DIY Front Brake Pad Change.

Everyone on here, with the exception of some, is making brake pads overly complicated. I will post a new thread, with pics, and red arrows, on how to do it. No bleeding.

Not that complicated.

 

Do it.

 

I will. I changed my pads last Wednesday while rotating my tires. It took maybe 20 mins for the driver and about 15 for the passenger. First time ever I did it on the taco. 56,000k. But my brakes were making a loud clacking sound. Replacing the pads solved it

 

If the calipers aren't frozen in place you don't need to ubolt the L-bracket, but you do need to make sure you don't torque it when you pull the caliper off. In my situation my passenger side caliper was frozen and when it finally broke free, I was yanking on it pretty good. That caused me to break the solid brake line.

You probably already know, but you need to support the caliper and not let it hang on the brake line. Just use a bungee cord that is wrapped around the coil so there is little to no weight being put on the line.

Here is a pretty decent mod that I found but haven't done it since I don't do enough work in this area to justify it. But this might give you some ideas concerning your question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4ToprG-_Uc

 

Subscribed for future reference. I've done brakes before, but not on this truck, yet... there is a lot of good info here.

 

Did my 04' 4Runner today, which I believe is the same as my 10' Tacoma. I have 81K miles on the 4Runner. Took about an hour for both sides. Did not remove calipers nor bleed lines. Just opened master cylinder, removed pins, use C-clamp and old pads to push pistons back in. Pulled old pads out, put in new ones. Took longer to take off tires.

I have 81K miles on the 4Runner. I did notice that the driver's side outer pad was more worn out than the passenger's outer pade. Is this somewhat the norm? Or a reason for concern? Any thoughts?

 

^^Bump^^ for post #167

 

Sub'd

 

why does the caliper coming off break stuff? i mean i have changed pads on other vehicles and always took the calipers off. i understand you dont "have to" and thats okay with me, but i want to know when i swap out a rotor at 100,000 miles what do i need to look for before i break something.

 

I dont think it'll break anything assuming you're careful w/ the lines. :shrug:

 

Fixed

 

lol thanks

 

yes sir.. i have done that same thing so many times.. LOL

 

If you watch the video in post #165, you'll see what they are speaking of.

Does anyone know any details on other Toyota model brakes? My wife's Highlander's back brakes are in need of replacement. My only research, so far, is shopping for the pads. I'm hoping this swap may be as easy as the Tacoma, but I'm not counting on it...anticipate the worst, hope for the best. I would appreciate any input. Thanks.

 

it's ok to just replace the pads? Shouldn't you replace the caliper or get it cut so that the make a better contact?

 

R U sure you don't mean rotor not caliper. I've had rotors cut but never a caliper - wouldn't even know how to attempt it.

 

Its easy, Its just not a fixed caliper. It is a sliding caliper.

 

Yes, sorry meant rotor.. Should you replace or have them cut?

 

I think you mean rotors. calipers cannot be cut, just rebuilt.

I am always a big fan of replacing rotors instead of cutting them. If you remove material from the rotor, It won't dissipate heat as well, even if it still "within spec".

 

So it has been a couple of weeks since I changed my front brake pads. Occasionally my front driver side brakes will squeal very loudly every once in a while. More specifically, it happens when I'm in stop-&-go traffic (just creeping along at a couple mph and constantly on the brakes). When stopping from a normal speed (~20+ mph) there is no squeak. Any thoughts for what I should check for? I didn't turn or replace my rotors. Thanks!