What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Congratulations on spelling "brake" correctly.

 

Interestingly TW is better than most automotive and gun forums.

Muzzle break for the win. I take many brakes when I work on my breaks. Because a brake in work is a good time for breakfast.

 

If you guys really want to improve your brakes, dump the rear drums. I converted mine to discs last year and have been much happier. It's not that the drums aren't effective, I just didn't like what I thought was a squirrely feel at the pedal. It's not all drum brakes either. I had rear drums on my last truck and never gave it a thought.

S.O.S. Performance has a conversion kit. To do it right, you'll also need a new master cylinder. I had the work done by a shop. I'm told the only nasty part is cutting off the old backing plate.

 

They keep all the ABS Features?

What did the shop charge?

 

Everything stays the same.

It's WAY cheaper if you can do it yourself. I don't have an exact figure because I had some other work done at the same time. Figure on a kilobuck.

The guys that hang out here were a BIG help.

 

Understood. I no longer have a covered heated work space. $1000 doesn't sound crazy but what the hell kind of shop would do custom brake work on a new vehicle?

 

I did a rear disc conversion on my 1991 Explorer. It was easy enough to do and worth while. I will look into it for the Tacoma as well.

I will admit the one thing I never really liked about the disc brake conversation, was the tiny drum parking brake they have, always felt questionable on the trails or on a hill!

 

Ha! How much money do you have?

Seriously, if you want to wait until after the warranty expires, that's fine, it's up to you. I think I had the work done while my taco was just barely still in warranty. If I developed brake problems unrelated to the conversion, it would have been on me [shrug].

I take my truck to a franchise shop that I know does good work. Almost all their business is repairs, but mid-week they will entertain some custom work (so long as there's no welding involved). I'd prefer to use one of the many independent shops around town, but it's either weeks before I can get in there, or they'll take several days to do a 2-hour job (and I can't spare my primary ride for that amount of time).

I wish we had truck "boutiques" like on the left coast, but there just isn't the demand around here.

 

I NEVER rely on the parking brake (MT here) based on one, bad past experience with the vehicle not staying where I left it.

 

I used a thin bladed wheel on my grinder and went very very slowly along a piece of tape. It was not my favorite thing to do, but it came out straighter than I imagined it would, and I am not good at stuff like that. Take your time and you'll knock it out with ease!

 

Excellent product, and thank you for taking the time to make me aware that they exist. I will be ordering a set!

 

but do you still have full function of the parking brake? any functional compromises at all with your conversion? TC weirdness, codes, or anything? @stevotivo12 has done it nicely. I'll be looking into it down the line most likely. so I'm just asking everyone i see who converted.

 

Indeed what is the parking brake?

 

All functionality is retained. No weirdness.

 

The disc has a "hat" in the center. The drum parking brake is inside the hat. It works well enough, but as I said, I NEVER rely on just the parking brake.

If I wanted to leave the truck idling unattended on a slope, I'd chock the wheels (seriously). One reason I have not a lot of interest in remote-start.

 

Radcliff, KY. Having lifted my last truck by myself I didn't think it was going to take so long.

 

Cool. That is what Volvo has used for years. So I am familiar. Thanks for all the information.

 

Nothing special, 4Runner TRD pro wheels and 265/70/17 falken wildpeaks

 

I live here, but don't have the first clue about lifts, so I would not be much help.

 

...but probably pretty special to YOU!