Rear Disc Brake Conversion

You just have bad luck. For most people (to include those who offroad heavily in sad, mud or whatever) the rear shoes last almost the entire time they own the vehicle. I still have the factory pads and shoes on my truck after 5 years and i'll probably get another 100k out of the drums, even with all our trips to moab...

Drums arent as bad as most people claim, in fact most have never actually replaced a set of shoes

 

There's too many variables with heavier aftermarket bumpers, wheels, tires, weather conditions ect for a specific number, but I'd guess 10-20ft.

 

Next Gen taco will have discs. One of my drums warped within the first year of ownership. I'd prefer disc but would not expect any improvement in braking performance. Wish I was driving a small car instead of my Tacoma anyway.

 

I've went through 2 sets of shoes (due to the shoes cracking when the drums lock up and I drag the truck down the street/locker on to break the tire free to get out of traffic), have always cleaned/adjusted properly (even de-adjusted them to give them some play), have had multiple friends have the same locking up issue. Now, my backing plate is bent and the holes are starting to wallow out. Yes, the ebrake cable was not binding/snagged/broken/etc, and I have also seen 3 wheel cylinders blow. Finally blew one myself yesterday and almost had to ghost ride the truck into the trees wheeling. Seems to primarily be a Tacoma thing, as I've ran pre 95 axles for years with drums with zero issues. So, disks are on the way and will be doing line lock/probably a hydro ebrake for fun while I'm screwing around with the brakes.

 

Resurrecting this thread for this very reason. I'm seeing/hearing about more and more blown wheel cylinders on 3rd gen drum brakes, to the point where I'm considering going with a disc conversion (along with big brake kit up front).

I'm at 86K miles which seems to be the range where many failures occur. Needless to say, brake failure is NOT something I want to deal with. On the road OR the trail.

I'd like to hear more real-world experiences from those who've done the conversion. Does it screw up the F/R brake bias? Any ABS issues? How well does the parking brake hold, particularly with the SOS kit?

 

I'd like to hear this too, because I'm gonna do a disc brake conversion on mine too.

 

Drum advocate here. I converted a 1987 Mustang rear from drums to disks-but that was with all factory parts. A 1993 Cobra setup. It seemed to 'fit' the character of the car better to have disks on a sportscar. On a car eliminating brake fade and a little weight is imprortant.

On a truck, I prefer rear drums. They work fine for a truck, easy to service (really not much harder than disks). When they do break they are cheaper. Replacing wheel cylinders is usually a lot less than calipers. I have replaced wheel cylinders on very old vehicles but that was likely due to stale fluid rotting them out.

**********Don't forget one of the best reasons to own drums*************No brake dust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And with custom parts, where are you going to get a replacement caliper? Can't go to Oreilly the night before a holiday weekend.

 

Resurrected thread but this makes sense.

There's a reason Toyota hasn't changed rear drums...they function as needed...and somewhere (I've read) they perform better getting out of sand.

Why mess with a good thing if it works?

Side note: My wife's 2017 Elantra has rear drums and they work as advertised.

Lastly, I remember working on my mom's 1967 Fastback Mustang which had drums...basic set-up.

 

I agree with all of this.
But part of the reason that I'm doing it is just because I can. The parts are all 4Runner parts, and I own one of them too. I don't plan on ever getting rid of my truck, so this works for me. It'll be awhile, but I am going to do it eventually.

 

I'm a drum advocate too. I've had pickup trucks with rear discs, I prefer drums now. The discs are a good idea in theory but they wear faster than drums and calipers are more expensive. An emergency brake as a drum set up inside a disc rotor wears a ridge in the drum which makes them incredibly difficult to remove. I think Toyota has made the right call on rear drums. If you're into modding though go for it. In the end you might not like it though.

 

Hey!

I'm not knocking it...go for it!

I guess I'm putting myself in that position and going against the grain.

Excuse my suggestion not to do it.

Hope it all goes well!

 

Been running the Tg disk rears for 7ish months now, no issues with 37s. Brake bias is pretty much 50/50. Went through one set of pads, and they cost me $25 at Oreillys since my kit just uses s10 brake parts.
No brake fade, no blown cylinders, no brakes getting frozen/jammed, and I even carry my old drum wheel cylinder for when someone else blows one out on the trail.

 

I'm pretty sure I'll like it. I don't wheel or do any off roading in my truck. I got the 4wd primarily for winter. The closest I'll get to going off road is a gravel road to somewhere.

 

Good to know. 7 months is really fast to wear through a set of pads. Also, 50/50 bias seems a little off; shouldn't pickups be more like 60/40 or 70/30? Have you had to hit the brakes hard and noticed the rears locking up?

Again, for the record, I don't care that drums "work well enough". I'm not concerned about the performance or aesthetics of drums vs discs. My drums have plenty of stopping power (they already nearly lock up under hard braking) and all rear brakes look comically puny inside 17" wheels anyway, whether they're drums or discs.

Again, I'm only worried about the number of blown wheel cylinders I'm seeing on these trucks and a disc conversion seems like it might be a good safety investment.

 

Eh I can lock the rears up just before the fronts if I weight transfer it enough on the street. In the dirt the rears will usually start to lock up before the fronts, but dont mind that. So, probably 55/45 bias.
Ive done the front pads twice in the last year so the rears are about on par.

 

Ive been running the SOS kit for about a year now. Brake bias is fine 50/50, I've had some mild issues with the emergency brake where it wont engage (not adjusted) which im currently fixing. The SOS kit fitment with the FJ parts doesnt fit 100%, the brake pad sits a little high on the rotor about 1mm. Overall I like the performance though of the disc brakes compared to the old drum brakes.

I personally had a lot of issues with the drums which made me switch to discs, I know this won't be for everyone. My experience is the drums hold onto the dirt/mud/sand and trap it inside and it wears out the pads way faster than a disc setup would

 

Anyone know if it's possible to do a disc brake swap of putting 4th gen pads, rotors, calipers, saddles onto the rear of a 3rd gen

 

Sure

 

I haaaate servicing drums as much as anyone but....$1400? Nah that aint it.