Tundra Brake Upgrade Problem

[IBallEngineer]

]Am I the only one that's leery about grinding the wheels?
[/B]
I considered the Tundra brakes when I did mine. I went with stock 4runner brakes and I've never had an issue. I think if you're running stock size tires and not pulling a trailer every day or drive it like a racecar the stock brakes are fine.

NO, I didn't grind my wheels. I made sure I had wheels that would clear the larger calipers. The stock brakes are not fine, I killed two sets of rotors and although I occasionally tow a trailer, I don't carry much weight. This was a safety issue for me, and the cost increase was negligible in my view. I needed new rotors and pads, so the calipers and shim kit were the added expense. Well worth it to me.

:dancin:

 

[cashmoney]

I remember the first time I swapped injectors in my first truck. Spent hours reading and watching videos. Was absolutely confident when I opened the hood, until I loosened that first injector line and lost my nerve. Took me 2 hours to do a job everyone said could be done in 45mins. Fast forward 3 years later and I was doing a 4.5" suspension lift in the driveway with that same truck with nothing but a craftsman 150pc tool set. Fast forward another 7 years and I was ripping the electronic injection off and swapping everything over to mechanical along with a new cam in the driveway of a house I was renting at the time. I put the lift on my 4runner without even breaking a sweat. Brake jobs are cake walk and I look forward to doing them because they are so easy.

Point of the story is we all started off like you. Scared and nervous and not wanting to break our only mode of transportation for fear of the ass chewing we'd get from our parents and not having the money to take it somewhere to get it fixed. Take your time, read about the upgrade, watch the videos, educate yourself on the tools and how to use them, and then go for it. The hardest part of the upgrade will be bleeding the brakes but that's not that bad just more of a pain unless you get something like this Round Universal Brake Bleeder which I highly recommend. Otherwise it's just sockets and ratchets.

 

[I_bRAD]

NO, I didn't grind my wheels. I made sure I had wheels that would clear the larger calipers. The stock brakes are not fine, I killed two sets of rotors and although I occasionally tow a trailer, I don't carry much weight. This was a safety issue for me, and the cost increase was negligible in my view. I needed new rotors and pads, so the calipers and shim kit were the added expense. Well worth it to me.

:dancin:

I'm not sure what I'm doing differently, I've never had any problems!
That said, it was the wheels that were the tipping point on my decision. When I got the truck it needed new calipers anyhow, but I wasn't going to grind the factory wheels and a new set of wheels added too much to the price tag for my liking.

 

[SnowLizard]

I was in the same boat, 1st car that I bought was a 65 mustang, granted I was graduated... but I bought it and I had to fix it. let me tell you, these front brakes are EASY, and once you do it you'll never know.

the price in upgrading it nothing compared in what you get in return... but here is another angle to look at it...


let your parents pay for ALL repairs, keep it stock, but do it yourself. this way you learn on their dime still. then when you're confident in the repairs, you can put your money in area's you know very well from experience.

 

[Supermoney]

So tell them to give you $X for the stock brakes, and then you put another $100-$200 toward it and get the tundra parts.

The tundra 231mm brakes was probably the best and most noticeable upgrade I have done on this truck. HUGE difference and you won't be warping the flimsy stock rotors anymore.

 

[gamefreakgc]

So I want to do the Tundra Brake Upgrade but I have some roadblocks to get through first.

1. When I bought my car my parents agreed to pay for any repairs. Then I started modding it and they said they would only pay for stock repairs. So they are only willing to pay as much as stock would be.

2. Our mechanic, a good friend and works at a dealership says that I shouldn't do it because it costs way too much and it isn't worth it to put that kind of money into my truck. I have 192500 miles currently on my 99 Limited.

3. I could it the upgrade myself but I don't have the correct tools or know or want to bleed the brakes.

WHAT DO I DO?

It's not a "need-to" upgrade. Stock rotors will work if you aren't always stomping on the brakes real hard; the stock rotors will last a decent amount of time. If your brakes are still good (no wobbles at hard stops or pulling to the left or right) then don't do it... yet. Wait until you need to, and by then you might have the tools and means to actually do it!

I did the upgrade last Friday, took me about 2 hours. Now I have a lifetime of experience on my side. But it's an easy Saturday project for any novice. A google search will give you TONS of pictures and examples of this job. Same goes for bleeding, which is a very simple thing to do. I started working on my own car when I was 17 because I couldn't afford to pay anyone. I owned my own shop for 14 years and have earned my living in some car oriented capacity my entire life. Not to say you have to do that, but this isn't rocket science, it's just a brake job, with better parts than what came on the truck.

:cheers:

Spot on. Front disc brakes are actually quite easy, there's only a few bolts holding the whole thing together.

Bleeding the brakes is a two person job though. My wife is kind enough to hop in the cab and help whenever I need to do it, I just let her know when to press on the pedal and when to release so it doesn't suck in air.

 

[skier46er]

It's not a "need-to" upgrade. Stock rotors will work if you aren't always stomping on the brakes real hard; the stock rotors will last a decent amount of time. If your brakes are still good (no wobbles at hard stops or pulling to the left or right) then don't do it... yet. Wait until you need to, and by then you might have the tools and means to actually do it!



Spot on. Front disc brakes are actually quite easy, there's only a few bolts holding the whole thing together.

Bleeding the brakes is a two person job though. My wife is kind enough to hop in the cab and help whenever I need to do it, I just let her know when to press on the pedal and when to release so it doesn't suck in air.

I do need brakes though. That's why this whole thing came up.

 

[gamefreakgc]

I do need brakes though. That's why this whole thing came up.

Ahh, bummer. Well, it seems like your best option may be to wait on the upgrade, unless you have a friend or a forum member near you willing to help out. If you lived near Sacramento I'd say drive it to my place and we'd give it a shot but that'd be a loooong drive.

It's not a hard job like mentioned before, but if you're concerned about time and having the rig down if you can't finish it up right away then it might not be the best option for now.

Unless you just need new pads and can get the rotors turned instead as a short-term fix? That would not cost too much.

 

[EvilMole]

I weighed the options when I needed to change my front pads. I opted not to spend the money on the tundra calipers and to not have to modify my wheels. I got some new wholesale clearance brembo blanks and akebono pads from rockauto for less than $100. They feel good to me and have plenty of stopping power for my needs. Haven't regretted that decision, but then again, I'm not doing anything extreme or towing.

 

[sTraTz]

Its not a big deal really. You take an angle grinder with a grinder disc on and shave off a 1/8" or something like that where it rubs.

IMO this was one of the better upgrades I have done. Night and day difference on the braking power. And you don't have to worry about any more warped rotors. I used to hate driving my 4runner after I had been driving my car because I had to mash the brakes on the 4runner every time I wanted to slow down/stop. Now, I don't have that problem.

The Brake upgrade was the first real vehicle maintenance I had ever done. It was a bit daunting at first, but in the end it was really easy with so many resources around. Since then, I have done lower ball joints, new rad, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs etc and I keep gaining more and more knowledge along the way. The brake upgrade is a good place to start learning these valuable skills if your going to continue driving an older vehicle.

Am I the only one that's leery about grinding the wheels?

I considered the Tundra brakes when I did mine. I went with stock 4runner brakes and I've never had an issue. I think if you're running stock size tires and not pulling a trailer every day or drive it like a racecar the stock brakes are fine.

 

[SnowLizard]

I do need brakes though. That's why this whole thing came up.

I say do it yourself, and stay stock... don't change what's not BROKEN... sure upgrading will be an 'upgrade' you don't have to do later, but you won't 'need' the upgrade now, stock brakes and been great for me so far, I have more important things to do, like fam time/ camping/ fishing/ hunting/ driving... bigger brakes are 'nice' but not needed yet... I'm sure some day it will be nice to have

 

[Chuckles89]

I just replaced my brakes with new OEM rotors and pads. They are amazing! I don't know why anyone needs more than that.

My old ones were warped, but they were also way past the minimum thickness and had a huge groove down them where someone let the brakes eat into them a while back. I also had $10 brake pads lol. The new stuff was a shock at how good the OEM brakes are.

I would just get OEM replacements!

 

[3bears]

yep...oem and was what designed will last a long time.....unless
...unless you do lots of towing where you push brakes to the limit and heat them up
or tons of down hill where you have to heat them up a bunch
...me...I do lots of mountain driving...up and DOWN and behind slow drivers...tourists...who hit their brakes at "scenery" or go into 25 mph corners....at 25 coming out of 55 mph straights.
still I will do the TBU upgrade soon, but my truck had new brakes done by dealer 24k before I bought it.. (pads and rotors).still work great but I did EBC pads and bled the brakes after I bought it. ( helped a bunch but dusty)
but when these go....TBU cause if I need to overhaul the brakes...the cost difference and time will be worth it...but that's me
so my money went into other "stuff"
if you don't "need" brakes....look into other fun mods for now

 

[cashmoney]

Stock brakes here and they work just fine for me as they did the 217k miles the previous owner had the vehicle as well as they do for the other 99.9% of 4runners on the road that aren't on this forum.

 

[Park]

[MENTION=117428]skier46er[/MENTION]

Heres an idea, if you want to increase the performance of your brakes, you should upgrade your pads and rotors. Leave your calipers alone, they work fine. Here is a kit that I have been considering:

http://www.amazon.com/Approved-Perf...r=8-6&keywords=2002+4runner+performance+brake

 

[Konkordmusk]

I just replaced my brakes with new OEM rotors and pads. They are amazing! I don't know why anyone needs more than that.

My old ones were warped, but they were also way past the minimum thickness and had a huge groove down them where someone let the brakes eat into them a while back. I also had $10 brake pads lol. The new stuff was a shock at how good the OEM brakes are.

I would just get OEM replacements!

I needed more than the stock brakes could offer, not necessarily in terms of stopping power, but the increased heat dissipation. Stopping some heavy 35"s was a tall order for my stock, well-maintained and still in good condition brakes. After the upgrade, I felt more confident in my ability to stop.
I do agree that the upgrade is, for the most part, unnecessary for most. But now, with 35"s, some gear and towing a trailer, I have the utmost confidence in knowing I can stop at a safe distance.

 

[cashmoney]

You are someone who could justify it. Majority of the folks on here can't other than not dealing with warped rotors.

 

[LittleCaesar]

If you plan to do extensive wheeling on trails and/or tow heavy items, then I would do the Tundra upgrade in a skinny moment.

If you don't, no real need to. Put the money towards some tools and learn how to change brake pads and rotors, thereby increasing your mechanical acumen.

If a list of tools needed is necessary, let us know.

 

[MTD]

You WANT to do the upgrade but can't afford it. What to do? Stop being ungrateful and appreciate what you have. Get a good job when you have time and then do the upgrades.

Typical Subaru bro.. got back to your own forum troll...

 

[Gadgetguy]

Typical Subaru bro.. got back to your own forum troll...

LOL, can't trust the subagurus when it comes to a Toyota forum....

Ha, posted this before I wrote down what I meant to. I do heavy offroading and drive a few really steep grades daily just to get to work. I agree the stockers are fine and there are things that can be done (downshift, hit OD button, don't tailgate, what have you) but I will be doing this upgrade because of A: Offroading, do it every weekend, and B: Gaining and losing 600 feet of elevation 3 times before I get to work.

I could do this with the stock setup but I want to have my rotors turned as little as possible. The upgrade can be done with a cheap craftsmen set and a jack in probably 2 hours especially if you have a friend to pump the brakes for you.