"That 3000 dollar brake issue"

D

Direwolf82

New member
So I found an 03 limited v8 near me. 250k miles on it, supposed to look good on the frame and body.
The guy is selling because there shop said it was the standard 3000 dollar brake issue that every one of the 4runners get.
What the h are they taking about?
I'd like to get it as a backup just because but not sure what they are talking about. Do we all have massive and expensive brake issues I've never heard about?
 
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Buy it if it's just the brakes.

Brake issue is common but it's about 800 in total parts. Even replacing the master cylinder will put you at 1500 to 1600 tops.

Usually it's the calipers which are seized, I've yet to hear about the master cylinder being a common issue.

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3000 dollar brake issue that every 4Runner get?

Definitely a seized caliper problem, but that is easily fixed by getting new calipers and having a shop (or yourself) do it. Calipers/rotors/pads should come in under $1K (depending on what brand you ge)

Or go to the dealer and have them do and getting charged those $3000 (insert Scotty Kilmer laughing here).
 
If you end up replacing the calipers, look up the 5th gen caliper upgrade. No reason to put a part on that will fail again when there is a process to put a better part on.
 
theyre prob referring to the brake actuator thing you hear when starting the vehicle behind the dash. its integral to various systems if i remember right and is expensive.
 
Yeah, DON'T do the 5th gen caliper upgrade, it's not worth it. Not objectively that is. (no increase in braking, does NOT rid yourself of future seizures)
 
Frozen caliber is pretty standard fix... they might be referring to the needing a new master cylinder/accumulator. I hear that tends to be an expensive fix.
 
Bumbo said:
Frozen caliber is pretty standard fix... they might be referring to the needing a new master cylinder/accumulator. I hear that tends to be an expensive fix.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking too. If someone charges you $3000 to fix seized calipers they should kiss you too.
 
Definitely the complete master cylinder assembly, costs $2000+ to $2600+ just for the assembly depending on where you buy it and then you have labor.... but you might find a used one for much much less at a savage yard..but you need to make sure it from the same year model, somewhere around 2005 or 2006 I think the part changed a little bit and have different part numbers, but I think it mainly the ABS ECU that is different.

Usually the only things that go bad on the assembly is the little electric motor for the ABS pump and or the accumulator to hold the pressure from the pump, you can get a rebuild motor for around $300 to $500, a new accumulator runs around $200, so for around $200 to $700 in parts plus labor you can most likely get it working correctly.

A Toyota dealer will only replace the entire assembly and that's why it costs $3000!!

That all being said you still may also have to deal with seized caliper/s and or worn brake pads and rotors as well, so basically redoing the brakes pads, calipers and rotors, but I would do that on most any use vehicle i bought.
 
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I have done 5th gen caliper upgrade. Works amazing, larger diameter rotor and pad = more stopping power. You can get calipers dirt cheap from the scrap yard or rebuild 5th gen calipers. I had stock front calipers, they were not seized, after upgrade truck felt more like a car when stopping. Stopping distance decreased big time.

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I thought the booster pump changed after 2002. I’m familiar with the 100 Series Land Cruiser booster pump failure and the booster pump motor is interchangeable between early 4Runners and LCs. I’ve replaced mine 2x. Buying the last one, it took the mechanic at the junk yard longer to get it out of the 4Runner than it took me to remove & reinstall it on my LC.

Point being, I would check to see if the booster pump is an actual issue on 2003.
 
DwightS said:
I thought the booster pump changed after 2002. I’m familiar with the 100 Series Land Cruiser booster pump failure and the booster pump motor is interchangeable between early 4Runners and LCs. I’ve replaced mine 2x. Buying the last one, it took the mechanic at the junk yard longer to get it out of the 4Runner than it took me to remove & reinstall it on my LC.

Point being, I would check to see if the booster pump is an actual issue on 2003.
Click to expand...

The "booster"/ABS pump electric motor wears out on the 4th Gens, not sure what the issues were on the 100 series Land Cruisers and late 3th Gens booster pump electric motors were, I'm assuming it's the same.

3rd Gen T4Rs up until 2000 had a vacuum brake booster, 2001 and 2002 had the motor/pump booster, 2003 to 2005 had a similar but slightly different booster system and then 2006 to 2009 was again little bit different than the earlier 4th Gens booster system.
 
I agree with whats been stated so far. The seized caliper is THE common brake issue we all get, but changing pads, rotors, and calipers on a new-to-you car should be a part of a good practice to base line any car you buy. I did that work myself for $300 in parts with a kit from RockAuto.

The Master Cylinder assembly seems to be the problem here with a $3k price tag, but as its been stated if you're willing to do the work yourself and can find a cheap one for the $300 to $700 range. I think you have the potential to get a good deal from the guy, just make sure to really emphasize how you "will have to spend $3k to fix it"
 
I did the 5th gen Caliper upgrade on the fronts only of my 5th gen and have been happy with it. Went with Centric Calipers. I live in Florida where the seized Caliper doesn't seem to be a problem statistically. This problem is more prevalent in the rust belt states. FYI I learned recently the 4th rear Calipers actually have larger pistons per [MENTION=75868]Ed_C[/MENTION] . 4th gen pistons are 2" and 5th gens are 1.89".
 
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Ah, booster pump. That's probably the issue. Since it would just be a parts car I probably wouldn't fix it.
Thanks for all the replies.
 
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