2006 prerunner eats rotors...help

TO ME, it's extremely important to properly bed your brakes when new. One of the most important things that occurs in the bedding process is that some pad material transfers to the rotor, and acts like a "film" (it's not quite the same, but the best way I can describe it). Driving like an old man doesn't necessarily prevent improper transfer of material - even "normal" braking can do it, especially any time the car is at a full stop, brakes applied, after mild application before coming to a stop. The mild application heats the rotor and pad, and when at full stop, the heat causes the pad material to transfer.

When pad material transfers in one spot as above, it doesn't become noticeable until after quite a few miles as the rotor material surrounding the transfer spot wears faster than the spot where the pad material was implanted. This creates a microscopic "bump" that manifests in the pulsation felt in the pedal/car.

If not bedding, one could feasibly drive like an old man for a few hundred miles of stop and go, but the key would be to NOT gradually slow down via brake application over TOO long of a distance (thereby overheating the rotor/pad), and most importantly, don't apply a lot of pressure while stopped - use just enough pressure so the car doesn't roll. The high pressure increases the chance of pad material transfer in the one spot.

Personally, I bed new brakes/rotors on a long road by my house, THEN drive like an old man for a few hundred miles...OK, I drive like and old man ALL the time cuz I am old...

 

"upgrading" to fancy drilled/slotted rotors for your application will not be an improvement and drilled can even be worse. Stick with plain old rotors, (just not the cheapest you can get) and ceramic pads are good at being low dust and noise for a daily driver, pretty sure the OEM ones are ceramic. Personally I have used the powerstop regular rotors and ceramic pads for 10 years on a bunch of different vehicles and never had a problem. Not the "higher performance" drilled/slotted/carbon fiber ceramic etc. OEM calipers are the best but expensive, I've had good luck with Autozone ones and they have a good warranty so I continue to go that route to save the money.

Yes, your rotors should last as long if not more than your pads. Often replaced together though with the cheap cost of rotors and issues with different pad transfer layers, buildup and stuff, which can cause issues like yours and since if you can't make it 2x longer its cheaper than the labor twice. It's hard to find a good shop though that will diagnose and solve this problem, sounds like yours so far have just slapped rotors and pads and said good luck deal with it. Properly cleaning the mating surface behind rotors, ensuring good sliding action of pads, retraction of calipers, and BEDDING the pads IMMEDIATELY after installation w/ new rotors is all overlooked and I would suspect one of them is your issue. Braking very gently all the time with an occasional hard stop for traffic and then holding your hot pads against a stationary rotor (nonmoving car) can create uneven pad material deposited and cause pulsation.

A brake fluid flush should be done at 100k especially if that's been more than a few years. The moisture absorbed from the air over time by the brake fluid will make the hydraulic system not work its best and can corrode the caliper bores.

Severe pulsating under breaking isn't *great* for the truck, but it's not like you're doing a ton of irreversible damage. I wouldn't drive it more than you need to but also not the end of the world.

 

I forgot to mention one POSSIBILITY that occurred with my Ranger (replaced by the Taco). The Ranger was a long bed, so the bed was 7ft long. This also meant that the driveshaft (which was still one piece) was extra long as well. It was NOT lifted in any way, and this can happen in NON-long bed trucks.

When slowing down, the pinion angle changes as inertia causes the front of the truck to dip and the rear to lift. In my Ranger, when I first got it (used like all trucks I buy), because the shocks were old/original, the dip at slowdown was exacerbated JUST enough to cause too much of a change in the pinion angle of the driveshaft to cause what initially thought was bad brakes.

Did the brakes, and while doing the brakes noticed the shocks were really old. Pulsing/bouncing was still there, and being a long bed figured I would try new shocks before diving deeper (driveshaft balancing, etc.). New shocks controlled the dip enough that everything was fine after swap.

 

My truck "warps" rotors frequently as well. I've chalked it up to not properly setting runout (or at least I think so). This truck is the first vehicle I've had where the rotors aren't directly fastened to the hub. Rust and crud can find its way between rotor and hub especially when changing wheels because the wheel is what holds the rotor to the hub. Rotating tires sometimes breaks the rotor free and allows crap to lodge between hub and rotor.

 

Stop and listen to what people are saying. You need to verify they are good or simply replace calipers, rotors turned or new ones and pads and then bed them in properly. Slotted and drilled rotors will not help in this situation especially on a truck that may get grit, mud, rocks and dirt in the brake area. Youre asking for a WHOLE lot more problems by doing that.

 

Great Info everyone. Thank you. I never understood what bedding brakes was. I figured it was something done during installation. Had no clue. Never thought about how I'm holding hot rotors against pads while I'm sitting stopped either. None of this ever occurred to me...and I'm pretty sure no one in the general population has any idea either.

I got it regarding fancy drilled rotors. Not going that route. Current plan is to buy either OEM or powerstop rotors. And then some OEM pads and some new calipers. I don't know anything about calipers. I'm figuring there may be something wrong with them and if there is the mechanic isn't going to figure it out so only way to know they aren't a problem is to replace them. I'll get the brake fluid changed too.

About calipers....do I need to order any small parts to go along with the calipers for the installation or is ordering "just calipers" all I need to do?

 

another question: I want to get my transmission fluid changed. It's the automatic on the 4.0 2nd gen. Reading around and I'm thinking a flush at 208K miles isn't prudent. It was changed at 120. (I asked the shop to change it and not flush but I think there's just as much a chance they did either one). The shop I like to go to is honest and I like the guys. Only thing is that I think they're a bunch of idiots. Maybe ok for oil changes, tire replacement, brakes.....Can they change the transmission fluid? Am I being ridiculous for worrying about this? I also need that seal on the output shaft replaced. Looks pretty simple but I'm over here not really sure they can figure that out. My other options for mechanics are very inconvenient and also suspect. I do at least trust these guys even if they're dumb as bricks.

 

As far as whether the shop is "capable," I wouldn't know, but as far as flush. When you say "changed at 120," do you mean "change" or "flush?"

I PERSONALLY don't believe in FLUSHING a trans for various reasons. If I wanted to do a "full change," I would do a "change," run it for a couple hundred/thousand miles, do another "change," and repeat a few times. Over the course a 3 or 4 changes, "new" fluid will mathematically make up the vast majority of the fluid - at least enough for the tranny to live a long life.

 

you can do a few drain and fills of the transmission or you do a change through the cooler lines as is outlined in this site or numerous YouTube tutorials.

As for your mechanics…if you think they are “dumb as bricks” (by whatever measure), I’m not sure that you can also say you trust them. You need to find someone you deem smarter than a brick that you feel confident will do a good job resolving your problems. Toyotas are not known for “warping rotors” every 15k, and if your truck is consistently doing it, there’s either an undiagnosed problem with the truck, an undiagnosed problem with your driving of the truck, or a consistent mistake in the installation of the new parts. The thing to do is to figure out what it is and correct it. If you don’t have the technical knowledge to do this then you should search for someone who does…throwing parts at it isn’t working.

 

@tak1313 what I want done to the transmission is for it to be drained and filled. Like in the tutorials here. I don't want it flushed. I know the guys at the shop have a machine they flush transmissions with and I'm afraid that's the only thing they know how to do. I wish I had the time and a decent place to do it. I'd do it myself. Unfortunately I work 6 days a week and not only do have to find time to "do" these jobs I have to find time to learn how to do them. I'd love to do it. But what I need is for this truck to keep working. That's what I need.

There's no place I'm aware of that I have confidence in the knowledge or skills of the people working there. The guys who put my new diff in seemed to be pretty good. I liked them and I've had no issues since they did the work. That's the guy who told me toyotas just eat rotors and there's nothing I can do about it though.

As I'm writing this I'm answering my own question.....the only way to maintain a vehicle over a long time is to do everything yourself isn't it?

 

I recommend purchasing new Toyota brand rotors and pads. Another option would be an aftermarket brand such as Powerstop but make sure the pads and rotors are from the same brand. That way they should work well together.

 

If the shop has that many goons that you don't trust, and you can't do it yourself, I would probably trust a known good dealer over the shop. Perhaps if you solicit recommendations from members in your area? I do the vast majority of stuff myself, but it takes me a long time to get around to it because I'm such a lazy@ss about everything. I also probably have the squeakiest tight@ss you would ever see, and I just the thought of paying someone else to do something I can do for less makes my blood curdle.

That being said, part of it is just not trusting goons to do stuff. Don't get me wrong, there are shops I DO trust, and if/when I need something done that I don't have the tool or time for (like diagnosing an ABS problem in the dead of Winter (I have the tools, but I'm not doing it when it's 10 degrees out on a snow covered driveway), I will take it in - the blood boiling keeps me warm.

 

watched some YouTube videos. Think I'm gonna drain and fill my transmission myself. Looks pretty straight forward.

 

ordered OEM rotors, pads, and calipers. Called the dealership and the price added up to over $900. Went online and ordered the same stuff for $455 with free shipping.

I hope I got everything necessary to do the job. I ordered the "fitment kit" it was like $3.

Went to my local shop and gave them the list of what I wanted done. Gonna get them to drain and fill the transmission, new power steering fluid and brake fluid, install the rotors calipers and pads, and replace the output shaft seal, and new tires. Talking to the guy who runs the place and told me to call monday to see where they were with work.....then he told me he'd be fishing a tournament and wouldn't be there next week.

I'm hopeful. Trying to stay positive.

 

If you're replacing everything, have him check the front brake lines too. He should replace those if there is any wear.