Installation is pretty straightforward. The 231mm calipers bolt into the exact same spot as the stock calipers, and as mentioned before, the hub diameter on the Tundra Rotors is exactly the same as the stock rotors, so the rotors fit snugly right on the 4Runner hub.

There are a few things that have to be done, and a few tips that might save you a headache or two.

First, remove your wheel. Set it aside and keep a couple of the lugnuts handy. You'll be using them shortly. This is what you should be seeing once you've got the wheel off. All Stock.



Next, I took a small precaution that makes bleeding the brakes after installation much easier. It also eliminates any chance of air bubbles working their way back up to your Master Cylinder / ABS Unit.

If you don't have a pair of Vice Grip pliers, go buy some. For $20 you can get two pairs at Lowe's. For this process, you'll want a smaller set because they don't weigh quite as much.

Take a shop cloth and fold it over several times so that you've got at least 1/4 inch of thickness. Place the cloth over the brake line, then adjust the closure on the Vice Grips to where they close just tight enough to pinch the brake line shut THROUGH the cloth. You MUST put the cloth on the line before you put the pliers on it or you will damage the brake line.



Next, using your 12mm Socket, 6" extension, and a Ratchet, Remove the bracket for the the brake line & ABS sensor from the spindle. This will give you some extra play in the brake line so you can move it back away from the caliper. You can see the bracket I'm talking about in the picture above. It is directly left of the jointed section of the pliers on the upright section of the spindle.

Next take your 10mm Line Wrench and remove the brake line from the stock caliper.

If you have successfully clamped the brake line shut with the Vice Grips it will create a vacuum effect in the lower section of the line and you should have minimal fluid leaking out of the line. I lost 2 drops. Assuming you have purchased some Vacuum Caps, you should place one of them over the end of the Brake Line to further reduce fluid loss and prevent contamination of the line.



At this point, you're ready to remove the stock caliper. Take your 17mm Socket and put it on your Breaker Bar. (This is where the breaker bar comes in handy... if you don't have one you'll just have to Hulk out on it.) Remove the two large bolts securing the caliper to the hub assembly.

Make sure you support the caliper before you remove the last bolt, because it WILL drop if you don't. Remember it weights 17lbs and if it lands on a finger or a toe it might hurt a little bit.

Next, take the caliper and set it aside. You are now able to remove the stock Brake Rotor. First, get a good hold on the rotor because it too is heavy and can smash things if you drop it. Then give it a little tug. It should pull right off the hub.

Sometimes rust has other plans and the Brake Rotor will bond (read RUST) itself to the wheel hub. This is where the Rubber Mallet/Hammer comes in handy. I guess you could use a block of wood too. Just give it a few gentle hits around the outside edge and it should free it up.

Next, you get to trim the dust shield. In order to see what needs cutting, just take the 13WL caliper and hold it as steadily as you can in front of the dust shield, doing your best to align the mounting holes w/the holes on the wheel hub assembly. Once you've got them lined up, it will be clear what has to be cut. Take a Sharpie and make your marks....

I knew I had to be between these two lines on the top....



And right around here on the bottom....



The easiest way to cut the dust shield is with a Dremel Tool. Simply install a cutting wheel and cut along the line. It takes seconds. Alternatively, you could use metal shears, but would bend up the dust sheild and leave a generally messy cut. You could also use an Angle Grinder with a cutoff wheel if you have one lying around. It's sheet metal, so where there's a will theres a way, it just depends on how clean you want it to look.

I took the Dremel route... Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....



Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... All done.



As you can see I then test fit the caliper and it lined up perfectly.



So here's how you should be sitting as of now... All trimmed up and ready to test fit everything.



Your next step is to test fit the Tundra Rotors and make sure you don't have any unforseen clearance issues. Most people say that they fit right on, but mine did not. I put the rotor in place, then tightened it down with two lugnuts (Remember I said to keep those handy?), then gave it a couple spins. I was getting some metal on metal contact at certain points in the rotation so I gave it a few more spins and checked for shiny metal. It turns out the rotor was hitting the dust shield here....



Out came the Dremel Tool again and I put on a small grinding attachment. I used the Sharpie to draw a 1mm line down the edge of the dust shield, then used the Dremel to grind off just that little bit. I tried the Tundra rotor again and it fit perfectly.

One other thing you might want to do at this point is take some Sandpaper and sand all the old rust off the mounting surface of the wheel hub. Be sure to spray it off with brake cleaner when you're done. You don't want any humps, grit, or rust on this surface because it will cause the rotor not to sit flush on the hub. This will result in nasty vibration when you apply the brakes.

Remember to hit the areas that you have trimmed on the Dust Shield with a little paint to protect against rust. I used some Flat Black Rustoleum I had leftover from another project.

NOW THE 2 MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION AND THE MOMENT OF TRUTH.... Are the 231mm Tundra Calipers going to clear my wheels??? I installed the Tundra Rotor & Caliper and the Wheel so I could check it out.

DAMN THAT's CLOSE, but they do clear! (Just for reference, that is one of those small eyeglass screwdrivers...that shaft is about 1/8" in diameter)







Finally, once you've made sure everything clears, it's time to re-connect the brake line, torque the caliper mounting bolts, and bleed the brakes.

First, get your large torque wrench and set it to 90 ft/lbs. Tighten and torque the TWO caliper mounting bolts.

Next, remove the factory plug from your new 231mm caliper, and using your 10mm Line Wrench, install the stock brake line into the caliper. Once it's snug, use your small torque wrench and a crows foot wrench to torque it to 11 ft/lbs.

Next, using your 12mm Socket, 6" extension, and a Ratchet, re-install the bracket for the the brake line & ABS sensor onto the spindle. I couldn't find a torque value for this bolt, so I just went "tight enough".

If you happen to get Toyota Pads/Shims....This is how they go together, and remember to apply a little grease between the layers and on top of the solid shim. (grease comes w/the Shim Kit). If you got NAPA, Autozone, etc, pads then your shims should come pre-installed.

Finned Shim to Pad...



Solid Shim over that...



Next, refer to the picture and steps listed below...



Step 1: Slide the pads into the caliper on either side of the rotor. The pads have holes for the retaining pins, and you'll easily see which way they go in. You will have two pads that have a wear indicator on them. It looks like a metal fin protruding from the pad at one corner. I placed the pads with the wear indicators on the OUTBOARD side of the rotor so I could visually check the wear indicators through the spokes of the wheels without pulling things apart.

Step 2: Insert the "W" spring between the pads as shown in the picture. Make sure the ends of the spring are fully seated within the holes on the pads.

Step 3: Lubricate the retaining pins with caliper lube where they contact the pads and caliper, and insert them through the OUTBOARD side of the caliper, through both pads, then through the INBOARD side of of the caliper. Make sure the top retaining pin goes through the "W" spring as shown in the picture.

Step 4: Insert the small retaining pins through the holes in the ends of the brake pad retaining pins... see the circled areas in the picture.

Now it's time to ... Bleed the brakes. I'm not going to go into detail on it, you could google it and read all about it. I have a few tips though.

1. Hook up about 2 feet of clear tubing as shown in the picture below.... I threaded it through the lower control arm to hold it in place.



2. Get a couple of paper back books, then get into the drivers seat and depress the brake pedal as far as you can before opening any bleeder valves. This is your pedals NORMAL range of travel. Put a few of the books behind the pedal so that it cannot GO PAST the normal range of travel. This will prevent you from doing damage to internal seals in your master cylinder.

3. Draw old brake fluid out of your master cylinder if you desire, or dont. Either way, make sure you top it off to the max.

4. Just before you are ready to start bleeding the brakes, remove the vice grips from the brake line so the fluid can travel down the line and out of the new calipers.

5. Get a helper and bleed the brakes until you see nice, clear, BUBBLE FREE fluid coming out.

THE STOCK SPARE WILL NOT CLEAR THE 13WL CALIPERS!!!! I test fit the spare and there was so much interference the wheel wouldn't even turn. If you plan on doing this upgrade keep in mind you will either need to purchase a different wheel to use as a spare, run a wheel spacer full time or carry one to install w/your spare, or you will have to change TWO tires if you ever get a flat on the front axle, putting the spare on the rear axle and the wheel from the rear axle on the front. 4260135740

And.... the finished product... Sure is purty...



ALBPM put forth an excellent suggestion about including some information on "Bedding in the Brakes". It is a process by which you deposit a layer of pad material evenly across the braking surface of the rotor. He contributed the method that he used below.


Finally, Regarding my wheels:

I am running ProComp model 8069's. They are 16x8's and they have 4" backspacing. The equivalent offset is -11mm. These are one of the few aftermarket wheels that are known to fit over the 231mm calipers WITHOUT WHEEL SPACERS! I am trying to avoid spacers on this rig at all costs, so this made me very happy.

Thanks go out to 4-Ripcord for letting me do a test fit with my wheels on his rig before I layed out the cash!!! I know they worked Rip, but I was still a little nervous. Thanks again amigo!