Bad Brake Caliper

[Mark86]

I brought my truck in for routine service today and I asked the dealer to check the brakes because they didn't feel right to me. They called me back and told me that one of my brake calipers was bad, which warped the rotor as well. How does a brake caliper go bad? Also, is this a common problem among 4Runners? I only have 22K on my truck.

 

[Boaz]

I brought my truck in for routine service today and I asked the dealer to check the brakes because they didn't feel right to me. They called me back and told me that one of my brake calipers was bad, which warped the rotor as well. How does a brake caliper go bad? Also, is this a common problem among 4Runners? I only have 22K on my truck.

If a slider on the caliper siezes due to lack of lubrication , then the piston sticks and holds the pad against the rotor.... this is just one of several things that could of happened. This happened to my VW jetta at exactly 37,200 miles.... and of course , it was out of warranty..... but thats another story.

Describe what didnt feel right... pulling to the side? Pedal felt odd? Please describe more...

Did they replace both sides?

 

[Mark86]

Re: Re: Bad Brake Caliper

If a slider on the caliper siezes due to lack of lubrication , then the piston sticks and holds the pad against the rotor.... this is just one of several things that could of happened. This happened to my VW jetta at exactly 37,200 miles.... and of course , it was out of warranty..... but thats another story.

Describe what didnt feel right... pulling to the side? Pedal felt odd? Please describe more...

Did they replace both sides?

I felt the truck pulling to the right when I braked and the pedal would sometimes vibrate. The brakes sort of had a sluggish feel as well. I think they only replaced one side but they were not specific. They only called me up and told me that a caliper was bad and I would not have my truck tonight because the parts were on back order.

 

[Mark86]

Update: The dealer told me that the part is on "critical" back order. That means that they don't know when the part will come in because there are none in the United States and they can't release my truck to me because it is unsafe to drive. It kills me to see my truck sitting in service doing nothing. I am suffering from 4Runner withdrawl. I don't understand how there are million of 4Runners on the road and how it can be so hard to get a brake caliper.

 

[Sac State]

Update: The dealer told me that the part is on "critical" back order. That means that they don't know when the part will come in because there are none in the United States and they can't release my truck to me because it is unsafe to drive. It kills me to see my truck sitting in service doing nothing. I am suffering from 4Runner withdrawl. I don't understand how there are million of 4Runners on the road and how it can be so hard to get a brake caliper.

Take one off the dealers inventory. But that never crossed their mind. Are they giving you a free loaner since warranty work is taking more than 24hours?

 

[Mark86]

Take one off the dealers inventory. But that never crossed their mind. Are they giving you a free loaner since warranty work is taking more than 24hours?

The dealer is trying to cooperate with me. They said that the service manager is the only one who can authorize that and he was not in today. They did give me a free loaner Camry. There is a dilema though; I am not over 25 years old so I can't legally drive the loaner car. I am now driving my mom's X5.

 

[Coralkillah]

BAD PISTON in the CALIPER

Tried to change my brakes over the weekend and heres what I found.....

Front right caliper BAD! When me and my techie friend removed the caliper off the rotor, he popped off the pads.

FIRST BAD SIGN- Outside pad was worn down on one side only.....one side of the pad had about 1/8" left while the left side of the same pad had about what looks to be half the pad left.

2nd BAD SIGN - When we removed the pads and backing plate, there was some brown stuff that dropped out of both piston cups on the "bad side"....turns out this was RUST! Yes, RUST!!! In fact the entire inside of both piston cups on the "bad" side were thick with rust!!

3rd BAD SIGN - Tried to compress the pistons back down to replace the worn pads with the new ones. The piston (which had the half pad remaining) was FROZEN SOLID. Eventually we were taking turns at whacking at the caliper with a 5lb mallet and drenched it in WD40 and nada!

I got 60K miles and way past warranty, so for now I replaced everything back the way it was and trying to order in a caliper from 1st toyotaparts.

Local dealership wanted 377$, 1st TP asking 287$ shipped (To Hawaii)....

Has this happened to anyone else?

Also, I want to make absolutley certain that the part # I was given is the entire caliper assembly for my 03. 1st Toyparts sales guy was helpful but wasn't sure and only had a fax pic to send. These guys sell the "Caliper" and other caliper parts so I just want to make sure that Im getting what I need and wont have to buy something else later.

Anyone out there have a photo of the entire caliper with the little bent metal tube attached, that screws into the brakeline? Couldn't find one here....I wanna send it to their guy so he can confirm its the part he has in stock.

BTW part # he gave me was 47730-60261. Anyone know if this is correct?

Thanks in advance...ALOHA!

In case you're wondering, I can stop pretty well and I've done some really fast stops (threash hold braking) on street and highway recently. the brakes work but seem mushy.....the wheels dont "pull " either when applying brakes!

 

[toybox]

You can look the part number up yourself at Partznet.com. And I would definitely confirm it as the '03s had two different sized calipers with your Sport having the bigger of the two.

 

[Coralkillah]

Maybe didn't make myself clear....

this is supposedly the correct part number for my 4R but I just wanted to make sure it is the full caliper assembly and not just most of the component and I'd have to order someother small piece to connect it.....like I said, I had checked these parts and all the part #s match for my year and model, it just doesn't show a picture of the part so I can make sure its the exact piece with all attachments that Im already taking off my 4R.

I dont want to order a 300$ part, have it ship and then find out I needed an attachment or other part because there wasn't a pciture for it......Just wanted to know if anyone had a pic of them changing their brakes and maybe had a photo of a removed caliper.

Thanks for replying though....

 

[mjbuzby]

just ha mine replaced under warranty they woulnd do both but if i wanted them to do the other one it would have been another $400 good luck(my left front went bad no rust)

 

[DaveinCleveland]

Calipers gone bad Warning!!

I took my '03 runner in with 72K miles for new brakes. Both front calipers were frozen with rust. I didnt' believe the mechanic. I really thought he was incompetent, so I took my truck to another shop. This is the guy I really trust. He came to the same conclusion. I even tried to get the piston to move myself. Even with it on the bench and using a big vise, penetrating oil and compressed air. It would not move. The things really were a solid ball of corrosion under the dust boot. Not to mention the slide pins which could not have been reused again once they were removed.
There were no calipers in town today Someone said they could not keep them in stock. My runner sits, waiting on parts and I am stuck in a rental car.

As I think back on how the truck swerved when braking hard. At least one of these calipers was frozen a long time ago. These calipers are failing prematurely. I would warn anyone who feels their truck is braking poorly to have the calipers checked.

 

[Coralkillah]

Pics of the bad caliper

OK, after ordering the new Right Side caliper and changing it this weekend, I took some pics to show how jacked up these calipers can be, since it seems we're not the only ones with this issue....at least so far no one's gotten into an accident because of this......

Background: Currenty I have 63K miles on my 03 Sport V8 and this was (2 months ago) my 1st Brake job for the T4R....Right side, Front was BAD,..... RUSTED solid piston cups on the outside positiioned pad which actually froze solid one of them...ths caused one side of the pad to wear more (or less than normal) than the other.

Fortunately, the brakes still held when applied but I put the order out for a replcement pronto,

Maybe someone will catch theirs early and be able to claim it under warranty....

 

[Coralkillah]

Heres what the caliper looked like.....

 

[Coralkillah]

Brand new they look like this.....

 

[greasefingers]

Nice pics. That shows the problem well. The rust on the inside of those piston holes is normal. But I do see what you mean by the thickness of the pads being different across the length. That is obviously a stuck piston. Glad the part you ordered was correct.

 

[kimboy]

Thanks guys, I think I'm experiencing the same problems with my 4runner. One side has uneven ware, and I believe its due to the stuck caliper. I'm still under extended warranty and will inquire if the caliper is covered. I hope they don't blame the pins in my case.

Regardless, this thread has educated me a lot. My 4runner lives outside and is exposed the the North East elements year round.

 

[kimboy]

Alright, thank op (original poster)

I brought my 58K mile 4runner to a toyota service center (not the one I usually go to) for an evaluation. They were going to charge me 1/2 hr for labor if they didn't find anything wrong with the brakes. (1hr of labor is $89 bucks at this particular shop) I think they said this because they don't like to perform warranty work, and cause they're usually full of BS. Regardless, I have a $50 deductable for extended service and a caliper with one thin and one thick pad. How could I lose?!

I was informed that the caliper was covered, but that pads and rotor resurfacinng wasn't. He had some numbers written down on a sheet for the extra work, but I wasn't going to be taken for a schmuck.

I told the sales rep I had a set of Toyota Brake Pads in the back seat (I planned to change the pads out at 30K) and that i was willing to pay for the labor of resurfacinng my rotors.

Sure enough the left front caliper was frozen. The warranty work covers the caliper housing, and I don't expect the resurfacing to cost too much.

I got hosed for the extended warranty (cost), but I'm glad I got to use it.

 

[kimboy]

Update: Both calipers were changed. What a relief. I could hear them cut the rotors from the waiting area, and it sounded like a lot of work.

I ended up paying for an hour of labor and a $50 deductable, but got two brand new calipers out of it.

The cost of the work and material could easily have been $1000 bucks.

It ended up costing me $210 out of pocket. (Pads, 1hr labor to turn the rotors and my deductable). My brakes are quiet and smooth now.

Thanks for posting about this topic Mark86.

Dan

 

[Mark86]

Update: Both calipers were changed. What a relief. I could hear them cut the rotors from the waiting area, and it sounded like a lot of work.

I ended up paying for an hour of labor and a $50 deductable, but got two brand new calipers out of it.

The cost of the work and material could easily have been $1000 bucks.

It ended up costing me $210 out of pocket. (Pads, 1hr labor to turn the rotors and my deductable). My brakes are quiet and smooth now.

Thanks for posting about this topic Mark86.

Dan

No problem. The scary part is I never heard any irregular noises form this problem. I only felt a difference in the feel of the brake pedal.

 

[influx99]

I just spent $420 for two Genuine Toyota remanufactured calipers for the front brakes on my 2003 SR5 V8. It has 80,000 miles on it.

I was in for a brake job, knowing that it was getting about that time, including new rotors and pads for the front brakes. My independent mechanic called me and told me that 1 piston on each front caliper was frozen. I went to take a look myself. The pads had burned down into wedges... all wear on one side of each pad. Obviously I had no choice but to get the parts. You couldn't budge the caliper pistons. One piston on each caliper was rusted solid in the non-activated position, meaning that when I applied my brakes, I was only getting pressure from 1/2 of the calipers for each side.

When they called the dealers around town, it was very tough to find the parts. Took 24 hours to get them into the shop, each caliper from a different dealer.

I called Toyota's 800# and told them about experience. They asked what outcome I would like. I told them that obviously it would be great to not have to pay for those parts. They said I really needed to take the truck to a Toyota dealer for their diagnosis...prior to having the work done (even though my mechanic is holding onto the old calipers.) Not much I can do about it now, I guess. At least they were courteous on the phone...

This has got to be a known problem with Toyota, especially for people that live in northern climates where we get snow/salt. I'm pretty disappointed. I'll be interested to see if they do anything to follow up.