2nd gen front brake shim question

Hey fellas if anyone happens to be on here I'd appreciate some guidance

Finally getting around to doing front brakes. The shims have me stumped. I ordered 04945-0C030 and it came with (8) shims. (4) solid and (4) slotted as pictured. Slotted ones have some sort of rubber layer inside, stainless steel outside.

What's the correct procedure here? Pad, solid shim, then slotted shim?? I've never dealt with multi part shims like this and didn't really find anything in the search

 

Side question, think the pads I took off are aftermarket? They have a single shim with a fiber backing I've seen in the past.

Truck only has 120k miles on it and I bought it with roughly 44k. Part of my confusion. Not sure why someone would have put new aftermarket pads on it with that few miles

 

IFRC, The slotted goes on first, then the solid.
The solid is sandwiched between the pad and solid.
(kind of like the veins in a rotor)

@Bishop84 can confirm this.

I used after market pads with "built-on" shims.
Tossed my old shims years ago.

 

Hmm maybe the slotted goes on first to hold the grease between the pad and the solid shim?

Either way currently dealing with one stuck cylinder in the caliper. This project might be going nowhere quick..

 

Confusing 4WD diagrams. This is the stuff that kills me when I'm working off a manual.
Incomplete or less than accurate details.

 

The oem setup is a bit overdone IMO

The slotted shim goes against the pad, the stainless goes on top

FWIW the only places I put grease is on a true slide pin that has a rubber boot protecting it. Any grease external just attracts dirt and washes off anyway. But then again I don't live in the rust belt either YMMV

 

Well you're way smarter than all us clowns who do live in the salt belt...

Looks like this project will be on hold until Monday. I spread the pads just enough now that cylinder is really stuck in there

 

Yeah. That's a risk you take when pressing the pistons in without popping off the boots and "clearing around the cylinders".
Most guys, even me, never do. I've only had it bite me in the ass once.
I did pads on a Tahoe, and they were "kind of" rusty. Pushed the pistons in, and the rust/pitting chewed up the seals inside the caliper.
You won't know it until after it's all back you gather and bleed the brakes. That's when you'll see the leak.

Sometimes, there is NOTHING you can do about it.
The cylinder are just too bad and they lock up, or leak.
The pistons just rust too bad.

 

Yeah my rule of thumb is don't ever touch the little rubber boots. Once you break that original seal / rust ring you're guaranteed to have issues at some point down the road

Luckily Napa had one in stock. 10 year warranty too apparently

 

Oh and thanks for the quick answers too guys. Figured if anyone knew it would be one of you

 

I don't always know the answer.
But when I do, It's usually because I did it wrong once before

I'm the type that learns by his mistakes.........

 

What the heck

are you telling me I put my TRD ceramic pads wrong
Aren’t pads typically supposed to come with stuff like this already pre installed on them in the box new

I have a recently developed squeak at rare times but attributed it to needs a good old slam on the brakes going fast one time

 

Wait, you learn from your mistakes? Is that what I've been doing wrong this whole time

 

welllll... according to those diagrams, it seems pretty cut and dry to me.

for the 4wd model it clearly shows only the slotted shim for the inside pad, only the solid shim for the outside pad.. for a total of 2 shims per caliper.

 

That's what it shows.
But it doesn't seem right.

These are an apposing piston system.
There isn't a difference between the "inside" and "outside" pistons.
So it makes no since why the diagram shows that for the 4WD and PreRunner trucks.

Really wish I had paid more attention to mine when I did them years ago.
Now that I have aftermarket pads, I can't "look".

If it makes a "difference", I need someone smarter than me to explain it.
Because my public educated brain says, they should be the same.

Honestly. Me, being impatient, would have just used the solid shims and said the hell with the slotted.
Because I got places to go and people to see. I don't have time for all that. If it stops and doesn't squeal, it "must be right".

 

I don't always learn from them.
Risk vs Reward, Laziness, stupidity......I'm still out here "break stuff".
No one will ever say, "I never did anything". You can't tear stuff like I do by "not" doing anything....

 

If that was the case why would they provide 4 of each type shim in one shim kit? That's what got me down this rabbit hole to begin with

 

Nissan was always doing that too, throwing a ridiculous amount of shims in the box with oem pads

When in doubt the slotted one goes inside

Fancy aftermarket pads like akebono just glue a single shim on the pad, and those things never make noise

Don't overthink it. In my experience pads only squeak becuae they're getting too hot. Usually caused by something sticking like a caliper slide or piston

 

If there's one thing I'm good at, it's overthinking stuff haha

Joking aside I'm just going to run what you suggested above. Pad, slotted shim, grease, solid shim. Worst case I take it apart again later this summer.

My comment above was mostly rhetorical. Seems Toyota is pretty good about not giving extras.

 

a totally fair question, but like you, maybe they themselves look at those diagrams and were a little.. fuzzy.. on things. so they just thought it was such-and-such *per side* and ended up including the number of shims to make that total.

but yeah, the diagram clearly shows just the one shim on the inner side, and the other type on the outer side, and thats it. and as long as someone uses the usual goo that ppl slime up the back of their pads with, im sure squeeking wont be a problem, all else being equal.

=)