Frozen Calipers - How many others had this problem?

[yotaguy674]

Mine started a month ago...pulled the wheel off and found this...

$200 later and a lifetime warranty from o'reillys and here's the result.

Drives like a dream again!

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[Silver4RunnerIS300]

Mine started a month ago...pulled the wheel off and found this...

$200 later and a lifetime warranty from o'reillys and here's the result.

Drives like a dream again!

Sent from my LGUS991 using Tapatalk

Where are your springs

 

[Silver4RunnerIS300]

My brakes have a spring installed between the pads that spread them.

My plan to combat this common sticking caliper issue is to install two springs instead of just the one already installed like so. Forgive my editing skills.

Let me know what you guys think. I'm sticking with the smaller rotors and 13WG calipers btw.

 

[Silver4RunnerIS300]

Spring I'm talking about for clarification

 

[yotaguy674]

Those just rust away right away where I'm at. Just threw em in the trash...

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[Silver4RunnerIS300]

Those just rust away right away where I'm at. Just threw em in the trash...

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Well just look at the picture up above and tell me this spring wouldn't help prevent this issue. It's there for a reason. Not replacing them is IMO pure negligence.

Edit: Let me elaborate a bit... brake systems are a closed one way hydraulic system. When brakes are applied the fluid goes to the pistons and extends them. There is no hydraulics that returns the piston back. There is the release of pressure and perhaps some some other fluid dynamics involved but for the most part the "W" spring is a return spring which is the main factor in piston retraction in the OEM brake system. It's essentially going to prevent both premature pad wear and sticking calipers.

Edit2: Another thing to note is that the OEM has these springs on the bottom for a reason too.. the rotor rotates forward and the lower part of the pad is what bites and will wear faster and thus uneven without a spring.

Edit3: To add on to the reason for sticking calipers is when you have uneven pad wear your piston is going to be placing the force upon an uneven surface on the back of the pad causing the piston to be cocked one way and voila you have a stuck caliper piston.... all because of a spring.

Now if there are stuck calipers on 4Runners out there with springs I suspect not all pads come with these springs so when someone is replacing their pads and they don't get a shiny new spring to go with it they just reinstall their rusted spring instead of replacing it as they should. I'm done.

 

[GreyGoose]

Had the rear driver caliper go...

Last week i felt the truck being stopped by a caliper and after a small trip I checked all 4 and could determine that this rear driver caliper was seizing.

I got home disasembled the wheel and proceeded to inspect the caliper, I pushed the piston back somewhat easily and checked the break pads guides... they were a bit dirty but nithing to critical brushed everything with a brush and applied sil glyde grease on the moving components, put everything back and made a few miles trip (thinking everything was OK)

I didotice the jerking from a seized caliper and proceeded to go back home but on my way back I had to stop multiple times. All four calipers have less than a year of use and this is not normal.

Is there an action thread for this issue?

 

[Okie81]

Did pad/rotors all around this morning and had a serious "frozen" issue (and I'm not talking about Disney Animated movies). Both front calipers, both the lower inside piston.

No symptoms whatsoever; no pulling or dragging, although my MPG isn't as good as I think it should be.

 

[Okie81]

^^^^Notice all the iron-like rust in the piston.

 

[jshi218]

I went to do a brake job on all 4 wheels. 3 out of the 4 were frozen. Went ahead and replaced them all. Had no symptoms at all, just would not compress for new pads

 

[pliance04]

Can a frozen caliper or calipers cause bad gas mileage?

 

[AuSeeker]

Can a frozen caliper or calipers cause bad gas mileage?

Appsolutely, moderately to dramatically depending how bad and how many of the cailpers are sezied up!!
Think about it, if your engine not only has to pull the weight of the 4R and then on top of that it has to overpower the brakes as well,
it's a no brainer that it will affect the mileage!!

 

[Whamola]

I knew mine weren't retracting all the way on the driver front, but I didn't realize just how bad it was. Took advantage of the Advance Auto 25% off sale the other week to get new calipers and rotors. My car used to make a clunking sound the first time I reversed (assuming now that was the rotor/caliper stuck and being forced to move). Squealing when stopping, and a very harsh brake. I knew the driver was jacked, so went ahead and did passenger, too.

It's so smooth now I thought I still had air in the lines. Totally different braking experience with 4 working calipers. Interested to see how mpg goes. Have only driven a bit around town so far.

 

[eternalsoil]

I read through much of this thread but haven't seen any really recent posts about where to get the calipers.
I had a feeling I would need to rebuild or replace them but this morning the wife said the 4runner wouldn't go in reverse, brake off and everything. I suspected stuck caliper so I jumped in and gave it a good amount of gas and it did just fine after. Seems to be the rear.
We have a 2007 sport edition V6.
Curious which calipers I should get for rears (fronts later). I don't want to spend a whole bunch, I don't need anything special. Would like it to be pre-painted (saw unpainted ones rusting within 6 months). I want to reuse current rotors too. Saw lots of options on rockauto but some were pretty confusing (centric 142 left and right look very different).
I've done brakes on all my cars and many friends, but not a full caliper replace, I assume it's only 2 more steps. This is our family car so I can't have it out of commission for more than the two days I have off.

TL;DR: which budget rear 5th gen calipers do you recommend?

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[sfb275]

I was so sick of my frozen/stuck calipers bit the bullet and significantly upgraded my front braking system with this. Have about 20k on them and zero issues still feels smooth as glass when braking.

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[djkurious]

Both of my front calipers were frozen on the bottom. Replaced with "A-1 Cardone Reman CARDONE Ultra Premium Caliper w/Installation Hardware Exclusive Weatherproof Coating" from RockAuto. $59+$94 core each.
FYI Autozone sells the springs and R/C type pins for 2.99. I used springs on the upper and lower part of the caliper.

 

[keakar]

just to put this out there, most people never see the real problem and that is lack of lubrication. yes I said lubricate your brakes people

the pads need to slide easily and without any binding on the slide pins, the pins in the picture above are what binds the pads and causes them to jam and then you get uneven piston force because only one side of the pad moves while the other doesn't. this uneven force on the pistons can cause them to wedge and jam in the bore and its all caused "over time" as a direct result of unlubricated pad slides.

most "sticking brakes will work perfectly if you do nothing more then pull the pins clean and grease them and reassemble and "boom" even caliper piston pressure is once again applied to the pads.

now another issue is if you off road and then get submerged then they rust faster so if this is common for your vehicle then its up to you to take the brakes down every 15-20k miles to clean, de-rust if needed, and re-lube the slides. these brakes are not designed to hold up to northern areas with salted roads or taking weekly mud baths and that why all the problems.

granted Toyota could have done better knowing 4runnners often go off road but it is what it is. if you off road then you may as well swap to calipers made of all non rusting materials designed for off road.

 

[Silver4RunnerIS300]

I could see the lubricant helping return the pads.

Also...

Don't remove your return springs. I installed two on each caliper.

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[keakar]

I could see the lubricant helping return the pads.

Also...

Don't remove your return springs. I installed two on each caliper.

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well what you have to remember is the fluid comes into the caliper and the pistons get pushed out, but if anything interferes with the piston movement, then it wants to jam and starts wearing unevenly on the piston seals and sometimes even the pistons themselves. its the "butterfly effect" where one small thing starts a chain reaction of smaller things that ends up eventually with calipers that get locked up.

the springs are just there to stop pad squeak by making sure the pads don't rub on the rotors after the pedal is released. this also cant work right if the sides don't let the pads move easy and freely

 

[kgbagent]

just to put this out there, most people never see the real problem and that is lack of lubrication. yes I said lubricate your brakes people

the pads need to slide easily and without any binding on the slide pins, the pins in the picture above are what binds the pads and causes them to jam and then you get uneven piston force because only one side of the pad moves while the other doesn't. this uneven force on the pistons can cause them to wedge and jam in the bore and its all caused "over time" as a direct result of unlubricated pad slides.

Good advice. Each year, after winter and/or after beach driving vacations I disassemble the brakes to clean and lube them. Not only do I clean the slide pins with a wire brush and re-lube them, but I use a drill-mounted wire brush to clean the INSIDE of the pistons. This is where water accumulates and starts the rust process. Once rinsed with brake cleaner, I lube the inside of the pistons and the seals with NAPA Syl-glyde. Then I remove the pads and shims, clean em up and apply fresh lube to the back of the pads. Finally, I learned from sportscars that you need to bleed the brakes every year, not every 2 years. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and you want to minimize the water in the fluid that is contacting the other side of the pistons.

After I learned my lesson replacing 2 frozen calipers I implemented this process and have not replaced one since.