How to Change Front Brakes (Pads and Rotors)

How did they manage that? They put all new lines from the ABS to the wheels on mine so Im sure they had to replace the fluid. I know brake fluid was listed on the frame replacement invoice also. Im about to do my front brakes and didnt plan on flushing/bleeding since i just had the frame replaced 2 months ago.

 

They're a good upgrade over stock bleeders, especially for those of us with TRD OR models. Assume you've seen https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...4x4-trd-off-road-with-speed-bleeders.368080/?

 

Followed this guide and swapped out from front brake pads tonight, first time doing the brakes on my Tacoma since I have owned it. May have waited a little long and as mentioned it in the video the bottom guide pins on both sides were pretty tough to get out. Stupid me, I ordered the Carlson Guide Pins on Amazon and didn't read the fine print so by ordering 1 set only two pins showed up. I elected to throw the new pins in the bottoms on both side and picked the best two old pins for the tops.

Thanks again LoadedTaco, you saved me a bunch of time and money!

 

Sticky piston(s) symptoms keeps coming up just about every other day so here is the summary of what happens if calipers are not maintained:

1. Piston(s) begin to stick. This eventually causes unlevel pads, and non-uniform wear between the inner and out pads.
2. Unlevel/non-uniform pads begin wearing a non-uniform track into the rotor. During light braking, this causes steering shake and front end wobble. During very slow rolling, you can feel the specific pulses of the pad(s) going out of their groove and back in again.
3. In addition to a non-uniform track groove, one side of the rotor will wear faster than the other side, also contributing to steering shake.


If you can get at least 80k miles out of the first set of brakes, I recommend also rebuilding the brake caliper seals with the $20 OEM rebuild kit (Toyota part number 04478 04050 for Tacoma 4x4 V6 models) to avoid developing sticky/slow pistons. Which also means flushing the front fluid lines (ideally you would do all 4 corners anyway after 80k anyway). Typical symptoms that develops a few months after that first-brake job is the front end will shake and wobble during light braking, and sometimes cause the steering wheel to shake when braking at highway speeds. During firm/hard braking (which we only get to do 5% of the time), there is no wobble/shake since there is more fluid pressure pushing the piston out and evenly apply force against the pads. I had the inner pads wearing faster than the outer pads, and I had uneven wear on the inner pads (so the pad material was slightly unlevel). The sticky pistons are a bitch to get out but they will come out - the ones that are slow to come out are likely the sticky ones. There was a lot of particle and crap gathering behind the pistons, with fluid (Motul RBF 600 - this is overkill for this truck - switching to Prestone Dot 4, which is very very good $4 fluid) that was only 20 months old which by the way became black behind the pistons. After cleaning, all 8 of my pistons were flawless, absolutely no pitting - at most I had a few teeny-tiny surface scratches which could not be felt with fingernails, so I think were acceptable to reuse. Before you run out and spend $200+ (and needing to return your original caliper) on 'reman' calipers, try cleaning and rebuilding the calipers during the regular brake service. These are high end, heavy duty calipers, so they need a bit more service to avoid braking issues. Just some additional comments below:

1. 'Screwdriver method' of prying the pistons back into the caliper is a major contributor to sticky pistons- it’s an unacceptable method and it promotes the piston becoming angled-in against the square-seal. Make sure to invest in the pad-spreader tool to keep the pistons perpendicular while evenly pushing them into the caliper, if you aren’t going to rebuild them. The tool can even be used to block off the pistons when popping them out with compressed air if you do rebuild them.

2. During vacuum bleeding, only some particles but not all particles stored behind the pistons will come out and get 'flushed'. Lots of garbage particles will still remain in the caliper, and due to the single fluid passageway in the caliper (there is only one port to get fluid to the outer 2 piston wells), will never come out unless the pistons are removed. These particles keep gathering and gathering and eventually work their way into the squareseal/piston interface - contributing sticky pistons. I think the particle material even gets under the seal groove, which causes the seal to compress harder than intended around the piston.

3. Toyota/Lexus 4x4 trucks have 8 total brake pistons, not 2 or 4! - forget about “seized” pistons. It’s probably not going to happen unless you are constantly fording water. All it takes is 1 “sticky” piston to make braking miserable with the above symptoms.

4. The longer the use your pads, the further out the boot is extended and which makes it more likely to take-on moisture and water, as well as having more surface area exposed for dry rotting. And the further the piston will need pressed back in anyway. You are better off just replacing the pads as soon as the pad dust groove is worn away. Don’t take them all the way down to 1/16” the way I did!

 

Awesome video. First time changing pads and Rotors myself. How long can I expect this to take? 2-3 hours, ish.

 

Yes
After you do the first side the second side goes a lot quicker

 

Technical question. Do you put the caliper pins inward or outward? I hadnt really thought about it until recently, when I was missing a caliper pin clip. FSM says they should face vehicle center. https://www.customtacos.com/tech.ol...06toyrm/06toypdf/06rmsrc/rm2006ta/0420011.pdf

But if a pin did work its way out, it would hit the rim that way and be a big problem.
Does it matter?

 

Great success (borat voice)

 

I cannot remember the page it was on so forgive me- the caliper grease goes between the caliper/shim and the shim/piston? Thank you in advance.

Kory

 

Thin coating of brake grease or silicone paste only goes on the outer backing of the shim pads.

 

Just between the piston and the shim. Just make sure not to get any grease on the other side of the pads that contacts the rotors.

 

Awesome. Thank you for the replies!

 

Hey folks,

For those who switched to Speed Bleeders, have you used thread sealant?

Thanks

 

I did not, when I installed mine ~8 months ago. No problems, so far.

 

Any one have a good guideline for when/ how often to replace front brake rotors?
I get that if they are warped, then need to be either turned or replaced, but what is the general wear point? 60k 100k?

Also any suggestions for the replacements? Cross drilled necessary/ helpful, or standard basic replacements for $50 just as good?
Thanks

 

Curious why?

 

Pads embed pad material onto the rotors. When properly bedded, the combination of the treated rotor and pads provide for optimal braking.

This gets screwed up if you just change the pad with different material.

 

Ahh good to know. Thanks!

 

FYI- ordered the Speed Bleeders 7100 and 1010 in SS. Ordering directly from SB is a bit funky where you have to order each separately but each pair comes in their own box. They should just charge $30 for the pair and be done w it.


Also, both pairs came w thread locker on them.

 

Aren't brake discs supposed to have a minimum and maximum thickness specification stamped on them in the hub area?
Maybe it's also written in a manual.

I don't know if rotors warp or just develop a DTV (disc thickness variation) from uneven pad deposits or something, leading to pedal pulsation. And if 'turning' them on a lathe can remove that or not, or if lathes are precise enough to remove old material but still leave the rotor within thickness spec.
Because with German cars on the other hand, I hear they tend to not turn their rotors vs. replace, because Germans don't advise it and the thickness spec range is so small that it doesn't give room with lathes that are said to take off a lot of material.

I digress.

I've always been told that you take a measuring caliper around the rotor to find the lowest point and that so long as it's above Min Thickness spec and not "warped" or any issues, to re-use it slapping on new pads whether you turn the rotor or not. By turn I mean cut. Because I heard 'turn' means cut on a lathe.

Say a disc has old brake pad transfer material on it. And a new bad brakes against that. Is that worse? I don't know. I hear it can wear off and regenerate by laying down more. Maybe even by bedding.
But to me, that's overthinking.
Because if it has a thick pad squeezing a rotor, then the truck will probably stop. And will probably do better than some neglected other car on the road with a pad worn to the backing plate squealing against a thin rotor with no material left.

Say the thickness spec says it's less than half worn. Then me personally I'd probably re-use it another time. Instead of new rotors every change. Because that adds a lot more cost versus just pads.

Now if only I could figure out where/which brakes my pulsation is coming from and why...
I guess one way would be to throw all new parts all around at it (expensive)
Not even sure if I have my measuring calipers still; might be time to buy a pair, probably gonna be cheaper at Harbor Freight...

I'm trying to figure out what parts to get too, and if I can do it the same way I did with my cabin air filter. Going with a name-brand but their cheapest version offering through RockAuto.
Though with brakes things probably vary such as pad composition and disc metallurgy.
Will admit, am still reading this thread. Not sure if this was discussed yet.
But as for solid or cut, I hear slots help keep the pad clean but that drilled holes can cause rotor cracking.