blizz86
New member
Hmmm.. hearing that ill probably not polish.. i dont have a spare car so :roadkill:
Thanks for the vids and result pictures. did you put any clear coat over the decals?
Speedy's 13WL 231mm Brake Upgrade
- Thread starter Speedy
- Start date
Hmmm.. hearing that ill probably not polish.. i dont have a spare car so :roadkill:
Thanks for the vids and result pictures. did you put any clear coat over the decals?
Speedy
Member
Yeah, polishing was time consuming. It looks awesome, but I think the G2 paint will do fine on it's own.
No clear coat over the decals. G2 actually doesn't recommend the use of any clear over their paint.
The decals are very high quality vinyl with a high tack adhesive. The shop I got them from has done a lot of little projects like that for me. I have a set on my Challenger calipers that have been on there for 3-4 years and they still look like new. If they do ever start to come off, I'll just get some more. They're cheap and easy to put on.
Here's the ones on the Challenger. The calipers on it I also painted with G2 paint and it's held up fantastic. I run 10s in the quarter mile at the drag strip with trap speeds of almost 130MPH which means I'm hard on the brakes at the end of the strip. Neither the decals nor the paint have ever shown any signs of wear. That type of driving is much harder than anything I'll put the 4Runner through.
blizz86
New member
Awesome information. Did you polish the challenger calipers too?Yeah, polishing was time consuming. It looks awesome, but I think the G2 paint will do fine on it's own.
No clear coat over the decals. G2 actually doesn't recommend the use of any clear over their paint.
The decals are very high quality vinyl with a high tack adhesive. The shop I got them from has done a lot of little projects like that for me. I have a set on my Challenger calipers that have been on there for 3-4 years and they still look like new. If they do ever start to come off, I'll just get some more. They're cheap and easy to put on.
Here's the ones on the Challenger. The calipers on it I also painted with G2 paint and it's held up fantastic. I run 10s in the quarter mile at the drag strip with trap speeds of almost 130MPH which means I'm hard on the brakes at the end of the strip. Neither the decals nor the paint have ever shown any signs of wear. That type of driving is much harder than anything I'll put the 4Runner through.
Speedy
Member
It wasn't needed on the Challenger, they were baby butt smooth in comparison to the 231mm Toyota pieces. The Toyota ones are some of the roughest I've seen. It's like they were cast with a texture on them.
Spray on caliper paint likely wouldn't hide that much, but the G2 brush on stuff will certainly help smooth it out. You'll probably still be able to see the texture of the caliper of you get up close and look, but from 6 feet they'll probably look smooth.
Polishing out the caliper makes it look powder coated, but honestly had I not just been bored and wanting a project to fool with I'd not have done it.
Spray on caliper paint likely wouldn't hide that much, but the G2 brush on stuff will certainly help smooth it out. You'll probably still be able to see the texture of the caliper of you get up close and look, but from 6 feet they'll probably look smooth.
Polishing out the caliper makes it look powder coated, but honestly had I not just been bored and wanting a project to fool with I'd not have done it.
Bama_Runner
New member
Here's mine Speedy. I finished it up yesterday. These are junk yard rotors and calipers from a 2004. I really wish I had taken "before" pictures because they were rusted up pretty bad. I spent a few hours with various wire brushes to get them looking decent and then sprayed the rotors and calipers in Duplicolor caliper paint. I got the caliper rebuild kit from Toyota and followed your instructions on rebuilding the calipers (thanks by the way). The pedal was good and firm after I finally got them bled correctly. I love my brakes now. I've been driving around for 5 months with badly warped rotors so I was due.
I'm still interested in a pair of stickers if you have any remaining...
Speedy
Member
Sweet man, glad they got there safe and sound.
Shot you a PM. I have a few sets left from the 2nd batch.
Speedy
Member
Well, got the passenger side done today. Can anyone say fluid management LOL
Not too bad other than trying to keep the hard line from dripping brake fluid. I'm picking up some rubber caps to solve that and will do the driver side tomorrow.
Everyone that PM'd about decals, they're going out tomorrow. I have a couple sets left still if anyone needs them.
Not too bad other than trying to keep the hard line from dripping brake fluid. I'm picking up some rubber caps to solve that and will do the driver side tomorrow.
Everyone that PM'd about decals, they're going out tomorrow. I have a couple sets left still if anyone needs them.
Bama_Runner
New member
I wrapped the rubber part of the brake line with a piece of bicycle inner tube and pinched it off with vice grips. I had no fluid loss from the hard line.
Speedy
Member
Yep, that's what I normally do when working with brakes, well I use a thick towel, but I replaced my rubber lines with braided stainless steel so that wasn't an option. I'm going to swing by the parts store and grab some rubber caps tonight so I can just cap it off while I'm working.
Bama_Runner
New member
Gotcha, that makes sense. I have actually considered getting some stainless steel lines for mine. My factory hoses have 200,000 on them.
Speedy
Member
Finished up the project last night. I had a "oh crap" moment with the driver side SS brake line. It acted like it didn't want to go on and I thought they had put the wrong one in the bag. I ended up taking the passenger side SS line off to compare as it went on like butter and they were in fact the same. The driver side just took some convincing for whatever reason so all that slowed me down a bit.
A 3/16 vacuum cap is the ticket for fluid management. When you pull the hard line, slap one of those puppies on the end and no more drip.
I didn't have time to take it out for a test drive last night as it got dark and I like to check things like brake work over carefully in good light. I'll do that tonight and bed in the brakes.
I built one of those hardware store brake bleeder adapters for the master cylinder and it worked like a champ. Hooked up a regulator to the end of it and kept it right around 15-18psi and it made bleeding the brakes a cinch. Whoever thought that thing up is a genius.
I video'd the whole install start to finish and list out how to build one of the MC adapters as well. I'll get that all edited together and post it up for folks to use down the road.
After the suspension lift, and now this brake job, my wrists and elbows feel like they're 100 years old from all the impact gun blows. I don't know how mechanics do it all day every day. They probably have better tools than my Dewalt cordless impacts that transmit quite a bit of energy back to the user. They get the job done though.
A 3/16 vacuum cap is the ticket for fluid management. When you pull the hard line, slap one of those puppies on the end and no more drip.
I didn't have time to take it out for a test drive last night as it got dark and I like to check things like brake work over carefully in good light. I'll do that tonight and bed in the brakes.
I built one of those hardware store brake bleeder adapters for the master cylinder and it worked like a champ. Hooked up a regulator to the end of it and kept it right around 15-18psi and it made bleeding the brakes a cinch. Whoever thought that thing up is a genius.
I video'd the whole install start to finish and list out how to build one of the MC adapters as well. I'll get that all edited together and post it up for folks to use down the road.
After the suspension lift, and now this brake job, my wrists and elbows feel like they're 100 years old from all the impact gun blows. I don't know how mechanics do it all day every day. They probably have better tools than my Dewalt cordless impacts that transmit quite a bit of energy back to the user. They get the job done though.
Do you have any more info on this? Never heard of it? I'm assuming you keep pressure on the master cylinder to help push the fluid through?
AnesthesiA
New member
Those decals are LEGIT! Nice work!
Speedy
Member
That's exactly what it does. Makes bleeding the brakes SIMPLE and easy. Very similar to the Motiv Power Bleeder only it actually seals at the MC. I've had terrible results with the Motiv as it came with the universal MC adapter that never seals right. I guess you could buy the proper adapter, but they're $35 or so and this thing can be built for about $14.
I have all the info at home, but I'll post up some pics and I detail it in the video as well.
I have all the info at home, but I'll post up some pics and I detail it in the video as well.
Speedy
Member
Thanks, they kind of set it off with the paint and all.
