Front Brake Rotors, Calipers, and Pads Gone Insane

Hello All And I Hope Some Enlightenment comes from this. My 2005 Taco 4x4 crew long bed has driven me to the very precipice of front brake hell. I am the only owner she has ever had and she has only 87000 miles on her. But man has she been like a female and her shoes. Rotors have been changed four times, on her fifth. Mechanics do not seem to want to re-surface anymore. All rotors changed due to warpage. Once under warranty by dealership. Twice by "Dipstick" our "Former" Mechanic. Then last November by Firestone and again by Firestone 2 weeks ago.(To my shock and dismay the first Firestone was independently owned so the 2nd Firestone, corporately owned would not warranty. And the first Firestone was 200 miles away.) The calipers have been changed 3.5 times.(Our last mechanic only believed in fixing what was broke.) And of course new pads each time. One set of pads from dealership that I replaced myself the back liner on all four pads detached from pads within 1000 miles. Firestone number 2 blamed independent Firestone for using cheap rotors. "Dipstick" blamed warpage on going through water while brakes hot. But mom came across a article that makes more sense to me than any other https://itstillruns.com/toyota-tacoma-brake-problems-5652989.html Anyone know of a work around? I plan on having my taco at least another 200,000 miles and would like to not be driven into bankruptcy by my old woman and her shoes. Just kidding ladies.
BTW! I am too old and broken down and don't have the facilities to do the work myself. Believe me I wish I did.

 

Wow!
I got like 120k from my stock brakes. Only thing I can seem to think of is the lack of mileage.
Your like 6-7k a year maybe they corroide in place from setting?

 

LOL! I live in Houston and do not like driving her in the city. I leave that to my '92 Ford Ranger with 150,000 miles. O.K. maybe I just like driving in the city at all!

 

Pretty understandable!
I avoid interstate driving and have to come to a complete stop like 6 times over 26 miles each way to work. How do the brakes on the ranger hold up?

 

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

Nothing complex about our brakes.

There's either a problem with the parts used, the installation process, the driving style or some combination of any or all.

 

Your rig is a 08. brake lines, the rubber part, need to be replaced ever so often. every 4-5 years is the general time frame for ALL vehicles.

forget Firestone, all of the stuff they use is crap...I used to work for them, they get what ever they can from whomever, napa, autozone, whatever
napa has decent rotors and drums, I would run with someone like HAWK performance instead.

Now, to address your issues, brake lines, fluid flush both the ABS and the standard system need to be flushed EVERY 2 YEARS, brake fluid loves water unless you want to spend a ton on specialty racing fluid. next the calipers need to be cleaned, I mean toothbrush and solvent type clean, Firestone does not do this......most dealers don't either. The pins need to be checked for pits and rust as the pads slide on them.
you also need to have the traction control checked to ensure it is not applying any type of signal that would cause the brake system to engage, even a random engagement can kill the brakes.

I have seen ABS units cause brake drag due to water and impurities in the brake fluid sticking to the walls of the brake lines and even gumming up the orifices. That is a common issue on vehicles that are run short trips and the fluid is never changed, it also can happen from the ABS never activating.

Personally, I would be looking at brake lines,ABS unit,and a fluid flush. brake lines swell as the age and can cause a caliper to lock or not fully retract.

probably the cheapest of options.

The last resort is to Berringer,Brembo, or Wilwood the whole thing...........

after 25 years of fixing other peoples stuff, I have a specific route I follow for this sort of issue, since brake lines can't be tested they are always on my recommendations during services.

 

honest q OP... do you ride your brakes? leave your left foot on the pedal when you're not firmly braking? sorry, had to ask..

 

Upgrade to the tundra brakes, new calipers and rotors for a tundra and you will need to trim the dust shield for the caliper to fit.

 

Never had any issues with Ranger brakes. I think they are the original rotors. Her problem is body rust.

Gixerkiller your reply sounds good. Methodology good and funny you should mention ABS. From day one hitting a bump while applying brakes it sounds like a cow mooing. Mechanics say normal, shade tree buddies say no. Your spin? Anyone in Houston know of a good mechanic? The last Firestone threw me out after watching the mechanics every move and correcting him for not replacing the anti-rattle spring on one side after he broke it taking it off and for making him actually bleed the brake lines half assed after seeing him only suck out the brake fluid from reservoir and replacing it with about a cup of new fluid and calling it a "Brake Fluid Exchange" at $100.

 

And no I do not ride my brakes. I don't even like using them except when people don't drive fast enough. Heh! Heh!

 

The mooing might be normal...to a point, I don't know for sure on our rigs as I usually have the radio up and when I get my ABS to work is generally on the 130 or Mopoc at 80.

I look at it like this, If YOU think something is wrong, it probably is. UNLESS you can duplicate the issue on another rig or 2. Now, does your ABS work? or does it pulse through the pedal? It is not suppose to pulse, maybe a slight wiggle in the pedal but not a pulse.

For a good mechanic, go online and look for an off road shop with good reviews, be sure to read the bad ones as most of the bad reviews come from a failure between the steering wheel and front seat...

 

Yes ABS works.

 

I am leaning more to the side of brake lines and fluid flush.

you need to look at the calipers, the pistons should extend and retract equal distance.........if the pistons hang up a bit then the caliper may need to be rebuilt or replaced, a good clean first then check for sticking pistons.

Remember, these trucks have a very specific bleed procedure....if not done right, brakes are soft or non existent.

 

It almost seems like your front brakes are the only ones doing the stopping. Have you checked the rear shoes? Make sure the adjusters are working properly.do you use your parking brake regularly?

 

Will check calipers. I rarely use emergency brakes. But just had the rear shoes and hardware replaced with last rotors at Firestone I had to step in and clean shoe and drum dust from brake mounting plates myself and I looked at the brake cylinders then and no sign of leakage. The shoes were well and evenly worn and drums replaced also.
Will have to find a new shop to bleed and flush properly. Don't have the extra arms and too old to crawl around on blacktop driveway.

 

It sounds like you have a drag from a caliper or brake line. Funny thing about the fluid is when the water contamination gets bad enough it will hydraulic the calipers and can actually cause the brakes to lock......last vehicle that had a problem like this was an 03 Honda VT1300R the guy replaced the master with some China copy and it refused to let the pressure bleed back once the lever was released.....bad master,bad machining.

You COULD have a bad master or booster......unlikely, but possible. check the calipers first and flush the fluid, cheaper....if that does not fix the issue then process of elimination, cheapest items first working around to the expensive bits.....90% of the time the fix is a small issue that manifests itself as a larger issue.

 

gotcha. And much thanks.

 

anytime, if you are ever out in the Austin area, the Austin crew has a guy they all use...just let us know, for beer he will give it a once over...

 

Sounds like you need better rotors, go with brembo blanks

 

Clean the rust off the hub faces where the rotor sits and don't overtorque the wheels