Done with these bad brakes!

[Morphyne]

Sick to death of these cheap, remanned calipers. I buy my from autozone and they have a lifetime warranty. Which means every few years I have one fail and i replace it and i get a free one from autozone. Well this time it almost stranded/killed my wife. She didn't know it but the seal blew on one of her caliper pistons and left her stranded. Thank God she was paying attention and stopped before she couldn't. I drove out to her and limped it home with combo of e-braking, downshifting , and sparingly using what was left in the brake lines to get it home. So I replaced it, refilled the master, and bled it but now I am shopping for GOOD calipers. This is GX470 so it has the big brakes on it. Is the centric 5th option the way to go?

Oh and PS the brake fluid are the finish off of her rim. So I'm getting some fn fxpros for it soon....

 

[gookies]

Curious, isn't there a beep or some sort of alarm noise if there's a problem with the brake system when it runs low on brake fluid?

 

[Morphyne]

Curious, isn't there a beep or some sort of alarm noise if there's a problem with the brake system when it runs low on brake fluid?

She did get lights. All of them. But its the same damn lights if you gas cap is loose or the if the car was on fire. She called me about it on her way home (she was 30-40 min away). She said everything drive fine when the lights came on so I had her keep coming.

 

[simple]

She did get lights. All of them. But its the same damn lights if you gas cap is loose or the if the car was on fire. She called me about it on her way home (she was 30-40 min away). She said everything drive fine when the lights came on so I had her keep coming.

When my ABS computer fried I had a terrible continuous buzzer go off. I also lost my brakes. I’m surprised that with a fluid loss she didn’t get that tone. Scary.

 

[Morphyne]

When my ABS computer fried I had a terrible continuous buzzer go off. I also lost my brakes. I’m surprised that with a fluid loss she didn’t get that tone. Scary.

Yeah wow. No buzzer.

 

[derekdevasia]

Sick to death of these cheap, remanned calipers. I buy my from autozone and they have a lifetime warranty. Which means every few years I have one fail and i replace it and i get a free one from autozone. Well this time it almost stranded/killed my wife. She didn't know it but the seal blew on one of her caliper pistons and left her stranded. Thank God she was paying attention and stopped before she couldn't. I drove out to her and limped it home with combo of e-braking, downshifting , and sparingly using what was left in the brake lines to get it home. So I replaced it, refilled the master, and bled it but now I am shopping for GOOD calipers. This is GX470 so it has the big brakes on it. Is the centric 5th option the way to go?

Oh and PS the brake fluid are the finish off of her rim. So I'm getting some fn fxpros for it soon....

Been there, done that, numerous times from Auto Zone as well. I'm sick and tired of it. Did the 5th gen Centric option, lasted me all of 13 months before both of them frooze up. People have the same thing happening, the centric option actually freezes up even faster. I was in a rush at the time, and managed to get some OEM 5th gen calipers and mounted them, working fine so far, but I'm in a high salt environment, so I'm sure those too will seize sooner than later. Don't wanna worry about it anymore? Get these. The shop that made them had a GX470 and got so tired of having to replace the brakes that they made a kit themselves.

https://www.rr-racing.com/RR-Racing-Front-Big-Brake-Kit-for-Lexus-GX-4Runner-p/gx4fbk0001.htm

Might seem like a lot of money, but it's might just prevent your next accident. This will be the route I go next time, just wish I had known about it before I got the OEM 5th gen calipers.

 

[TowMeOut]

I haven't seen it in other threads either so I'll ask here. What goes "bad" on the calipers that causes them to lock up? Does debris get jammed in the boot or does the o-ring inside deform or go bad?

I was working on my front end a few weeks ago and accidentally smacked a wheel stud and popped it loose. So, I had to yank the caliper/rotor to reinstall it. Since I was already into it I did kind of a mini-rebuild. I pulled the pads and pins, cleaned everything up and lubed them with some of the silicone grease. I pried the pads apart, pushing the pistons into the calipers as far as I could get them. Then I blasted the boots with brake cleaner and looked for any debris.

I watched a video on rebuilding the calipers. I don't believe there were any specialized tools required (big C-clamp??) but it does take some time. Has anyone given this a shot vs going with the parts store junk?

 

[Ed_C]

That's not a bad price for that brake kit. Going by their specs they're using 5th-gen/Lexus GX460 rotors.

SOS Performance also sells kits utilizing Stoptech calipers and larger rotors and even a rear kit but they're several hundred dollars more.

 

[Morphyne]

I haven't seen it in other threads either so I'll ask here. What goes "bad" on the calipers that causes them to lock up? Does debris get jammed in the boot or does the o-ring inside deform or go bad?

I was working on my front end a few weeks ago and accidentally smacked a wheel stud and popped it loose. So, I had to yank the caliper/rotor to reinstall it. Since I was already into it I did kind of a mini-rebuild. I pulled the pads and pins, cleaned everything up and lubed them with some of the silicone grease. I pried the pads apart, pushing the pistons into the calipers as far as I could get them. Then I blasted the boots with brake cleaner and looked for any debris.

I watched a video on rebuilding the calipers. I don't believe there were any specialized tools required (big C-clamp??) but it does take some time. Has anyone given this a shot vs going with the parts store junk?

In this case it was a pistonnseal that went bad. But these brakes overall collect a lot of debris and lock up over time. Usually about ever 18-24 months. I need to start doing some preventive maintenance and getting in there and cleaning everything out with brake cleaner or wd-40 etc...

 

[Morphyne]

Been there, done that, numerous times from Auto Zone as well. I'm sick and tired of it. Did the 5th gen Centric option, lasted me all of 13 months before both of them frooze up. People have the same thing happening, the centric option actually freezes up even faster. I was in a rush at the time, and managed to get some OEM 5th gen calipers and mounted them, working fine so far, but I'm in a high salt environment, so I'm sure those too will seize sooner than later. Don't wanna worry about it anymore? Get these. The shop that made them had a GX470 and got so tired of having to replace the brakes that they made a kit themselves.

https://www.rr-racing.com/RR-Racing-Front-Big-Brake-Kit-for-Lexus-GX-4Runner-p/gx4fbk0001.htm

Might seem like a lot of money, but it's might just prevent your next accident. This will be the route I go next time, just wish I had known about it before I got the OEM 5th gen calipers.

Wow! $1149 for just calipers. Suddenly my family's safety has a price tag....

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

Why not go with OEM parts? I'm sure they'll last longer than anything aftermarket out there.

 

[2000m2]

Don't wanna worry about it anymore? Get these. The shop that made them had a GX470 and got so tired of having to replace the brakes that they made a kit themselves.

https://www.rr-racing.com/RR-Racing-Front-Big-Brake-Kit-for-Lexus-GX-4Runner-p/gx4fbk0001.htm

Might seem like a lot of money, but it's might just prevent your next accident. This will be the route I go next time, just wish I had known about it before I got the OEM 5th gen calipers.

Looks like a nice kit. Cool that you can choose different caliper colors. Maybe I'm missing it, but no rear kit? I've read of rear calipers locking up too.

 

[Ed_C]

Wow! $1149 for just calipers. Suddenly my family's safety has a price tag....

It's another $78.50 for the rotors,I think that's average pricing for Centrics. Plus $44.29 for stainless brake lines, comes out to about $1300 shipped. I noticed the GX460/5th-gen kit doesn't require rotors but they state the GX470/4th-gen kit does, so I'm pretty sure the rotors are indeed the ones off the newer platform.

Looks like a nice kit. Cool that you can choose different caliper colors. Maybe I'm missing it, but no rear kit? I've read of rear calipers locking up too.

I replaced quite a few GX470 front calipers (same as the larger 4th-gen brakes) while working for Lexus,rarely replaced the rears. Not that they're trouble-free, I did replace one rear caliper on my 4th-gen when I noticed one caliper's piston was much harder to compress than the other.

 

[derekdevasia]

Why not go with OEM parts? I'm sure they'll last longer than anything aftermarket out there.

I beg to differ. OEM is supposed to be the best, and in most regards they are. But they're using a cast iron caliper and the piston is made out of steel. Both of which rust easily. The aftermarket ones are made out of stainless steel and forged aluminum.

So yes, new OEM calipers are still cheaper, but they don't solve the problem. There are 5th gen guys that have frozen caliper issues as well.

It's like buying the exhaust manifolds for the v8 4runner. The OEM ones are prone to crack again, and again, so people have stopped buying them and moved to an aftermarket, in this case, "Doug Thorley" in order to not have to do them again and again.

 

[Billynath1988]

I currently run the 5th gen calipers up front with the 4th gen setup in the rear..

After going through the brake issues myself. Ive purchased the full Power stop severe duty kit for the front 5th gen and rear 4th gen with all 4 brand new Power stop weather and powder coated calipers to go with it. Everything appears to be nicer or as nice then the OEM stuff I have purchased in the past. Lets see how this holds up.

 

[Mike07SE]

I currently run the 5th gen calipers up front with the 4th gen setup in the rear..

After going through the brake issues myself. Ive purchased the full Power stop severe duty kit for the front 5th gen and rear 4th gen with all 4 brand new Power stop weather and powder coated calipers to go with it. Everything appears to be nicer or as nice then the OEM stuff I have purchased in the past. Lets see how this holds up.

Think I may be pulling the trigger on the RR Racing setup. I went with the complete 5th Gen Power Stop Z36 Truck & Tow Brake Kit
with powder coated calipers for front and rear two years ago. Doing a tire rotation this weekend I noticed I now have a RF caliper that is now sticking from frozen pistons. I'd rather spend this money and never have to deal with it again after hoping that I wouldn't that last time around.

 

[WMU53]

Rear Brakes 2006

Experienced emergency brake full lock up of the passenger rear wheel on the 2006 after parking on driveway at home. Pulled the rear wheels. Removed passenger disc brake to ensure problem is the E brake. Pulled console to access E brake cables ensuring the E brake is released. Remounted wheels and forcibly backed up to rotate hub. Success on that effort.

The passenger rear wheel was constantly emitting an audible rubbing sound the last time driven. This sound came and went after returning from the Baja. Disassembled the disc brake components. The fixed pad, of the passenger side is worn at an angle of 1mm to 3mm across the pad. The hubs/rotors are rusted on the internal side above and below contact area of the pads. All remaining pads have 3mm of brake pad lining.

This vehicle is used in extreme off road conditions on oil lease roads that are pure gumbo when it rains. When dry these roads, if they can be called roads, are worse than the 25 miles of arrow head road, Hwy 5, of the Baja. Weather in my region varies from +33C to -40C. Vehicle has 155,000 KM. Brakes never looked at.

Toyota is charging $558.00 Cnd. for hubs, pads, shim and cylinder kits. I'm in for this as the OEM reliability has proven itself.

In USD that would be $418 for parts that provide reliability.

 

[MENACE]

I too am pretty fed up with the auto parts store stuff! It would be dope if someone who has either kit post pics, install pics, etc.

 

[WMU53]

I too am pretty fed up with the auto parts store stuff! It would be dope if someone who has either kit post pics, install pics, etc.

Jimmy the car guy has two GOOD U Tube videos on brake service specifically for the 4thgens.

 

[Billynath1988]

Think I may be pulling the trigger on the RR Racing setup. I went with the complete 5th Gen Power Stop Z36 Truck & Tow Brake Kit
with powder coated calipers for front and rear two years ago. Doing a tire rotation this weekend I noticed I now have a RF caliper that is now sticking from frozen pistons. I'd rather spend this money and never have to deal with it again after hoping that I wouldn't that last time around.

Thats disappointing but not really surprising unfortunately. For the price if it buys me 2 years or so im ok with that for now.. After core return it was 230 for all 4 calipers.

Anyway, do you have a link for this RR setup you speak of?