Tundra Brake Upgrade Opinions or Advice

I posted this as a reply to one of the previous tundra brake upgrade posts but I am not getting any responses, so I am starting a new thread.

I just bought a 2001 Tacoma. Its my first Tacoma. I have mostly had jeeps up till now. The truck was just in the shop getting a timing belt. I asked them to check out the brakes that shudder and don't stop particularly well. They said I need:

Front brake caliper set left/right
Front brake pad set left/right
turn font rotors
turn rear brake drums
clean and adjust rear shoes
Inner and outer rear axle seals

Its $950 and mostly labor. Got me thinking... why not upgrade? Found this thread. Good stuff.

My questions are:

1. does this upgrade really improve stopping power?

2. Is there a major difference, is it worth it vs just taking this truck back to a local job for a brake job using oem parts? I use my truck for work and hauling trailers with up to 4000lbs at times.

3. I am upgrading to 17" soft 8 rims so I can use jeep take off BFG mud tires. 255/75R17's. I assume this will fit inside the 17 rims ok since it fits 16" rims

4. how much $ in parts does it cost to accomplish this upgrade?

5. Is there somebody in Denver on this forum who has done this to their tacoma that would be interested in being paid to do it to mine?

Thanks!

 

1. YES, definitely worth it.

2. It's a no brainer to upgrade, especially since all your stock equipment is bad.

3. Yes, they will fit just fine, go for the 231mm ones, not the 199mm.

4. I can't remember how much mine cost, but here is post with links to everything that I used: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tiffany-the-taco.374490/#post-10331913. Definitely cheaper than $950

5. You can probably find someone

EDIT: My master cylinder failed about a month after the swap because I let it go dry while switching the calipers. There was probably a bunch of junk in the reservoir that got pulled into the seals. So make sure you keep the fluid level up and stop the brake fluid leak.

 

I'd get a second opinion. The shop doesn't really know what they are talking about if they think they can replace all that for $950. The outer axle seals require the rear axle with bearing and retainer assembly to be pressed apart which will require new bearing, abs ring if you have abs, and 1 or 2 retainers depending on abs or non abs truck.

Plus, if your rear axle seal is leaking it's usually due to an out of tolerance bearing so you'd want to replace them anyway. Maybe labor is super cheap where you are but I don't know any shop that would do all that work for that price where I am.

In reference to your original question, if you want to replace calipers, versus rebuilding, you might as well do the upgrade though. It'll only set you back an additional hundred or so in parts, I'd estimate. The labor would all be the same.

 

it seems like they know their stuff... they work only on toyota, and mostly trucks and older ones such as FJ40s' and 60's etc. but I just don't want to spend $950. don't think I have abs. anyway, do you need to mess with the rear brakes to do the axle seals? maybe I will have them do only that part, then I will do the brake upgrade on my own. I have done some auto work here and there, including some brake work, but I just don't know my way around toyota's or drum brakes. but I am sure I can figure it out. Just wish I had more time. thanks for your replies. they are helpful.

 

ps the labor rate is $120 around here for the most part, including CTS (colorado toyota specialists) and I hardly consider that cheap. wish it was less or I would not have as many reasons for doing it myself when I don't really have time. thanks

 

don't think my original response posted. yes, they seem like they know their stuff. they work on toyota only, and mostly trucks, especially fj40's and 60's and older trucks. I appreciate the responses, they are helpful. Wish I had more time, sounds like a worthwhile upgrade. I'll read all the links and old posts and figure out if I can get this done on my own. I do a lot of trailer hauling and want the best brakes I can get. I have a 2009 jeep and the brakes on the tacoma have a LOT less braking power even with 37" tires on my jeep. I was a bit surprised the first time I hauled a trailer. Same for the suspension, leaves a lot to be desired. I am doing an air bag install to help the tired old leaf springs on the rear of the tacoma. Its really struggling under any weight.

 

Out of all those recommendations the shop gave you, the most difficult and the one that I would prefer having a toyota experienced shop do would be the rear axle seals. If you have some patience and a few tools you can complete the other items yourself with a Haynes manual or toyota fsm.

But like I said before, if you do the axle seals you should be doing the axle bearings at the same time. For one side to replace the axle bearing and all seals you are looking at at least $130 in parts plus at least 2 hours of labor.

Did the shop tell you why they are recommending the rear axle seals? Are they leaking? Did they see gear oil on the rear drums?
The brake shuddering is pretty common and usually means warped front rotors.

How many miles are on the truck? To be honest, I'd probably start with a front brake job, or tundra brake upgrade, and see where you are after that. None of the jobs they recommended really overlap so you can do them one at a time without much downside.

 

Forgive my ignorance, is an axle bearing the same thing as a wheel bearing? Not trying to be a putz, just trying to understand.

 

Yeah. I don't know why I usually refer to it as an axle bearing. Probably because the axle runs through it and it just makes more sense to me.

The parts sites have a couple different diagrams but they either call it a "bearing" or an "axle bearing" from what I've seen. It's part #5 in this diagram.

 

Gotcha new vocabulary for my repertoire

 

so is the tacoma upgrade generally just on the front and you leave the drums tacoma?

I am starting to hear the "grinding" sound now when I touch the brakes.... so they are getting bad. Seems like it might be better to just replace the rotors etc rather than turn them, especially if they are warped.

I bought the tacoma since it has 165,000 miles on it, and really all other double cabs in my price range were 200-300k.... so, even though its a 1st gen and a few years older than most, it had lower miles. Might have been a mistake in retrospect.... guess time will tell.

If the shutter is probably the front, I'll start there. Only question is the upgrade. Not sure if shops will be familiar with it, or want to do a non-standard installation like that, especially on brakes since its a "safety" thing. Anybody know somewhere in Denver I should try? Slee Offroad maybe?

 

A full front brake job is cake and is a 2beer job at most. I did my tundra swap for 400 bucks with parts stores calipers and they worked great for 10yrs. The only reason im still not running them is because i had to go back to fit my 15" beadlocks. That rear wheel bearing is a bitch to swap, but then again my backing plates rusted to shit so they kept bending and falling apart. Theres no way i would pay a shop 950 to do all that when you you can do the brake job in your driveway for less than half that and the rear wheel bearing can be swapped out fairly quick if you know someone with a press. Hell you can take rhe money you saved doing the front brake swap yourself and buy a hf 20press and still be ahead. I got my rear wheelbearing kit and seals from lowrange offroad.