2001 Limited 285K
Member
Finally got around to the Tundra Brake Upgrade (TBU). Used the 231 mm calipers. I needed a brake service anyway so this was a two-birds-with-one-stone activity. My OEM stock brakes were making a lot of noise and vibrating horribly when I was coming down the hills on road trips. I added a tow hitch recently and the TBU is good to have for towing.
Parts
Used 231 13WL reman calipers (C9950, C9951) from AutoZone, OEM rotors, pads and shims, OEM anti-rattle springs, and SB7100 speed bleeders. The calipers I received from AutoZone were different shades of gray, but that's fine. I assume it's so they can tell left from right easily.
Notes
I read the BFAD (RIP Big Fish) mega-thread and watched a lot of videos on the upgrade from a variety of channels before I did the work but it still took longer than I expected.
Schedule / Timing / Level of Effort
Probably 6 hours from start-to-finish with various things that didn't go as smoothly as they do in the videos and a run to the hardware store in the middle of it. Basically, it took all afternoon.
Wheels
I have the "Coke Bottle" wheels at the corners and the same for a spare. The 231 mm calipers fit those wheels without any modifications or spacers.
Issues
A few things that didn't go smoothly on this job:
Rotors Stuck
My stock rotors were stuck on too tight to remove with conventional methods. Removal of both rotors required a combination of 2x8 boards and the bottle jack that comes with the truck. It took some effort and a couple of tries to get everything positioned, but I was finally able to pop off the rotors. Same process both sides. Since I wasn't going to keep the old rotors, I just put the jack piston on them directly when I was on the second side, the passenger side. That was faster. At this point, I have a USA-made 12-ton bottle jack that I keep in the Runner to jack it up and use the stock brown bottle jack as a hydraulic device for mechanical leverage. (I used the stock bottle jack to remove a wheel that was stuck on during my last tire rotation, a few weeks ago.)
Dust Cover Trimming
I used a Dremel for this and it ate up a lot of cutting wheels. In hindsight, tin snips would have been better. I didn't have enough Dremel metal cutting wheels to get through both sides, so I ended up driving to the hardware store with a driver's side Tundra brake and a passenger side stock brake. No problem for a few miles trip but I wouldn't recommend that set up for too long because who knows what might wear out too quickly.
Caliper Bolts Removal
Torque spec is 90 ft-lbs on these. Mine felt like they had been torqued to 150. Very difficult to remove and the position is such that I couldn't get to them with an impact wrench. I thought I might have to resort to hydraulics again but was finally able to break them loose with a breaker bar and some Kroil or PB. I forget which.
What Went Well
I had greased the shims and attached them to the pads the night before. I also removed the bleeders that came with the calipers and replaced them with the speed-bleeders the day before. Especially recommend doing the shims the night before if you have the OEM shims and pads that are separate parts. You're probably not going to want to fiddle with the shims and pads in the middle of everything else when you're doing the job. Having the pads and shims prepped made it easy to slide them right in, grease the pins and call the pads "done" after inserting the springs and clips for the pins.
Needless to say, I used quite a bit of anti-seize on the hubs, for the rotors, and on the rotors, for the wheels, after my last few experiences with being unable to remove wheels and rotors via conventional methods like a mallet.
Bottom Line
I needed a brake job and this fit the bill. No more squeaking and squealing. Haven't taken it into the hills yet but I expect them to be smooth on the way down the next time I go. Thanks to everyone in the forum who has contributed info about this topic. It took me a little while to confirm that the "Coke bottle" wheels would work without any modifications, which was the last piece of the puzzle.
Parts
Used 231 13WL reman calipers (C9950, C9951) from AutoZone, OEM rotors, pads and shims, OEM anti-rattle springs, and SB7100 speed bleeders. The calipers I received from AutoZone were different shades of gray, but that's fine. I assume it's so they can tell left from right easily.
Notes
I read the BFAD (RIP Big Fish) mega-thread and watched a lot of videos on the upgrade from a variety of channels before I did the work but it still took longer than I expected.
Schedule / Timing / Level of Effort
Probably 6 hours from start-to-finish with various things that didn't go as smoothly as they do in the videos and a run to the hardware store in the middle of it. Basically, it took all afternoon.
Wheels
I have the "Coke Bottle" wheels at the corners and the same for a spare. The 231 mm calipers fit those wheels without any modifications or spacers.
Issues
A few things that didn't go smoothly on this job:
Rotors Stuck
My stock rotors were stuck on too tight to remove with conventional methods. Removal of both rotors required a combination of 2x8 boards and the bottle jack that comes with the truck. It took some effort and a couple of tries to get everything positioned, but I was finally able to pop off the rotors. Same process both sides. Since I wasn't going to keep the old rotors, I just put the jack piston on them directly when I was on the second side, the passenger side. That was faster. At this point, I have a USA-made 12-ton bottle jack that I keep in the Runner to jack it up and use the stock brown bottle jack as a hydraulic device for mechanical leverage. (I used the stock bottle jack to remove a wheel that was stuck on during my last tire rotation, a few weeks ago.)
Dust Cover Trimming
I used a Dremel for this and it ate up a lot of cutting wheels. In hindsight, tin snips would have been better. I didn't have enough Dremel metal cutting wheels to get through both sides, so I ended up driving to the hardware store with a driver's side Tundra brake and a passenger side stock brake. No problem for a few miles trip but I wouldn't recommend that set up for too long because who knows what might wear out too quickly.
Caliper Bolts Removal
Torque spec is 90 ft-lbs on these. Mine felt like they had been torqued to 150. Very difficult to remove and the position is such that I couldn't get to them with an impact wrench. I thought I might have to resort to hydraulics again but was finally able to break them loose with a breaker bar and some Kroil or PB. I forget which.
What Went Well
I had greased the shims and attached them to the pads the night before. I also removed the bleeders that came with the calipers and replaced them with the speed-bleeders the day before. Especially recommend doing the shims the night before if you have the OEM shims and pads that are separate parts. You're probably not going to want to fiddle with the shims and pads in the middle of everything else when you're doing the job. Having the pads and shims prepped made it easy to slide them right in, grease the pins and call the pads "done" after inserting the springs and clips for the pins.
Needless to say, I used quite a bit of anti-seize on the hubs, for the rotors, and on the rotors, for the wheels, after my last few experiences with being unable to remove wheels and rotors via conventional methods like a mallet.
Bottom Line
I needed a brake job and this fit the bill. No more squeaking and squealing. Haven't taken it into the hills yet but I expect them to be smooth on the way down the next time I go. Thanks to everyone in the forum who has contributed info about this topic. It took me a little while to confirm that the "Coke bottle" wheels would work without any modifications, which was the last piece of the puzzle.
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