Front Calipers...Frozen?

D

DRich43

New member
Hey All,

I'm sure it's been talked about before but I wanted to see if anyone else has had this same problem.

I tore into my front brakes with the intention of replacing the pads and rotors with new but found the both calipers had frozen pistons...the inside lower one. Now I have 104k on it so I'm not sure if this is common after due time but the same piston in the same location leaves me wondering if something was overlooked in the design.

I replaced them with the best that autozone has...now before everyone beats me up on that decision I wanted a warranty on all the parts including the calipers! They were just remaned oem units!

So has anyone else experienced this frozen caliper issue on ur 4runner?
 
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Toyota 4-piston calipers prone to piston corrossion issues. At over 100K is almost unavoidable. I got Lifetime Warranty reman from Carquest a year ago. Im not worried about possible issues because I get free replacement any time, where OEM stuff will fail and one would have to pay again.
 
Well I've had the opportunity to drive the 4runner for 100 plus miles and I'm sure that I have to tear into the rears now. I still feel the pulsation and assume that the rears became warped over time.

No problem if its just rotors and pads but if I have to replace more calipers im going to be pi**ed!

Does anyone know if a company makes aftermarket/upgraded calipers for our trucks? I mean if this problem is occuring as much as everyone says then the aftermarket should get involved. I would have continued to run EBC stuff but they dont waranty their products like autozone does. Plus im not driving this truck like its a race car and I can plan for an extra 5 feet to stop!

Ill keep you posted as I change the oil tonight and will look over the rear braking system.
 
If you made it to 100k on your original front calipers, consider yourself lucky. My 4Runner eats calipers like Cheetos.
 
has anyone seen this in a 07 or later? I just had my brakes replaced in the front and they had to replace them again due to a warped rotor. The service adviser first diagnoses was a frozen caliber but he was wrong.

I have seen people complaining about them a lot on here but it doesn't seem to be the later model 4th gens. Am I wrong?
 
It seems to be a common issue for the 120 platform around the salt belt, humid zones. I haven't seen a single one in California (SF area) and my calipers are clean at close to 100k.

That being said, a good set of remanufactured calipers are often the best way to go.
 
I am swapping out my frozen calipers right now and broke my 3/8 and 1/2in breaker bars trying to loosen the two bolts holding the calipers on. Ended up using an end wrench and a pipe as leverage.
 
Hi - first day/first post on this forum, so if I'm posting in the wrong place hopefully someone can help me out and point me in the right direction.

Just got a used 4runner about two months ago. main reasons were having a solid safe car and low maintenance (looks good too). 05 V8 limited with 55,000 miles on it. was single owner with extended 7 year warranty clean record. amazing shape - you would think it was an 08 or 09 not an 05. Had 30 day guarantee from dealer. Had toyota dealership do a "full inspection" in that 30 day period. said the car looked amazing.

fast forward 3 weeks and the car failed DC inspection due to front brakes (apparently they test them functionally, different from most places). back to toyota.

the invoice:

inner pistons seized on both front calipers. $975
front pad replacement and rotor resurfacing $422

fuel injector flush $187
EFI (fuel injector cleaning service): carbon build around T body. $170

Total : 1800 and change

Now - I know this is an invoice from the stealership but it has me freaking out a little. Even if this is cut in half going elsewhere thats a lot of money to spend immediately after buying a car.

Waiting to hear back from the used car dealership. They said to bring it back and they would work with me, but definitely didn't sign up to cover any of this as of yet. maybe i can talk them down to just having me pay for the parts but even that seems a touch optimistic.

Sadly, I'm not johnny auto over here. Not completely useless on a car but I won't be doing any brake work myself.

My questions - seems like this is fairly routine on these 4runners, and I know I have to replace the front calipers - but a lot of posts are people posting after they have gotten the calipers replaced. Im curious what the best course of action is.

Is this something that happens with a car this old/this mileage?
What are the best calipers to buy in terms of warranty vs. OEM versus just anything and be prepared to replace them in the future?
Anything else i can do to help prevent this in the future?

Other issues I should worry about right now :
master cylinder problem/replace brake fluid/bleed brakes? can that cause seized pistons on calipers? should I have that done at this time?

There doesn't seem to be any stopping issue with the car currently (drive on highways, steep hills, etc - no vibrations, locking, problems at all). And the brake pads still are in the ok zone. I'd say i have a week at best before I truly have to have this fixed since I don't need to use my car to commute. but i do have to pass inspection in DC before I register which needs to happen in about 16 days.

Lotta rambling - I appreciate the help/your patience with the rookie over here.

Lastly - fuel injector stuff? know literally nothing about this. shouldn't a cleaning include a flush?

Thanks all
 
BlackWorksInc said:
It seems to be a common issue for the 120 platform around the salt belt, humid zones. I haven't seen a single one in California (SF area) and my calipers are clean at close to 100k.

That being said, a good set of remanufactured calipers are often the best way to go.
Click to expand...

mine is close to 100k and looking at service records they've never been changed. I had a friend whose a tech check them out. Said they were perfect. :guitar2:
 
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