Newbie with Brake Problems

[nineosixdave]

Hello All,

Bought new-to-me 2001 T4R SR5 2WD 1PO 94K this morning.

Did not test drive highway before buying. Then discovered at highway speed the truck shakes. Brakes suck at all speeds. Suspect rotors are warped.

I have all the service records. PO not a mechanic. All service completed on time at a legit shop in ATL. (not dealer)

Last brake job at 86K 2 years ago. Front pads only. No rotors.
New tires at 55,670. 7 yrs ago. Rotated every oil change. Tread still good.

As proof that I have searched before posting I found the following post that speaks to my exact problem. But the post is nearly 10 years old and I didn't see a definitive fix / parts list.

I am going to do all the work myself. Cash is a little low but I only want to do this job once. So I will purchase the parts needed to do the job right.

Truck is daily driver. Long commute with speeds in excess of 70 mph 5 days a week. No mudding in my future.

Thanks for your help. Will be an active member.

 

[MONTYMTB]

Congrats on the purchase, and welcome to the forum.
Have you had the tires balanced yet? Check this thread for good info:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/engines-suspension-wheels-tires-audio-accessories/173-tire-balancing-must-read.html

Also, if you're going to do the brakes, check this thread first:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/94923-hard-find-specs-info-measurements-231mm-13wl-tundra-calipers-rotors.html

 

[nevada]

Hello All,

Bought new-to-me 2001 T4R SR5 2WD 1PO 94K this morning.

Did not test drive highway before buying. Then discovered at highway speed the truck shakes. Brakes suck at all speeds. Suspect rotors are warped.

I have all the service records. PO not a mechanic. All service completed on time at a legit shop in ATL. (not dealer)

Last brake job at 86K 2 years ago. Front pads only. No rotors.
New tires at 55,670. 7 yrs ago. Rotated every oil change. Tread still good.

As proof that I have searched before posting I found the following post that speaks to my exact problem. But the post is nearly 10 years old and I didn't see a definitive fix / parts list.

I am going to do all the work myself. Cash is a little low but I only want to do this job once. So I will purchase the parts needed to do the job right.

Truck is daily driver. Long commute with speeds in excess of 70 mph 5 days a week. No mudding in my future.

Thanks for your help. Will be an active member.

it shakes at high speeds. do you mean only when braking, or just when driving?

if shaking while driving, its most likely going to be a tire/wheel/balance issue. maybe possibly driveline/u-joint, but that is usually a higher intensity vibration, and will also usually happen at lower speeds also.

if shaking while braking, its going to be a brake issue. most likely pad imprinting. the solution is to resurface, or replace the rotors. REGARDLES of the condition of the pads, IF you do that you need to also replace the pads. or you will just end up with more brake issues.

 

[nineosixdave]

Shaking occurs at high speed whether braking or not.

 

[turbo8]

Might want to have the alignment checked too.
Does the shaking get more intense while braking?

 

[Andy in Pa]

Rule out alignment/tire balance issues first. Take it to an alignment shop. That shaking could be a sticky caliper too. I would start by jacking it up in the front and seeing just what is going on. Spin the wheels and if it is hard to spin, a caliper is sticking. This would definitely cause a shake at speed as well.

 

[MosesByxbe]

I had a pretty bad shake going at freeway speeds when I first bought the truck and it ended up being a combination of bad tires and a bad inner tie rod end on the driver side. Remedied both of those and she's smooooooth as silk now.

Balance, alignment, and tie rods if it's steering wheel shake. If the whole truck is shaking you might be looking at driveline or something more serious.

 

[wake_rider]

The front ends of these trucks are engineered to very tight tolerances. I had a similar problem immediately after purchasing my truck: 65-78ish mph had an almost violent shaking. I took it in to a reputable tire shop with the Road Force balancer and the Haweka (sp?) adapter, and that completely resolved the problem.

If your tires are out of balance on the front end, that's the speed which it becomes unbearably obvious.

 

[Irhmsd]

Just had a similar issue but only when braking. Replaced all pads, rotors and drums with reputable after market parts. Problem did not resolve completely and got worse fast. Replaced with OEM parts and all is great.

 

[nineosixdave]

More information

Took it to my local shop. The mechanic got in and drove the truck with me in it. We got it up to highway speeds and did quite a bit of braking. He seemed pretty knowledgeable on the T4R.

Brought the truck back to the shop and put it up on the lift. Raised the truck and put it in gear to check the drive train. No problems there. Drive shaft and all connections looked great. Shake is definitely not coming from drive train.

The rotors are obviously badly warped. Braking really makes the wheel shake. So rotors will have to be replaced.

Mechanic thought the front end appeared pretty tight. He pulled on and spun the front wheels. Nothing sloppy there. The truck only has 94K. It's very clean.

Sooooo... It could still be an alignment or wheel severely out of balance. I am going to start with the replacing rotors, pads and possibly the calipers. I have read the article recommended above about putting Taco brakes on the T4R. I am seriously considering that considering how many brake jobs I have read about on the T4R where the rotors were replaced and went bad again on the in short time. I want to fix this and forget about it.

Once the rotors are done, I'll get the alignment and balancing completed.

Thoughts?

Dave

 

[LittleCaesar]

Replace the rotors and pads. I'd think you can go forgo replacing the calipers. If you want to do the Tundra upgrade, it will run ya about $250 and up. Look for caliper 13WL or 231mm.

Make sure the wheels are properly balanced. Some claim that only a Road Force machine adequately gets the job done, but I haven't changed enough tires on my 4runner to say with confidence such is true. But I think your shaking problems lie in the rubber.

This may give some clarification:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/97331-hub-centric-lug-centric.html

 

[nineosixdave]

Rotors Fixed

Fixed the pulsation during braking.

On the way home from work yesterday I stopped by Toyota and Autozone. Toyota for rotors and pads. Autozone for calipers.

After dinner I did the Tundra Brake Caliper and Rotors Upgrade. The first wheel took about an hour and a half. Did a lot of going back and forth between the instruction post, the truck and the parts. The second wheel took 30 minutes. No power tools other than the cut-off grinder.

Man what an easy, fast, rewarding job. Saved myself $270 in labor at the shop. Highly recommend the upgrade if you are considering new rotors for your T4R.

Followed this thread for the job.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/94923-hard-find-specs-info-measurements-231mm-13wl-tundra-calipers-rotors.html


Even went out at 11PM and did the brake bedding process. Glad I did not see any police. They would have pulled me over for sure doing the 60mph to 10 mph stops eight times down the road.

 

[James_BOND]

I was all for the tundra upgrade but then I read upon this and got me thinking

-> http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...ere-brake-pedal-pulsation-highway-speeds.html

I had the same issue only when I was braking at any speed. I thought that my brakes were toast after two years. I took off my front tires and my rotors and brake pads looked new.

I also ran into the suggestion that slotted brakes work better and don't warp due to higher heat dissipation.

My solution was run brake cleaner and some WD40 to my caliper and pads. I guess what had happened to me was that there was dust or braking debris on the rotor and pads. This caused the uneven braking and pulsation. Made my T4R brake like it had new brakes.

So if you are looking for a quick and low budget possible solution(s) to your problem is:

-> $15 of brake cleaner and some WD40 to clean your front brake assembly (takes ~30min to unmount, clean, and mount both front wheels)

->make sure your back brakes are properly adjusted for even brake distribution(check/search hand brake self adjusting brakes for the rear)
(takes ~5min to adjust them at an open parking lot)

->make sure your upper/lower control arm bushings and sway bar bushings are not worn out/dry. This can cause your suspension to "lock" up and jump up and down if the bushings aren't doing their job. Lithium grease worked for me(takes ~15min to apply grease on the sides and some driving to make it flow. I also suggested to do this along with cleaning the front brakes when the wheels are off, first suggestion)

So a reason why slotted brakes works for some people is because it is harder to get debris or gunk stuck in your pads/rotors.

And I've seen some forum members assume that their rotors are warped when their trucks shake even when they are not braking. The most probable cause to that issue would be unbalanced or uneven tires/wheels.

Hope this help someone save a couple of $$$. But if you see that your brakes are done, there's no way to get around it but to buy a decent set of rotors and pads. The tundra brake upgrade is good if you are towing esp. around long and steep mountains.

 

[dbefovicksvk]

The front ends of these trucks are engineered to very tight tolerances.

 

[nevada]

I was all for the tundra upgrade but then I read upon this and got me thinking

-> http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...ere-brake-pedal-pulsation-highway-speeds.html

I had the same issue only when I was braking at any speed. I thought that my brakes were toast after two years. I took off my front tires and my rotors and brake pads looked new.

I also ran into the suggestion that slotted brakes work better and don't warp due to higher heat dissipation.

My solution was run brake cleaner and some WD40 to my caliper and pads. I guess what had happened to me was that there was dust or braking debris on the rotor and pads. This caused the uneven braking and pulsation. Made my T4R brake like it had new brakes.

So if you are looking for a quick and low budget possible solution(s) to your problem is:

-> $15 of brake cleaner and some WD40 to clean your front brake assembly (takes ~30min to unmount, clean, and mount both front wheels)

->make sure your back brakes are properly adjusted for even brake distribution(check/search hand brake self adjusting brakes for the rear)
(takes ~5min to adjust them at an open parking lot)

->make sure your upper/lower control arm bushings and sway bar bushings are not worn out/dry. This can cause your suspension to "lock" up and jump up and down if the bushings aren't doing their job. Lithium grease worked for me(takes ~15min to apply grease on the sides and some driving to make it flow. I also suggested to do this along with cleaning the front brakes when the wheels are off, first suggestion)

So a reason why slotted brakes works for some people is because it is harder to get debris or gunk stuck in your pads/rotors.

And I've seen some forum members assume that their rotors are warped when their trucks shake even when they are not braking. The most probable cause to that issue would be unbalanced or uneven tires/wheels.

Hope this help someone save a couple of $$$. But if you see that your brakes are done, there's no way to get around it but to buy a decent set of rotors and pads. The tundra brake upgrade is good if you are towing esp. around long and steep mountains.

its called pad imprinting, and its very common. and its the MOST common reason for brake pulsation.