Changing Brakes on 04 4Runner

[PolkManiac]

I've changed brakes on several vehicles before and they're basically all the same. Anything special I need to know about changing the brakes on my 4Runner?

Any advice on what brakes to buy?

Thanks for your help

 

[Koz]

Stay with OEM parts, if you go aftermarket you''ll end up going back to OEM.

Where exactly is "7th Circle of Hell"?

Koz

 

[toybox]

Stay with OEM parts, if you go aftermarket you''ll end up going back to OEM.

Where exactly is "7th Circle of Hell"?

Koz

For that matter, where are the first 6? :arrow:

I'd stay with OEM also. Coincidentally I just priced these at Partznet and they were $49 for the front pads. How much have others paid?

 

[PolkManiac]

Dallas Tx

Can I get OEM parts only from the dealer? They want like $90 just to turn the rotors - that's insane...

 

[toybox]

Dallas Tx

Can I get OEM parts only from the dealer? They want like $90 just to turn the rotors - that's insane...

Yes OEM only from dealer. And you can usually get the rotors cut at some auto parts/service centers for about $15 a rotor.

 

[sharp4runr]

Greasefingers was nice enough to document his procedures: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11793&highlight=brake+pads

As always, the search tool is your best friend

I agree with the other guys saying just to use the OEM stuff. My 4Runner doesn't see the track so there isn't a need for me to buy "exotic" pads.

 

[greasefingers]

I should edit that Thread. The procedure for changing the brakes is fine

 

[PolkManiac]

I've heard several people mention pulsating brakes - wondering if that's what I am 3experiencing. Basically, when stopping, I can feel the vehicle 'jerking' forward, almost like there's notches or something in the rotor, does that make sense?

 

[iamtwonice]

Rear brakes

Any body ever done the back brakes? Do you compress the piston like the front brakes, or do you screw the piston in with a tool. Some compress some screw. The screw type can be a pain.

How did you get the front rotors off? Do they just come off or do you have to remove wheel bearings and repack them?

 

[greasefingers]

Because this system is not a floating type caliper, you cannot use a large C-clamp to drive the pistons back into their cylinders. I just tapped on the top & bottom of the calipers with a hammer until they broke the rust ring on the rotors. Once the calipers were removed, I placed the old pads back in place and drove the pistons back with a C-clamp, to accommodate the new pad thickness. If you left the pads on there for a really long time, then this method would not work. I still had a lot of pad left on the old ones. I believe new pads are 10 mm thick and I had about 4 mm on them.

I have not looked at the rear pads yet. I will inspect them around 60 K miles.

 

[PolkManiac]

just called the dealer in my area and the OEM pads are $60, sounds like that's my best option, so I'm going that route - also gonna have my rotors turned while I've got everything apart.

 

[biglatka]

just called the dealer in my area and the OEM pads are $60, sounds like that's my best option, so I'm going that route - also gonna have my rotors turned while I've got everything apart.

I've often wondered if it's best to have the rotors turned if there is no indication of warpage or scoring. If the rotors are turned, some material is necessarily lost, making them less massive and more likely to heat up faster and to a higher temp when the brakes are used excessively. They are then more susceptible to warping due to overheating or incorrect tightening of the lug nuts. Will one good turn require another later on? Any thoughts on whether or not to turn.

 

[PolkManiac]

I've often wondered if it's best to have the rotors turned if there is no indication of warpage or scoring. If the rotors are turned, some material is necessarily lost, making them less massive and more likely to heat up faster and to a higher temp when the brakes are used excessively. They are then more susceptible to warping due to overheating or incorrect tightening of the lug nuts. Will one good turn require another later on? Any thoughts on whether or not to turn.

I'm asking myself that same question. If I had a instrument of some sort, I'd like to measure mine to see if they're out of spec...

 

[iamtwonice]

I'm asking myself that same question. If I had a instrument of some sort, I'd like to measure mine to see if they're out of spec...

I can help you to decide. If you had the rotor on a lathe and checked it with a dial indicator guage you would find that the rotor is not smooth at all. Minimal material would then be lost if the rotors were turned and they were in great shape. This would also insure a mirror smooth finish and not pits and valleys your eye would never see, but the dial indicator guage would. A brake job is a fair amount of work, turning them would insure smooth vibration free braking. Nobody wants to do this job twice

Did you know that aftermarket brakes are not subject to strict D.O.T. standards. However original equipment brake pads are. This is reason alone to spend the money. Also in my experience aftermarket brake never lasted as long or performed as well as original equipment pads.

 

[greasefingers]

It is a fact that more mass equals a larger heat sink and hence more thermal conduction. This is the reason why there is a minimum specification for the rotor thickness. If the rotors are not in bad shape, then they can be cut/turned 2 to 3 times before this minimum spec is met.

Since 1980, every time I replace my pads I have the rotors cut. I want flat mating surfaces. I have never used OEM pads or rotors. I have not had a problem with this. My current problem is still a mystery to me, but I will figure it out.

IMO there is nothing special or high secretive about a hunk of steel and the composition of pads. I believe that companies like Bendix, Borg Warner, Hawk, Brembo, etc can match the quality of any OME break part and many times it can be at a fraction of the cost the dealer will offer. Having said this, it is always a safe thing to use dealer replacement equipment; just in case. You will pay more but you really can

 

[p53mustang]

torque value on Lug nuts

Hey Grease,
with regards to the vibration when braking , I understand you just had your rotors turned so this would fix the warping if there is any to begin with. Now my question is (and i'm assuming you did this , just a question) did you tightened the lugnuts to it's torque value ? and if you did , could you please post the torque value (for my own use, thanks). This one I could never forget ,growing up we have a shop where I would hang out and try to learn while helping around to make extra money. My grandfather owned it and I started working with brakes, the drum brakes are not so bad , at least I didn't know they were bad to work with(just a little bit more work and adjusting then evenly is a pain in the neck, not like the disc apply and forget) until the disc brakes came along , however i've been told over and over to tightened the lugnuts based on it's torque value and no more no less, overtightening it will warp the rotors . Well sad to say I did warp a few rotors by tightening them just by feel even if I did the x pattern. When my priveledge to repair was taken away and the money stops coming , that's when I heard what they were saying about the proper torque in lugnuts. Just my own two cents from my previous failures.

 

[ToolmanJohn]

Duralast rotors

I have had Duralast rotors on the rear of the truck for a few months now. No probems like the OEM rotors. No noise either (which was the main reason for switching out).

I didn't do a pad change because there was a lot of pad material left and they were flat and not glazed.

The rear rotors are more difficult to remove than the front rotors.

Before trying to pull off the rotor, you have to use a screwdriver through a small access hole in the rotor to loosen the parking brake star wheel spreader. When the rotor is rotoated so that the access hole is at the bottom of the rotor, you can see through the hole with a flasklight and turn the star wheel.

Then the rotor pulls off easily. Otherwise, it may be impossible to remove, as I found in my case.

 

[ToolmanJohn]

Re: torque value on Lug nuts

Hey Grease,
with regards to the vibration when braking , I understand you just had your rotors turned so this would fix the warping if there is any to begin with. Now my question is (and i'm assuming you did this , just a question) did you tightened the lugnuts to it's torque value ? and if you did , could you please post the torque value (for my own use, thanks).

Torque for the lugnuts is 83 ft-lbs, it's in the owners manual. You must follow a special pattern.

 

[Koz]

To answer the question of always cutting the rotor regardless; I have never cut the rotor unless they show uneven wear or pulsate. Year ago I would cut rotors, now I only replace new and always replace them with new pads regardless of the condition of the pads. There is nothing worse then having to replace rotors shortly after cutting them.

Koz

 

[p53mustang]

thanks

Thanks a lot grease for the torque info, I guess I missed it when I was browsing thru the manual. Thanks again