Banjo Fitting Seal- Tundra Brake Upgrade

With bigger tires, yes, its worth it. Not much time and not much money. Only costed me ~$400 and 2hrs .

 

Got the brakes installed this week. I did not have that issue with the caliper bolts, as mine were threaded all the way and fit perfectly to the tundra caliper without needing a washer They were the perfect length, too...

It was a bolt-on procedure with the exception of very, very minimal trimming and bending of the dust shield. I went with the 13WL (231mm) calipers and rotors for an '05 Tundra. I did NOT use the banjo fitting and instead used hard lines with the double-flare fittings and the spindle attachment from an '02 4-Runner. From there, it connects to a 17-1/2" long braided female/female flex line custom ordered from Paragon. I ordered Crown lines too, but the paragon fittings have a nice oval backing plate that fits the stock line tabs. Everything fit together perfectly, and is basically what you would find on a 3rd gen 4-runner.

Bled the system last night, and am waiting on new lower ball joints before trying them out. I did notice that there is a little extra travel in the brake pedal. Maybe that will go away after some use and the pads seat, however, I have read this can be a result of the larger fluid capacity of the calipers. No sponginess though. Bleeding the system was straightforward and no leaks so far (fingers crossed). Would love to hear some input from others who have installed the 231's.

I'll try to post photos in the coming weeks when things settle down a bit.

 

Thank you Dusty.

This is a big help. So I look for a 02 4-runner bits at the dealer. Doubt if its too expensive and my requirement is to have the correct fittings for the caliper.

Len

 

I run 33x12.50 so pretty good sized tires and does it matter what kind of back spacing you have? I have 15x10s and need some more stopping power? What would I need to do the swap?

 

Len, the pics as you requested. 04 taco with the tundra 13WG 231mm calipers. Wheeler's banjo bolts and steel braided brake hoses. Everything mounted up easily but as mentioned here i did have to install a lock washer on the caliper mounting bolts, the tacoma bolts are a tad too long. The 231's fit perfectly behind the stock 16" TRD wheels.

 

You need 16" wheels.

 

Or very big wheel spacers.

 

Does anyone have the TGP part numbers for the calipers?

I've attempted to find them at various online dealership parts departments but for the calipers themselves, the part numbers are oddly missing from the associated diagram.

 

You can try pulling a VIN # for a 2005 Tundra, V8, 4WD and run that through the dealership. They should be able to provide a part number for a 231mm caliper. Not sure whether you will end up with a 13WL or 13WG one though. Napa has their Eclipse rebuilt calipers, which is what I went with- the 13WL. I think they're pretty well made, and had the stock size Napa caliper on for 10K before doing this upgrade. No quality issues whatsoever and much less expensive than from the dealer...

 

So finally got out for a test drive! Haven't noticed a huge difference- though took it fairly easy on the brakes. It does seem to stop much more smoothly and uniformly with far less effort on the pedal. I will say it does take a bit more travel before they grab, and holding pressing the pedal hard for an extended period of time will push it to the floor. I noticed this prior to the upgrade and the master cylinder does not appear to be leaking. All the fittings are dry, too. For those of you who went with the 231mm calipers, same results? I may bleed it again next week to verify. Pictures to come- fit and finish looks factory!

 

Are you saying that if you hold down the pedal it goes to the floor? It should never go to the floor. You must have air in the system if the pedal drops to the floor. Re-bleed the system.

 

If the pedal went to the floor prior to the upgrade the m/c could be faulty internally not allowing the system to hold pressure. I wouldn't wait a week to fix this issue, if you had to slam on your brakes in a emergency the pedal could go to the floor effecting your stopping distance.

 

^ This. Pedal to the floor = bad

Pending that, if the brakes feel a bit squishy, this is typical with stock brake lines (I forgot, did you keep your stocks?). Steal braded lines will stiffen the pedal feel for a better brake feel.

 

It was late when I wrote that. The pedal does not go straight to the floor, though the travel is a little longer than previous. In order to get it to the floor, I need to pump it while holding it down, causing it to work its way to the floor. Come to think of it, every vehicle I've had has done this. I read that a little more pedal travel was to be expected with these brakes due to the MC bore and larger capacity in the calipers.

Steel braided lines were installed, and bled the lines well beyond the point of getting no air out of them. Tested the brakes in neutral on a steep hill last night with a couple slow-speed stops, and they definitely work with less pedal effort, and do not pull.

 

Ill have to double check but I don't think my brakes go to the floor. The extra caliper size should not affect pedal travel. I second the "re-bleed" suggestion. You should always bleed starting from the back brakes, even if you only changed out the front (there are three fittings in the back. I say this because i had to do it twice because I forgot the third fitting).

What color is your fluid? Mine was almost block so I flushed my fluid when I did this and recomend you do to if you decide to re-bleed the system. Bleed until you get clean fluid while someone monitors and fills your res keep it full.

With the new calipers, your brake fluid will go below the "low line" before your pads are worn out, requiring extra fluid unless you want to replace the pads early. If you add fluid, remember this before putting on new pads or you will overflow your reservoir when compressing your caliper pistons.

 

I've been running the napa calipers since 2008 and have had zero problems.

I have excess pedal travel as well, i figured it was just from the bigger calipers, hasnt really been an issue. What will be interesting is when i get my rear 80 axle in with rear discs and stock MC.

 

All very good advice.
I did all 5 bleed points from the farthest to the closest (including the proportioning valve) as I also replaced the rear flex line.
Fluid is crystal clear, and never went below the add line.
No ABS or VSC, so that's ruled out.

Other possibilities:
-Stuck piston in one of the calipers
-Rear brakes need adjusting
-Air trapped in calipers, re-bleed
-13/16" master cylinder is undersized
-Master cylinder is worn out
-That's the way it is and I'll get used to it

Overall they work well and I don't mind a little extra travel. I would just like the pedal to be a little stiffer and not very slowly fade when I press on it hard.

 

Hmm... My pedal felt stiffer and much better after my install

Might have been the new fluid I added though... (the old fluid was probably the original)???

If everything is working within specs and you are stopping fine, you might just need to get used to the new feel I guess

 

Ok thanks and get the brakes from the toyota dealer? I believe I will be upgrading to 16's in the near future then so I can do this upgrade.

 

I did the brake upgrade and it cost me $90 for rotors and calipers from a 2003 tundra. Bought at the local pick and pull junkyard. Went to a tire shop to resurface the rotors for $40. The calipers looked good and did not leak. My friend sandblasted them and tossed some red paint on them. Ended up using my existing brake line. Just drilled the bolt head with out a 3/8 bit. Swapped the parts over replaced the brake fluid and was done.

Brakes and pedal feel are great. Hard braking would feel better with new steel lines. I even ended up using the old brake pads on the Tundra calipers just gave them a sanding. Along with some hard braking after installed. One the best and cheapest upgrades to do.