Big Ole' Brake Upgrade Thread for Third Gens

Hey guys! So not to keep everyone hanging I did the front big brake kit today. It is still a work in progress as I believe there is some air in the system still after bleeding, resulting in a little loss of pressure after applying the brakes. Definitely feel the initial bite though theres some improvement there!

 

So as of this morning it seems that the issues with the braking feel at first have gone away over night. I pumped the pedal a few times and went inside and when I came back out this morning the brake pedal was still pretty stiff so that seemed to be an encouraging sign. Driving around today there's noticably more braking power available and less pedal effort is typically required to stop the truck. I don't have any pictures of the inside, but I do have some more pics of the finished product at some point in the next few days I'm going to find a way to get a decent measure of stopping distance and find out how it all turned out. Regardless of the results I will say that the braking seems much more linear- where the stock brakes had odd points where the brake pedal would seem to build a bunch of pressure out of nowhere the new brakes feel much more linear and more predictable.

 

Also here is my write up of the front brake install:

First, loosen lugs a 1/2 turn or so while on the ground on both front wheels for easy removal

Lift the truck

Remove front wheels

Loosen abs sensor bolt with a 10mm socket and then remove abs sensor. Helps to use needle nose pliers to squeeze the tabs on the two plastic mounts for the abs sensor wire


Take off both brake line retaining mounts with a 14mm socket

Loosen caliper mounting bolts with a 17mm IIRC socket wrench

Loosen hard line to brake line connection with either a 10mm and 18mm wrenches or a brake line wrench and an 18mm. If you use a 10mm, be careful to use the 18 for power and 10 only for stability as the hard line end can be damaged

Place a drain pan or bucket under the hard line

Remove caliper bolts, and twist caliper to remove the brake line from the hard line being careful to dump the brake line into the bucket too and not all over yourself (go ahead, ask me how I know )

Next remove the brake caliper

Now there are two ways this next step can go.
Scenario 1 (hub spacer supplied)
If you have a hub spacer included in your kit then you need to take off the CV retaining nut and clip, and loosen the CV axle nut with a 36mm socket and put it backwards on the end of the axle

Use a BFH to tap the covered axle through the hub removing the nut once it becomes loose

Remove the 4 17mm hub bolts

Remove hub and backing plate, install spacer in place of backing plate

Reinstall hub and hub bolts. I dont remember the exact torque specs if anyone wants to correct me on this feel free!

Reinstall CV axle nut torquing to 180 ftlbs IIRC

Scenario Two/ 'easy' method

Rev up your air saw, Dremel, sawzall, whatever and slice and dice that backing plate until the brake rotors fits over it

Moving on! Now that the rotors will fit, install them and make sure. If you have total chaose spindle gussets you will need to trim the bottom of the gusset to be able to fully install the brake rotors. Trimming needs to happen here:
That's looking down the upright portion of the spindle at the brake rotor. No clearance there = no bueno. Need at least 1mm with suspension at full droop to be safe

With the rotor installed, now you need to install the new caliper brackets. The bracket gets 60ft-lbs of torque while the caliper nuts get 30 ft-lbs.

Install the brake pads in the caliper. To do this, I removed the bridge from the caliper and then tapped the pads into place using a ball peen hammer.

Next I installed the caliper and caliper nuts and torqued to 30 ft-lbs.

Next reinstall the caliper bridge by attaching one bolt on one side and then force the bracket down and put another bolt through the other side, then install the middle two bolts. The bridge has two silver plates designed to put pressure on the pads, so you have to force it into place a bit but you're safe to do it, pads are built to take all different kinds of abuse

Now, you will want to connect the new brake line to your caliper, using the supplied copper washers to sandwich the line between caliper and banjo bolt. Don't remember torque specs for the banjo bolt but it's nothing crazy, don't want to strip the caliper here!

Now go do the same thing on the other side of the truck.

Now you can bleed your brake system. Starting with the rears, bleed right to left and then go to the fronts and go right to left. On stoptech calipers with two bleeders per side, start outside and then inside on the right rotor and then outside to inside on the left.

With the system fully bled (hopefully), go drive around a parking lot and wear off the zinc plating, and then once it's off go do 8 60-10 panic stops in a row and they should be nice and broken in after that!

Congratulate yourself on taking the most important system on your vehicle seriously, and a DIY project well done and have a well-deserved beer after all that! My hats off to all those who choose to go down the DIY route for this mod, it's not exactly for the feint of heart but it's totally worth it long term. Plus it just looks mean with that much meat back there

 

subd

 

Did I miss where stock braking distances were tested?

 

You did not. So due to a variety of external factors like a big snow day, limited time where my buddy was visiting for install, and several other things I did not have a chance to set up a test before I installed the new brakes. That being said, my truck has bigger and much heavier wheels and some armor so if anything it's braking distance should be much worse than stock to begin with, and then I've upgraded both the front and rear brakes significantly. I will eventually set up and do a solid test of the new brakes before and after I install a proportioning valve and some stainless steel rear lines and really dial in my braking system's performance.

 

Gotcha. Was really hoping for an apples to apples comparison, but understand the issues you faced. I suppose if you get close to the performance of a stock vehicle, we could assume there was improvement, but really not way to say at this point.

 

You aren't alone in that sir. I really wanted to be able to provide that info but alas life got in the way this time around. I guess I will just have to aim for beating the stock numbers despite armor and big tires once I get my brake system dialed in! That way we KNOW it's an upgrade. That is my goal

 

@kingk0ng

 

Next week I have plans to install an '01-'07 Sequoia Disc/Disc brake master cylinder in my Taco.
As I understand things, the stock m/c being a Disc/Drum unit means that it severely limits rear brake line pressure since Drum brakes require much less pressure to function (thanks @Nitori for the info). The result is that at a certain point I cant build any more rear line pressure so there may be a bit of stopping power left on the table since the pads are not being supplied their full intended working pressure. The new m/c should take care of that issue, and also offer a stiffer pedal as well.
Additionally I have a simple aluminum reservoir to store the clutch fluid, and a variety of hose clamps to make sure I end up with a good seal. I will post a detailed write up of the process of removing and replacing the brake m/c!

 

As promised, here is the full write up for my Sequoia MC swap! This was a relatively straightforward upgrade, and it is honestly pretty easy to pull off if you pay attention to a few things!

First of all, the list of tools: 1) Master cylinder bleeder kit
2) Hardline wrench set, specially you will need a 12,13,14, and 15mm wrenches
3) Metric wrench set, specifically 12, 14, and 16mm
4) Allen wrench set (metric)
4) Vacuum brake bleeder, or a brake bleeder set and a friend
5) Torque wrench for lugs after bleeding
6) Pliers in case there are zip ties or the like in your way
7) Jack/ stands or hydraulic lift if you are so fortunate to have access to one


Step 1: assemble the new master cylinder (MC) by removing the OE toyota fittings and copper washers from the two outlets, and install the MC bleeder fittings in their place. These fittings will NOT be used with the kit.
Step 2: bench bleed the new master cylinder by attaching the black lines in the kit to the fittings, filling the resi with brake fluid, and using a flathead to compress the piston until you do not see any bubbles coming out of the lines. You may need to tighten the plastic fittings with a 12mm wrench in order to get to the point where they do not allow air past, you will hear them whistle near the end of the pushrod's return stroke if the fittings are too loose. It took me about 10 mins of pushing to get to the point where no more small bubbles were coming through.
Step 3: Set up a bunch of rags, paper towels, whatever under the MC to catch fluid. Also wrap electrical lines nearby in paper towels as well. Use your hardline wrench set to loosen the original hardlines going into the MC. Just break them loose for now, don't want them pouring fluid everywhere just yet.
Step 4: Place a red solo cup directly beneath the clutch line connection to the MC. Connect clutch fluid line to new reservoir by using pliers to remove the clip, and then replacing the OE clip with a hose clamp and tightening that onto the reservoir's nipple. Use red solo cup to catch fluid and once the MC resi is empty move the solo cup away.


Step 5: Use the 12mm (IIRC) wrench to loosen the two nuts holding the MC onto the brake booster (BB) and remove both nuts carefully with your fingers.
Step 6: Remove both hardlines, noting that fluid will drip at this point
Step 7: Remove OEM MC, and attach SOS performance hardline extensions using a 16mm wrench and the hardline wrenches to secure the lines. It will be easiest to bend the hardlines at this point with no MC in the way.
Step 8: Install SOS performance mounting plate onto Sequoia MC using an allen wrench (6mm IIRC) and a wrench for the nut. Use the SOS performance nuts to go on the new allen bolts, and the OEM nuts on the OEM studs
Step 9: Install hardline extensions into the Sequoia MC using a 13mm hardline wrench to secure the lines

Step 10: Test the clutch reservoir for leaks by depressing the clutch pedal and having a friend inspect
Step 11: Lift truck with Jack/Stands or on hydraulic lift
Step 12: Remove front wheels
Step 13: Completely bleed the brake system in order: rear passenger-rear driver's-front passenger-front driver's, as my install method did allow some air to get into the lines. You will need either a 10,11, or 12mm wrench depending on whether you have OE calipers, 4runner calipers, aftermarket calipers, or drums to loosen the bleeders
Step 14: Clean out engine bay removing tools, and using paper towels to soak up as much spilled fluid as possible. This is important as brake fluid will eat your paint if left in place.
Step 15: Reinstall wheels, and test out your brakes. Should immediately notice a significantly firmer pedal. Pat yourself on the back at this point, go for a ride and make sure everything is working nicely under pressure. When you get home its a good idea to check under your MC, clutch resi, and other places to make sure no more brake fluid is leaking out. If everything is good then you should be good to go! Enjoy your new-feeling brakes!

 

Wow! Awesome work! I wonder if this would work on a 2nd gen. Can you link the SOS hardline extensions you used, or are they only compatible with their big brake kit?

 

@stevotivo12 I may have missed it but what exactly is the benefit of changing the MC?

 

The hardlines are included with the master cylinder install kit from SOS, Its on their website bro!

So @Nitori informed me that the Tacoma's mc is disc/drum specific, and as such has a limitation built into the rear brake which limits pressure. Additionally, the stock MC moves a little less fluid than my new braking system needs and this resulted in a squishy pedal. Not like where you have to pump it to get pressure, but the pedal would consistently be near the floor during more aggressive stops. With the rears not developing as much pressure the rear brakes were not doing much for stopping the truck. Time will tell if the stopping power is better but the pedal feel is definitely much improved, as is the longevity and reliability of the system as a whole now that the master and the system as a whole are better matched

 

Awesome info and thank you very much. I have the front and rear kit in the garage and just need to install it. 10/10 for sharing your knowledge.

 

I feel like a dope, I was on the wrong sos website haha. I found it, looks like it works with the 2nd gens as well. Thanks for the write up I will have to put this on my list of future mods!

 

Not that it matters at this point, but the limiting factor on panic stops on modern vehicles is essentially always the tires. Very very seldom will you even come close to fading the brake pads on a single panic stop. If you can brake hard enough to have to feather your brakes/engage ABS then your brakes are short-stopping you as much as your tires are capable of doing.

This whole process won't improve his panic stop, basically.

 

Truth.

 

I swear I need to write up a big effortpost about "Brake Upgrades Myth Vs Reality" because folks are just wasting their money

 

I did. Then I just saved it and didn't post it. It goes back to my favorite saying "I can explain it to you but I cannot understand it for you" kind of deal. Most people shy away from fundamental physics and basic engineering.