I was driving in the rain the other day and when i slammed on the brakes to keep from hitting someone, the vehicle came to a screeching halt. When i tried to drive again, it wouldnt move. It was to the point where i could floor the accelerator and the one of the rear tires would spin so i thought one of the drums had seized allowing the other to spin. It turns out that both of the front had locked up on me. I was right by a brake shop with free inspectuon when it happened so they put it on the lift and did not even want to take my money to figure it out. So i left it there and came back with a trailer 10 hours later expecting to have to winch it on. When i got in it just drove onto the trailer without issue. I wrote it off as the abs freeking out on me and a ssumed it had reset itself and drove it again today. It was fine till i about 10 miles and the brakes had been given a chance to warm up at wich point they started grabbing but not enough to immobilize it again. Anyway im stuck downtown till the brakes cool trying to decide if the problem is simply old calipers or a problem with the abs. I replaced the rotors and pads a couple weeks ago and the calipers didnt seem abnormal but the truck does have 255k on it. Is it possible i could have disturbed one of the abs sensors when i took the caliper off and that is the issue? Thanks for any input.
4runner brakes seizing up...
- Thread starter 1997
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the great him
Elite Member
think about what you are asking here... ABS really, the whole point of ABS is to not lock the brakes... you have bad calipers, nothing to do with ABS, you need to get new calipers and with the mileage you have on the truck id be willing to bet those are the original calipers and they have just taken a poop on you. replace you brakes -look into the tundra brake upgrade being as though you have to get new calipers now
PitbullRescuer
New member
I definitely think it's a caliper issue, but I'd be really surprised if both calipers went bad at the same time. Next time it's locked up, jack it up and try spinning each front wheel. The one that doesn't spin is your bad one.
When you did the pads and rotors, what did you use to compress the piston in the caliper when you installed the new pads?
If you have the money, the Tundra brake upgrade is pretty nice. I have the Tundra 199 on mine and it's a very nice improvement.
When you did the pads and rotors, what did you use to compress the piston in the caliper when you installed the new pads?
If you have the money, the Tundra brake upgrade is pretty nice. I have the Tundra 199 on mine and it's a very nice improvement.
The reason I thought it may be the abs is because some abs systems have the ability to trigger breaking in accordance with traction control to stabilize the vehicle. My range rover was like that. I also thought it may be an electrical problem because both wheels lock at the same time and I find that very unlikely, especially how they did it with out any kind of warning. Anyway, thanks for the input and I'll look into replacing them.
Out of curiosity, what makes the tundra breaks better? I thought that the calipers were already designed fairly well with the break apart design and 4 piston system. I thought they were trying to make up for the piss poor handling lol.
oh and I forgot to mention that I used a C-clamp to compress them and did not break apart the caliper to do it. After re installation, I bleed all 4 brakes in the order described on this forum.
PitbullRescuer
New member
Hmm, sounds like you did everything right. I'm stumped. Are you certain both are locked up?
I would think new calipers would cure whatever is wrong but I'd hate to see you just throw parts at it too.
The Tundra kit is wider. The rotors are thicker and of course the calipers are wider to fit the rotors. They don;t warp like the tiny 4Runner brakes do.
I would think new calipers would cure whatever is wrong but I'd hate to see you just throw parts at it too.
The Tundra kit is wider. The rotors are thicker and of course the calipers are wider to fit the rotors. They don;t warp like the tiny 4Runner brakes do.
the great him
Elite Member
well the stock 4runner brakes are marginal at best, by upgrading to the tundra braking system(fronts only) you get thicker rotors that can handle and dissipate heat better for increased braking power/performance. there are two different calipers available for the tundras, one is a 199mm and the other is a 231mm. to run the larger caliper you might need a wheel spacer or different wheels. but the 199s should be fine with any stock 4runner wheel(excluding the 15" wheels). if you do not tow of haul heavy loads with your 4runner the 199s will be just fine.
CanukRunner
New member
jonericdeno
New member
just trying to revive this thread. I'm having a very similar issue on my 97 4x4. just wondering if the calipers fixed your issue
I had a sticky caliper and would lock up, but unlock when I put it in reverse. I was a few blocks form a brake shop so took it in for a free inspection, and of course they said it was a bad caliper on the front driver side, they gave me a quote for them to do the work, which was nice, but I was going to do the work myself, It did not stick again till I got home and I purposely panic stopped it, that's when it stuck again
but for what they were going to charge me for rebuilt calipers, pads and turn the rotors I was able to buy all the parts to do the TBU.
but for what they were going to charge me for rebuilt calipers, pads and turn the rotors I was able to buy all the parts to do the TBU.
gamefreakgc
Elite Member
The original post is 5 1/2 years old so I don't think you'll get a response.
The only thing that can make the front disk brakes seize up is the calipers, it's just tricky trying to figure out which one it is unless you can put the vehicle on a lift, shift to neutral and spin the tires by hand.
octanejunkie
Elite Member
Flushing out the brake lines is worth doing - you wouldn't believe the crap I've seen come out of brake lines
jonericdeno
New member
thank you. I'll try that out this week
jonericdeno
New member
at this point im ready to flush the lines, replace calipers, rotors, && pads. see what happens
DanielSon0331
New member
Did you figure anything out with that? Im having the same issues with mine after replacing both front calipers, pads, and hoses. Must have bleed my brakes enough times to have flushed the system out also. Really frustrating! Could a faulty master cylinder or brake booster cause this issue??? Been ongoing problem on and off for a year now. :mad2:
snydmax
New member
DanielSon et. al.... Had this happen to me after a panic stop on the way home. I was just a 1/2 mile from the house so tried to press on and the back end started to spin out. Stopped, decided to see if I could back down to a safe place to get out of the road, then was able to continue on with less resistance but still felt like the brakes were grabbing. Made it into the driveway and no doubt about it both side's front brakes were super hot. Hopped in 5 minutes later and everything seems fine.
If you found any resolution, please post up what it was. I'm a bit nervous to send the little lady out in this thing until we know whats up.
