Brake "warping"

[Bill M.]

About 9 months ago I wrote in about what seems to be a common problem with the 3rd generation 4Runner. I bought mine (a 97 4x4 Ltd model with 60K miles in terrific shape) last August. The brakes had a vibration that was dealt with by turning the rotors. Since the pads had plenty of material on them, I did not replace them. That fixed the problem- for a while. Then slowly the problem came back. The rotors and pads still looked just fine. I had written in to this forum that if the problem came back I would go with crossdrilled Brembo rotors.

Well that is where I am now. I installed them 2 days ago and the braking is not only smooth, but it slows much easier with less pedal pressure. I went with Hawk pads. I have used both Brembo and Hawk in sedan race cars and both are quality products. I don't know if the crossdrilled rotors are necessary on the 4Runner but I didn't want to take chances this time.

I will report back if the problem returns, but others have told of good results with the Brembo rotors.

In researching the problem I came across some good information about brake "warping" which is not really the cause. Check it out.

www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

The guy writing this knows his stuff. I have 3 of his books on race car prep.
It explains the reason turning the rotors was a temporary fix. It also has a quite a large amount of useful brake information about how to properly condition new brakes.

I ended up buying from buybrakes.com. They were very good to deal with and their prices seemed to be less than other sources.

By the way- I REALLY like this vehicle. It's my everyday driver now. I have even used 4-wheel-drive to get up some fairly steep and rutted dirt roads. It crawled right up without wheelspin. Nice!

Bill M.

 

[panarunner]

I think I might have had an issue similar to that in the past. I was going down the highway on a 6% decline doing about 65-70. I pushed on the brakes because it was a little 2 fast on that downgrade for my comfort (I had just bought the runner) and when I pressed the brakes it felt like it was vibrating really hard. I thought it was the ABS but I wasnt standing on the brakes. just normal slowing down. Do you think that might be warped rotors as well?

It has only happened once since and only when going downhill.

 

[polvadis]

I only seem to have this problem once brakes get hot. I was coming back from a day out in the mountains, and the vibrating started only as I was getting to the bottom. They must have gotten hot from the long downhill. Things got smooth again once the road leveled off and the need for brakes decresed.

I've personally heard of three other 4Runners that have had a similar problems. My mom's '98 4Runner is much worse than mine. I believe it must be a 4Runner wide thing, there is simply too much talk about it for it to be just a random problem.

 

[broncosi]

About 9 months ago I wrote in about what seems to be a common problem with the 3rd generation 4Runner. I bought mine (a 97 4x4 Ltd model with 60K miles in terrific shape) last August. The brakes had a vibration that was dealt with by turning the rotors. Since the pads had plenty of material on them, I did not replace them. That fixed the problem- for a while. Then slowly the problem came back. The rotors and pads still looked just fine. I had written in to this forum that if the problem came back I would go with crossdrilled Brembo rotors.

Well that is where I am now. I installed them 2 days ago and the braking is not only smooth, but it slows much easier with less pedal pressure.

sweet, you just told my brakes life story, just had new discs installed about 4 months about and already vibrating again, i blamed my stock rotors and heavy/stiff off road tires the first time but ill try out the brembos now!

thanks!

 

[ebelen1]

Guys, it's the rotors. They are undersized for the weight of the vehicle. This is most typical when towing and going down hill as one of you mentioned.

Swap out your 4runner rotors and calipers for Tundra rotors and calipers. If your 4runner rotors are already bad, the only additional cost will be the calipers. They'll run you approximately $200 plus core charge. BTW, I went w/ slotted Brembos instead of OEM for rotors.

I've done this as well as many others on yotatech and the braking is night and day difference. I also plan on adding stainless steel brake lines and possibly swapping out cheapy pads for some Akebonos.

This will be one of your best bang-for-your buck mods. I promise.

 

[3rdGENrunner]

I did the same thing about 10k miles ago. I didn't go with crosdrilled as I really don't see the point since asbestos is no longer used in pads to the point where "outgassing" would occur. Anyways I went with the Hawk performance pads and the Brembo solid rotors. No problems so far besides the original vibrations. I'll report more once I attempt the tundra rotor/caliper swap.

 

[8ac1v1c]

anybody have experience with cross drilled vs slotted rotors

I was pondering between the two but can't decide which would be better for the city-driver

 

[ebelen1]

anybody have experience with cross drilled vs slotted rotors

I was pondering between the two but can't decide which would be better for the city-driver

I think slotted is better than cross drilled only b/c there's less chance of someone not doing the cross drilling right and the rotor cracking. For looks, you can't beat the cross-drilled rotors.

Most just go w/ blanks but since it was like an extra $15, I went w/ Brembo slotted. I'm very happy w/ my stopping power.

 

[Bill M.]

Brembo Update

It has been several months now with the Brembo rotors and I can report that they are doing just fine. I just got back from a 2000 mile trip with the 4Runner heavily loaded and the brakes were flawless.

You never know if these things will work out OK or not, but I can recommend these brakes.

And there is no indication that the rotors are "too small". I have had cars with brakes that were undersized, but I do not think these are. Why the stockers were giving me fits I can't say, but the Brembo crossdrilled rotors (drilled by Brembo and sold as a set, not someone drilling standard ones) and the Hawk pads are the ticket for this vehicle.

Bill M.

 

[Spider5]

Re: Brembo Update

It has been several months now with the Brembo rotors and I can report that they are doing just fine. I just got back from a 2000 mile trip with the 4Runner heavily loaded and the brakes were flawless.

You never know if these things will work out OK or not, but I can recommend these brakes.

And there is no indication that the rotors are "too small". I have had cars with brakes that were undersized, but I do not think these are. Why the stockers were giving me fits I can't say, but the Brembo crossdrilled rotors (drilled by Brembo and sold as a set, not someone drilling standard ones) and the Hawk pads are the ticket for this vehicle.

Bill M.

Thanks for the update, got any part numbers for the rotors you used?

 

[Jay]

Anyone feel a vibration while just driving without being on the brakes? I feel a vibration at freeway speeds, and when i hit the brakes, the vibration increases. Just want to know if the normal vibration is also from the warped rotors. Thanks guys.

 

[ebelen1]

Anyone feel a vibration while just driving without being on the brakes? I feel a vibration at freeway speeds, and when i hit the brakes, the vibration increases. Just want to know if the normal vibration is also from the warped rotors. Thanks guys.

If you have vibration when not on the brakes, it could be a few things such as tie rods or bad tire balancing. When you hit the brakes and have more vibration, that's probably the rotors.

 

[Bill M.]

part numbers

These are the part numbers that fixed the problem.

BR35488 Brembo Sport Cross Drilled Brake Rotors $207.41

HB315-669 Hawk Performance Brake Pads $52.37

They were purchased though www.buybrakes.com.
I had to wait a few weeks for the rotors, but it was worth it. The price is for a matched set. There is a right and a left rotor the way they are drilled.
My 4Runner is a 1997 with 16" wheels. There are other rotors so check the chart.
The buybrakes web site has an application chart for "Brembo Sport Brake Systems"

buybrakes.com was very good to deal with and kept me posted on the rotors.
Hope this helps.

 

[chapct]

Re: part numbers

These are the part numbers that fixed the problem.

BR35488 Brembo Sport Cross Drilled Brake Rotors $207.41

HB315-669 Hawk Performance Brake Pads $52.37

They were purchased though www.buybrakes.com.
I had to wait a few weeks for the rotors, but it was worth it. The price is for a matched set. There is a right and a left rotor the way they are drilled.
My 4Runner is a 1997 with 16" wheels. There are other rotors so check the chart.
The buybrakes web site has an application chart for "Brembo Sport Brake Systems"

buybrakes.com was very good to deal with and kept me posted on the rotors.
Hope this helps.

Bill, was it pretty easy to install? I just got quoted $600 to do the front rotors and pads on my 4Runner, so I figured I would do it myself. I don't have a lot of experience and I haven't done much work on my 4Runner yet but I am willing to learn.

Thanks.

 

[jac100]

My 1996 Limited had the same issue of warped brakes. Especially bad when I came down from the mountains.

I wanted a matching set of rotors/pads so didn't go with the Brembo's. Not really sure if it makes a difference, just my personal choice.

I found a matching set from AJ-USA auto parts, I installed them last month and have already put 3,000 miles on them. They're great. They're dimpled & slotted.

Here's the info from my order if you're interested.

EBC Sport Rotors (Dimpled & Slotted)
$220.87
EBC Upgrade SUV/Truck pad
$53.87

I did the replacement with a friend of mine, but it's very easy.
1) jack up vehicle & remove tire
2) Remove the old brake pads from the caliper
3) remove the 2 bolts on back of caliper, they're hard to get off so use some penetrating oil & be prepared to really have to push
4) slide rotors off (honestly, mine just slid off)
5) put new rotors on
6) reattach caliper
7) Install new pads
8) Tire goes back on at this point
9) repeat for other side

Taking the brake pads out of the caliper for the first time was a little odd. I recommend taking this part slow and only doing 1 at a time. There's a thin piece of metal (like a spring, but not wound up) that holds the pins in place to keep the pads locked in that is a little tricky. Not bad once you have one side done.

Sorry I didn't think to take pictures during the procedure.

Hope that helps.

 

[fireteacher]

Anyone feel a vibration while just driving without being on the brakes? I feel a vibration at freeway speeds, and when i hit the brakes, the vibration increases. Just want to know if the normal vibration is also from the warped rotors. Thanks guys.

get your tires "road force balanced" only, mine was like that before i had it done. look it up online, TONS of good info and its the shizzle!