2004 V8 Limited frozen caliper

[TimelessR1]

Well, this past weekend I went to go replace my rotors and brake pads. I decided to start on the front drivers side. Well i got everything off...the pins took a little extra work since they were a tad rusted. Finally got the pads out, and put the new rotor on. Then i opened the brake resevoir and started pushing the pistons back into the caliper. All went smoothly except the inside lower one!! I was like "what the hell is this!!!" so i went on line and sure enough..the dreaded 03, 04 , and 05 caliper sieze! So I called toyota since I have a Platinum warranty on the truck. I told them i could save them time if they could just swap me calipers, this way i wouldnt tie up their mechanic and garage, and i'd even bleed the brakes...they said they needed to see it on the truck! I said , no sweat..make the appointment...so i put all the old stuff back together and brought the truck in to toyota. I told them to check the passenger side too b/c id be pissed if when i go to change the rotots and pads i find that side forzen too. Well it turns out both sides were frozen...it would have been a $900 job including new calipers. But get this...they wouldnt put on my new rotors and pads even though they had everything off, b/c i dindt buy it from them....oh well,,,i know what i'll be doing this weekend!

 

[Kmvreter]

Welcome to the brake club!

 

[TimelessR1]

Does this happen b/c of design? Most of the brakes i've worked on were for smaller sport cars which only had one large piston, and I never had one freeze up yet. But the toyota's.....the whole thing was rusted and looked like $h1t with only 50k miles on it. My honda that has 110k looks 20 times better...

 

[NCSCOTT]

Is it possible that this is more of a problem in the snow belt or if you live near the coast with the salt water mist/spray???

My 04 has 90K miles and when I changed the brakes @ 72K the Calipers had no rust and the pins came out very easy. I was able to push all the pistons in by hand or with a screw driver with a little extra pressure, nothing that seemed excessive.

My brake problem is it has warped the rear rotors twice. I am on my 3rd set currently and I just put them on 2 weeks ago. Never the fronts though. I use synthetic caliper grease everytime I put everything back together and I throughly clean all pins, slides, shims ect... I also use never sieze or antisieze compound on all the caliper bolts and where the rotor meets the hub.

It is odd to me that it is the rears and never the fronts in my case.

 

[TimelessR1]

I actually dont live near the coast....im about 60 miles in land away from NYC.

i used to do a lot of reading on rotors and calipers and most of the time calipers really arent warped. i read that if you use cheaper pads that are lets say good for up to 700degrees and you go over that..that the pads chemically bond to the rotor causing the irregularities in the rotor which is felt as if the rotor is warped. maybe trying a higher temp pad in the rear? but its weird that they are even being used that much in the rear...usually the braking is like 80% front 20% rear

 

[jlmilligan]

I live in central maine and the same thing happened to my 03. 2 new calipers and pads from Napa $200. Installed them myself. The worst part is when you find out you need calipers after you have already taken your wheels off. Moral of the story: buy all the parts you think you may need and return the ones you dont.

 

[NCSCOTT]

Both R1 and JLM are kind of proving my point about the snow belt. Do your states use salt and various other chemicals on the roads in the winter?? I lived in MI for 12 years and know how hard the winters are on vehicles. I would guess the salt and chemicals are helping to cause some of the problem with the calipers.

 

[TimelessR1]

Both R1 and JLM are kind of proving my point about the snow belt. Do your states use salt and various other chemicals on the roads in the winter?? I lived in MI for 12 years and know how hard the winters are on vehicles. I would guess the salt and chemicals are helping to cause some of the problem with the calipers.

Yeah , In Jersey they def use alot of salt on the roads when it snows! But i'm still surprised that the salt is effecting these parts to the extent that it is. I mean I've owned other cars/ trucks Hondas, American cars...and this is the worst i've ever seen a caliper, much less even other parts under my 4 runner..its like a rust factory under there. My honda that I used to use in the snow till i got the 4 runner still looks amazing under the car!

 

[97hb]

I changed the rotors and pads on the runner last weekend. Everything went smooth until the end. The rotor would just not move. I compressed the caliper all the way and new pads are still touching the rotor. I thought my caliper was frozen somewhere. 4 hours later found that they gave me the wrong rotors. I couldn't tell just by eyeing them, but when I busted the mic out it was a difference story.