Going to California, Part 3: Rotors, rotors bo-boaters, bonana-fanna fo-fotors...
 

OK gang, the maintenance window is closing for the cross-continent jaunt in the 2002 4Runner SR5, affectionately known as Maggy.

Today was supposed to be front brakes and maybe, just maybe some new rotors day. I was supposed to be done by early afternoon.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! !

While I did get a late start, I've done brakes on multiple vehicles before and having watched all the requisite videos on YT (Timmy, Roy's Garage and some other dude...) I was like, "OK, never dealt with four-piston calipers before, but whatever..." thus the Goddess of Brake Systems said, "OK chunky, let's see what you have in your emotional fortitude bag today!"

Never jacked up the rig before, so I had my son working with me to line up the jack and pre-positioning the stands where it looked best to do so, following Timmy's locations. Went up without a hitch and settled nicely on my new 6-ton jacks. Never used them before, since 3-ton ones were always good enough for the vans and sedans we've owned.

After patting myself on the back, I broke out ye olde Porter Cable, corded impact wrench and shared the task of removing lugnuts on both tires with my son, since he had never used an impact wrench before. Well, tires did not come off...that's OK, started tapping with the rubber mallet, but was not working. Blaster into the lugnut areas, went inside and had some Clif-bar like thing my wife bought. Waited. Went back out, tapped inside of tire at the 6 o'clock position and they came off. "Whoo hoo!" I thought.

The caliper bolts were on tight. I mean tighter than two coats of paint. But damn the torpedos, got the 1/2" wrench on them using my new 17mm deep socket, slipped a steel pipe over the handle and BAM! Broke 'em loose. Seemed sticky and took a while to loosen them up all the way. But they both came out eventually.

Unfortunately, I don't appear to have a rubber brake line at the very end, where it attaches to the caliper, meaning I needed to be more careful jiggling the caliper out of the way. Since I did not want to have to remove the brake line from the caliper, I removed the clip that holds it in place on the big knuckle arm thing and that gave me enough wiggle room to place the caliper on top of a five gallon bucket. I secured with one of those metal "s" caliper hangers, and failsafe'd it with a bungee cord. At this point, I'm feeling like the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51..."Ain't no stoppin' us now!"

Now, being a Midwestern guy, I've had to tap off rotors with a mallet before, but Yayzus Kohana as my dad used to say! These bad boys were on there like the guy whose helmet was Super Glue'd to the i-beam in the 70s!

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yBNUWpMV19Q/hqdefault.jpg

Not sure I've ever used more Blaster on anything in my life. Their parent company stock price must have risen 30% today based on my usage.

After much waiting and tapping, I finally got pizzed off and struck a grand blow, releasing it from the hub. At this point, I really hadn't eaten much all day and the sun was setting, so I decided I'd go inside, find my rotors at AutoZone.com and after a sammich, either run over there tonight or first thing Sunday morning.

I'll say I've always used the Duralast Gold pads and rotors and they've worked well across multiple vehicles for me. I'm not doing the Pikes Peak Hill Climb or Indy 500, so I'm content with the results and pricing of the product.

That said, in my hour of auto repair glory, I find that AZ doesn't not sell rotors for 16" wheels (318mm I think?) in the "Gold" brand, only the regular Duralast edition. &#$@#%!!!!

Happily, even though Maggy is up on the jack stands still, I have mobility and access to multiple other vehicles, so I can take my time to a degree to find the right rotors. Since I've always used Duralast Golds, I don't want to "miss" on this purchase since she's going to California in a couple of weeks and I won't have access to personally replace a bad rotor choice before May. And I don't want my just-graduated-from-HS son to have that repair and cost hanging over his head 2,000+ miles away from home, in a town where we don't know any of the shops' reputations or integrity.

I can easily hit up an O'Reilly, Advance Auto Parts or AutoZone -- if I settled on the non-Gold edition of the product -- Sunday and finish up the job. OR...I can hit the dealer up for Toyota rotors or maybe order from Amazon using Prime for quick delivery on Monday or Tuesday.

Anyone have strong feelings about their rotor brand and performance or should I follow the old axiom, "Parts is parts..." ???

Many thanks in advance, Toyota friends! :D

OEM rotors are not too pricey. They are decent but a tad big thin so prone to warping but then again so are all the aftermarket ones. NAPA/Riebes sells quality parts too if you have one near you. O'Reilly's normally sells garbage, I only go to the one by my house for chemicals and exterior cleaners and the like.

Depending on the route to Cali there can be a couple downhills that will challenge the braking system, especially if you don't always take interstates.

My favorite rotors are slotted with angled vanes. Not easy to find, I found some way back in 2012 from powerstop.

I do not like drilled rotors, I can feel/hear the hole's edges as braking is occurring, at almost any speed and pedal pressure.

The slots help with water diversion, which I know, "it doesn't rain in California" like the song says but it does lots of other places.

The angled vanes simply cool better than straight vanes. Luck and enjoy Cali!

jg you are solid as granite, my brother. Thanks for the advice.

Unfortunately I will not be making the trip to Cali myself, I'm handing Maggy over to my just graduated HS son, who will be spending about 8 months in Tahoe. That's why I'm so hung up about about "doing it right"...he hasn't done much auto work, but is solid with tools for home repairs and construction. Trying to show him a little here and there so he at least understands what is being done and if someone is trying to railroad him.

Figure his route will be I-80 or I-70, then when he hits Utah area, he'll have to decide which way to go. Happily he won't be alone on the ride. We were told the I-70 route was more mountainous, which is good for the eyes and souls, maybe not so much for the brakes. LOL

He'd love to dodge the heat, but I don't think that is realistic in August west of the Rockies. :D

As a Wyoming native (who's lived in AZ, CO, UT and MT as well)...

I80 is a barren and windy (occasionally so windy it blows semi trailers over) stretch of desolate. But it's fast and flows well. There's a reason THAT is the route the semis travel.

I70 is indeed mountainous, but with a whole lot more traffic and Major potential for road closure. It's also slower with more grades (up and down).

Less experienced mountain driver/heavily loaded or in a rush, I80. If they have time to slow down and enjoy the drive, then I70.

I will absolutely encourage them doing 50 across Nevada. It's some extremely desolate miles, but that's good for the soul too. I've done it by motorcycle (best) and car (easily zoned out). The Air Force guys practicing maneuvers in whatever jets while on the motorcycle was great fun for the hour or so they were in the area.


Can't help with brakes, I've honestly never replaced rotors on a 4-wheeled vehicle before... even my 400k mile+ Jetta. Safety equipment though, so I wouldn't skimp myself (that being a highly personal/debatable line).

I70 was closed , the road was washed out not sure if its open


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I tell people the same thing about how Nevada is quite beautiful, especially in late fall and spring when the mountain tops are dusted in snow over the high desert valleys and salt flats. They all give me a blank stare as though I told them I like eating dirt.

I have spent hours just wandering the highways of Nevada. It's a nice contrast of the busyness of California.

Do you know where, approximately? We're going to have a route planning session in a few days so I'm sure we'll find it on the maps, but I like insider info. Makes me look smart at the dinner table. :D

RE: Nevada, I saw some PBS series on Nevada this past weekend. It looked really nice there. Hopefully he'll get some free time to explore while he's out there.

Glennwood springs i believe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Looks like they got one lane open, but fear more rain could shut it again.

Traffic Moving Again Through Glenwood Canyon For First Time This Month After I-70 Closure Due To Mudslides – CBS Denver

Good deal , couple buddy’s were planning hunting trip out there thats how I heard about it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks for the Wyoming insider tip! We did see 50 on the map in NV but didn't know how desolate it really was. Gonna be a couple of dames in the rig, so we're trying to balance a good route with a semi-populated route. LOL

If there is even a small chance they may get buzzed by A10s or F15s, it won't take much persuading to ride that route.

Not exactly sure what you mean by that, but 50 has very little population or distractions.......

"The Nevada portion crosses the center of the state and was named "The Loneliest Road in America" by Life magazine in July 1986."

Just mean there will be a couple of ladies on the trip and I'm old fashioned, so I am more likely to recommend a less "rugged" route to them. Plus, the gals want to site see along the way.

If it were just my boy and his brother, I'd tell 'em to man up and take the loney road. :D

For the record, to close this one out, I ended up using Duralast "Standard" rotors. So far, so good!