Banjo Fitting Seal- Tundra Brake Upgrade

Ok! Finally had some time to follow-up on this and post up some install pics.

Regarding the spongy brake pedal feel, I re-bled the calipers after some road time and found no air in the system. Removed the pads and pressed out the pistons a bit to make sure none of them were sticking. Re-assembled and pedal feel was better, and has greatly improved over the last 1000 miles as the pads have bedded in. Then again, maybe I'm just getting used to it . I had also installed the new UCA's and adjusted the front lift height, so during the alignment I had the shop check the brakes and they checked out fine. Braking feels much more uniform with less force on the pedal. All this without feeling like the brakes were going to fade or lock up while slowing down. Overall, I'm very pleased with this upgrade and how the fit and finish turned out!

I'll say a great source for this upgrade came from t4r.org. BigFishAllDay put together an outstanding write up complete with specs and measurements for his Tundra brake upgrade. It's well worth the read! I ordered the following parts spec'd for a 2005 Tundra 4X4 4.7L:
*Rotors- Toyota OEM
*Pads & Shim Kit- Toyota OEM
*Calipers (231mm, 13WL stamping)- NAPA Eclipse Remanufactured

Calipers and pads..... My old calipers were the same Eclipse brand and worked without fail for the last 10K miles up until the upgrade.




Fitting the calipers was a bolt-on procedure. The dust shield only needed to be trimmed back 1/4" at both the top and bottom end of the caliper. The OEM caliper bolts were the perfect length.




There was adequate clearance between the caliper and the stock 16" 5-spoke alloy wheels.




Note that the stock 16X7 spare rim fit with plenty of caliper clearance to spare! Stamping on spare rim shown for reference.......




I expected the rotors to slide right on without interfering with the shield, however, they are slightly larger than stock so the shield needed to be bent/pushed back about 1/4" to gain clearance behind the rotors.




I decided not use the banjo bolt mod since the banjo mating surface on the calipers was very rough and the calipers were designed to accept a double-flare fitting. So I came up with my own solution and ordered the following:
*Left and right hard line located between the caliper and spindle for a 2002 4-Runner- Toyota OEM
*Left and right hard liine to flex line spindle bracket for a 2002 4-Runner- Toyota OEM
*(4) C-Clips
*Left and right ~17" custom length brake lines female-female- Paragon Performance

Removing the stock brake line bracket from the spindle:




Flex hose installed between frame and spindle:




Overall view of the flex hose routed between the frame and spindle:




I have to give a shout-out to Paragon Performance. I originally ordered my lines from Crown Performance, but ended up going with Paragon. See the side-by-side comparison below with Crown on left and Paragon on the right. Note that the Paragon fitting has deeper threads and the OEM-type backing plate while Crown has shallower threads and requires a thin washer to be used as the backing plate. While Crown is a reputable source your hydraulic line needs, I thought the Paragon lines were a much better fit and finish, $20 less, and they shipped in half the time! While the Paragon hoses appear to have a smaller outside diameter, they are also more flexible than Crown. Time will tell how they hold up in the long-run.




Lines connected, calipers and pads installed!




Finished product! The 4-Runner brackets and hard lines were a perfect fit and an easy bolt-on procedure. I would like to have used a 4-Runner hose, however, the hose to hardline connection on the Tacoma is located on the top of the frame, rather than the side as on the 4-runner. An extra several inches of hose length was required for everything to fit up properly. The hose doesn't appear to be touching anything, though I'll check back in a few months for witness marks. Otherwise, this setup is identical to that of a third generation 4-Runner.




The only issue I see with using the hard line vs. banjo fittings is interference issues if I ever decide to go with a true coilover setup such as a King, Icon or Racerunner. At full lock, the hard line is less than an inch from the shock mount. Would love to hear from 4-Runner folks who are running coilovers and whether they had to modify the hard line where it connects to the caliper.

 

sub'd

 

Very nice, like that hard line setup!

 

Thank you! I appreciate yours and everyone's help with this. Definitely enjoying the mod!

 

I just used the 4runner hard lines from the frame to the caliper. Welded the tab at the frame.

 

Thanks for the write up. I'm making this my next project.

 

Kinda off topic but.....


Just did this install today with Napa 13wl calipers and Napa rotors. Got ceramic pads from Advance Auto. He told me they were OEM. They came with pins and clips but no shims. Buddy that is pretty mechanically smart told me that some systems do not use shims. Put everything together but can not drive the truck until Sunday morning due to being on a 48 hr shift. Did I miss something? Did I screw up and not get the shims?

 

I believe that some pads are sold without shims by design, like Wagner "Thermoquiet".

 

Bumping an older thread and GREAT write up. I've recently purchased 2003 quad cab 4x4 and want to do the 231 mm swap as well. I love the hard line setup and want to go that route as well. This is now my 4th Toyota over the last 20 years of ownership and I've come to realize that there is a reason behind EVERYTHING they do and I try to go OEM whenever possible. With that said, by doing this swap with the hardlines, we're in essence duplicating the 2002 4 runner setup, correct? Instead of having to order custom braided lines to go from the chassis to the hardlines, could we not order a braided set for a 2002 4 Runner and come out cheaper?

Edit: read above post again and answered my own question.

 

An easy option that some may want to consider (By the time I found out about it, I was already too deep into gathering parts myself).

http://www.lceperformance.com/Front-Big-Brake-Upgrade-Kit-Tacoma-1995-2004-6-Lug-p/1055203.htm

This kit is the 199mm setup, like what I have; which as I have found out, does not require cutting the dust shield. I wound up purchasing mostly OEM parts from TPS Toyota of Dallas, and will eventually post a full write up on my adventure.

 

Not to resurrect an old thread, well ok, TO RESURRECT AN OLD THREAD. I had a question for the op dusty t. I understand the write-up completely as I've read it multiple times. I really like how you went with hard lines, makes it look factory. This is exactly what I intend to do. %100 like yours. Question i have is do you have a part number for your paragon lines? This is the only part that i dont get. I understand they are female to female, and are 17 in custom. But should i just call paragon and tell them what im doing? Would be easier if they keep a database and i give them your invoice number.. Does this make sense? Suggestions? Ideas?

 

I've been kicking around the idea of upgrading my brakes, just because. I've already upgraded to 16" aftermarket wheels. From what I've been reading, it looks like 16"+ is a requirement for the Tundra upgrade.

Am I ok in assuming that the ones I bought will provide enough clearance?

 

a quick hi jack, would this be a complete "kit" minus brake lines/banjo bolts http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=4752030&cc=1431003&jnid=511&jpid=3

Spec'd the truck out as a 2005 tundra v8 4.7.

It seems like a fair price, even without sending back cores, its just a tad over 400 dollars.
Does sourcing the parts from an auto parts store yeild significant savings or is it around the same price?

 

sub'd.

I need to put the same parts list together. I'll prolly order this month.

 

I found the order list, and it is as follows:

Fronts: 10mm 1.0 female fittings (on both ends), 17.5" length.

The two fronts and rear brake lines were $107 shipped. I only ordered the rear because it was part of my lift project, and needed the longer brake line.

17.5" seems to be spot on for travel and turning articulation. Please keep in mind I have a 2.5" lift up front, with Light Racing UCA's, which gives me about a half inch more downtravel. Overall, you should be good with this length regardless since it needs to be able to move through various travel positions anyway.

After 8 months and about 3K miles (don't drive it much), there have been zero problems with the line rubbing, leaks, or other problems. The upgrade performs great and I feel it has been very reliable.

Also, another option that someone mentioned, would be to mimic the 4-Runner setup by attaching (in our case, welding) a mounting point to the frame, re-route the hardlines to it, and use a standard 4-Runner brake hose since it'll be long enough. Or, just go the Wheeler's route and use their lines. I just didn't feel comfortable with how those banjo fittings would mate to the rough surface of the re-manufactured Tundra calipers I had purchased. That's just me.....

Good luck!!!

 

Well guys. It looks like I will have to go with the LCE kit.

I'm in Canada currently and I've tried pricing the kit myself several different ways including the powder coated calipers on Ebay. But by the time I include shipping and the risk of having to return the wrong item it gets stupid real fast.

Next time I need to do the pads and rotors I will prolly upgrade to the EBC Green pads and GD rotors.

Edit: Ok well the damage is done and the kit is on the way

 

Cool, thanks for clarification. Makes it easier for anyone wanting to duplicate your setup. Im not too keen on the welding idea. I dont want to compromise the frame in the eyes of the insurance companies. Im confident in my welding abilities, after all i am certified. However i dont want to.give the insurance company any reason to say any frame problems were my fault. Again, thanks for chiming in. Its going to be a major minute till i do thi. I just want my ducks in a row. I f i recall you said your pedal was a bit soft, then you remedied it. Is it still solid? Soft in anyway? Ive been toying with the idea of a t100 brake booster, and some kind of different master. Again, just thinking about it.

 

Nothing wrong with going the LCE route. I don't believe you get the 231mm calipers, I think they are 199mm. Just an FYI. Probably no major difference either way. They have great tech support, and I almost ordered my lines from them.

roehoe72-

You would only need to spot weld on the brake mount since our frames didn't come with the treaded insert to bolt them in as on the 4runners. If you look at how the brake line is attached to the frame on the 4runner, it'll make more sense. Not necessary as the custom length lines work find too.

As for pedal feel, it greatly improved after about 50 miles when the pads had a chance to "bed in" over time. Pedal feel is great, and while there's a tiny bit of extra travel, it's became negligible.

 

sub'd for future reference going to be doing this sometime later this year

 

FWIW I drilled out the banjo fitting and got new copper washers. Works fine, no leaks. I tried to go the hard line route but I guess I didn't get all the parts I needed so I ditched that idea, put my purse away and got the drill out.

Those damn brakes have saved my ass more times than I can count, and I've only had them on for a year. Stock brakes with 33s are like "I'll stop when I feel like it...."