it with new OEM rotors. Installed myself per standard procedure.

[Too Stroked]

Originally Posted by Greenlawnracing

IIRC they did not have a separate anti vibration pad, it is bonded directly to it. I found a picture I took during the install that leads me to believe that my memory is correct. I also noticed on the box that it says "hardware included if specified by OEM". HA!

Re grease - I grabbed some of this that I was going to put on the back of the pads along with some regular bearing grease on the slides. Please let me know if your son advises differently.

https://www.autozone.com/greases-and...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I'm guessing that if a new hardware kit and some brake grease doesn't do it I'll need to toss my new pads and buy some OEM ones? For reference, this is what I used:


https://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-...976/887808_0_0

When I looked them up I noticed for $10 more you'd get some that include a hardware kit, which I just paid like $20 for!

First, do not use standard bearing grease - or any other regular grease for that matter - on brakes. The high heat generated in the system will cause the grease to break down (bad) and possibly run down on the friction surfaces (even worse). Here are the only two products my son recommends for use on Toyota brakes:



As for the hardware kits - Toyota calls them Fit Kits - my son had some more advice based on personal experience. He does not recommend or use aftermarket hardware due to poor fitting parts. He got burned a couple of times on his own car and a few others he worked on and had to install the OEM Fit Kits later to rectify hanging pad issues.

[Too Stroked]

Originally Posted by Bry n

Fun fact.. apparently there is another OEM ceramic pad that Toyota has that is cheaper and softer, but it will wear faster… BUT it solved any intermittent sounds in cold weather. I only found out about these pads because I asked for the pads by the recommended part number for the 4Runner but they were sold out on those.. but the parts managers told me about this alternative that fits but isn’t listed on there site as compatible. Paired it with new OEM rotors. Installed myself per standard procedure.

I talked to our Parts Manager last year about alternate OEM pads and he had quite the story. Apparently, the OEM pads are fairly expensive when compared with aftermarket alternatives and people were complaining to Toyota. So, Toyota came out with several less expensive pad options to compete. The downside is that they don't last nearly as long. (This neatly explains why the original pads in my 2006 xB lasted 78,000 miles and the replacement Toyota pads I got from another dealership only lasted 49,000 miles. I then got the "good ones" to replace them) Once again, you get what you pay for.