Brake caliper question....do you have one cotter or two????

yo TW!

need some help.....did toyota change the design of the gen2 front brake caliper at some point?

further to the point....my OEM calipers have two micro cotter pins for the caliper pins (one for each pin)
& the new calipers I got at the dealership have one long strange shaped cotter pin (of sorts) that ties both the caliper pins together & tucks itself into a predrilled hole on the caliper body

thanks folks!

 

Good Question....when I was changing out the front pads on my 2014 it had the large single pin. When purchasing the hardware to go with the pads (pins ect) I asked about the different pins you mention. The dealership said it was only an upgrade.....

Hope this answers your question....

Go Team TW!!

 

since I installed the 'newer' style caliper (with single cotter) about 10 months ago/35k miles ago,
Ive been experiencing intermittent braking issues (shudder & shake from 70-50mph while using brakes)

wondering if I have the wrong calipers on my taco? hence the question

 

Did you put OEM pads in your tacoma? and did you flush the brake fluid? Did you have any of these conditions before new pads?

 

yes, yes, no

 

Hard to help without pictures....but are the guide pins ok? did you lubricate them when you put the new pads in the calipers?

 

The shuttering is probably coming from not bedding the brake pads to the rotors.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...hUKEwj30N7Sy8ftAhUCOs0KHYG0DssQ4dUDCAg&uact=5

 

pins are fine & yes on the lube
sorry I didnt take pics when I was working on things....snowing here atm, so I am not inclined to open that up now
I have had many peeps drive my truck & they all say its fine, part of the problem is that its an intermittent issue, so its hard to reproduce

here is an example:
there is a certain left turn I take 2 times a day (off hwy 97 onto modoc pt rd)
its highway speeds on the 97 (65-75mph) into a sharp left turn onto modoc pt rd (25mph)
most of the time there is no shudder/shake as I brake from 75-30mph to prepare for the left onto modoc
but sometimes there is a shake....I cant make it happen, its just random

the only time I can make it occur, is if its downhill & Im on a road or highway that allows 70mph driving
(the closest place to my home is 30 miles away, near the state line of cali/oregon near the town of dorris)
no shop or tech is going to drive all the way out there with me, sadly, to observe a demo
I have been driving it like this for over 30k miles, btw

 

honestly, Id love to keep this post on point & not evolve into something else

which style calipers do you have?.....one cotter or two (per glide pin)?
share pics! if you can!
it would really help me

trying to get to the bottom of why (if they actually did) toyota changed the style/design of the 2nd gen front brake calipers

 

here is a two cotter caliper

 

& here is a single cotter that ties to both glide pins

 

single cotter

 

have you ever replaced your calipers or are they from the factory?
what year is your taco?

 

2014, factory calipers at 125k miles

 

thanks for the info, much appreciated

 

I never liked the dual cotter pin design so I used some aviation grade safety wire to hold the pins.

If you look closely, the inner pad was installed backwards so I had to do this twice!

 

I run two micro cotters on the pins. It came that way stock and is still that way now. They are supposed to be that way. No issues. Ever.

 

My 2011 has the single cotter pin. My 2000 had the same.

 

1 or 2 pins doesnt matter. as long as the pad pins are captured thats all that counts. as far as an "upgrade" IMO the single one just idiot proofs the fact that techs didnt forget to but both in. would just think it all depends on what year your truck is and if you or the person before you took it in for a factory brake job.