95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners 4th gen pickups and 3rd gen 4Runners

Tundra Brakes for 3rd gen 4Runners on Off-Road.com.

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Old 08-24-2009 | 07:58 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by SOAZtim
Nice write up. Good to see the little brother Toyota getting some press.
Looks like I'm SOL for the brake mod unless I give up my steelies.
I understand the steel wheels will fit using the 199 mm Tundra rotor, but not the 230 mm rotor.


Have a related question:

Are the rotors the same on a 2WD?

will the rotors from a 2WD Tundra work for the swap?
Old 08-24-2009 | 01:01 PM
  #22  
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Dude! Good color, eh?

I just like to say that. I believe ANY first-gen Tundra rotors will work - they didn't change (again, disclaimer - as far as I know). If that's what you're talking about. You were not specific about which 2WD vehicle, Tundra or 4Runner.

If you like the OEM steelies, I think the 17-inch Tundra/FJ steelies work, and the FJ ones are 17x8. Then sell your 16s to a Taco guy.

That caliper is a bad place to experiment, and if the fix pops you could be high-speed screwed. I agree on Fog's welding suggestion, but would suggest you try an epoxy or JB Weld first, just because they're easier to work with - the weld could mess up the caliper for good if you do it wrong. I know there's some reaaaaaally advanced epoxies out there that will bond to just about anything. You just need to make sure it's heat, salt and brake-fluid friendly.

Suggestion on the caliper - ditch it, or you'll always worry about it. Get a junkyard unit. Sequoias have the same calipers too. There have to be five Tundras and Sequoias in junkyards that I know about, right now. I'm sure you can find one. If you have brass balls, it would be cool to fix it and run it, and folks on the boards would be proud of you... A friend of mine - he's an aircraft fabricator, can weld everything to anything - said it would work if you drain & clean the caliper first and hit it right. He said have a pro do it.

Thanks for reading the stories. Front suspension coverage just went up, rear is coming along (when I figure out what's wrong with it).

STICK
Old 08-24-2009 | 04:23 PM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by tacollie
I actually haven't decided what to do yet. My brother thinks he can weld them, which is probably true. Except you would have to heat up the casting to gaurantee a solid weld. I was thinking about jb weld. My dad worries both those options will fall. What do you guys think?


The left one is only $44 at NAPA, the right one is $89

Dont ask why the price difference, NAPA couldnt tell me.
Old 08-27-2009 | 08:06 PM
  #24  
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I did this mod on my 96 Limited for under a thousand dollars with new 231mm brembo rotors, pads, stainless steel lines, and an almost brand new set of 17 in wheels off of a new FJ. Absolutely worth the money, and the FJ wheels have more than enough room for the big calipers.
Attached Thumbnails Tundra Brakes for 3rd gen 4Runners on Off-Road.com.-1.jpg   Tundra Brakes for 3rd gen 4Runners on Off-Road.com.-2.jpg  
Old 08-28-2009 | 06:11 PM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by SOAZtim
Nice write up. Good to see the little brother Toyota getting some press.
Looks like I'm SOL for the brake mod unless I give up my steelies.


.... me too
Old 08-28-2009 | 08:10 PM
  #26  
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I'm actually experimenting with a new semi-truck dynamic tire balancing fluid called Ride-On. It seems to have calmed the wheel/tire shimmy that I induced by taking weight off, but I need to have them spin-balanced to make sure.

More info on this stuff?

Last edited by olharleyman; 08-28-2009 at 08:12 PM.
Old 08-29-2009 | 12:30 AM
  #27  
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Used it. It never stopped moving. Had to clean it out to get the tires to stop vibrating. I tried everything: mounted them on all corners, played with pressures, and I did every test twice. Ride-On is great stuff for self-sealing needs, race tires (especially off-road and motorcycle), and high-intrusion stuff like in the rocks and when crawling, but on any vehicle being used primarily on the street, I think it's more hassle than it's worth.

I am not on to say you might have different results, so give it a shot. Tell you what, though, it never ever balanced out for me. Also, you can't spin-balance the tire to test it because the goop keeps moving. It works on semi tires because they get hotter and move for a lot longer period of time, so the Ride-On settles and balances out. On small-truck tires, it never stops moving, and it gave me a shimmy every time I started out.

Good luck with it - I hope I'm wrong.

STICK
Old 08-29-2009 | 12:37 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by SharpStick
Used it. It never stopped moving. Had to clean it out to get the tires to stop vibrating. I tried everything: mounted them on all corners, played with pressures, and I did every test twice. Ride-On is great stuff for self-sealing needs, race tires (especially off-road and motorcycle), and high-intrusion stuff like in the rocks and when crawling, but on any vehicle being used primarily on the street, I think it's more hassle than it's worth.

I am not on to say you might have different results, so give it a shot. Tell you what, though, it never ever balanced out for me. Also, you can't spin-balance the tire to test it because the goop keeps moving. It works on semi tires because they get hotter and move for a lot longer period of time, so the Ride-On settles and balances out. On small-truck tires, it never stops moving, and it gave me a shimmy every time I started out.

Good luck with it - I hope I'm wrong.

STICK
Sounds like I need to find another option my 35's I was hoping this would work had the rings with sand but after awhile the sand hardened and got the same issue you described.

I heard about BB's working but cant seem to find the post about them so I have to keep searching I guess.
Old 08-30-2009 | 06:02 PM
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I bought the tundra calipers and the 4runner lines wont work, the threads are too deep, the line fittings wont bottom out and seal.
Old 08-30-2009 | 09:17 PM
  #30  
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Alright, as far as I know they ought to, so check one fitting to the other - Tundra to 4Runner, if you've got them. I've never heard of it not being bolt-on. The shape of the Tundra hard lines are identical to the 4Runner lines, too. A junkyard set of lines from a Tundra or Sequoia would cost about a buck and allow you to check if they're identical, and swap them if need be.

Do you have the ends of the line swapped? The hard lines are easy to reverse, and I don't know if one end is interchangeable with the other.

The lines should be self-seating - there's a term for that, I can't remember - and even if they only go a certain distance in, it should be setting itself in the threaded port when it's tight. If you're getting blow-by with the threads, you could have a bad fitting.

STICK
Old 08-31-2009 | 05:53 AM
  #31  
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I left the stock lines attached at the frame end so that cant be it.

Headed out in a little while to find some Tundra lines & see whats the diff.

Its kind of hard to describe, the threads are the same, but the threads bottom out before the line fitting bottoms out.

Mine are 13WL as pictured in your article,

Last edited by roundhouse; 08-31-2009 at 06:00 AM.
Old 08-31-2009 | 08:28 AM
  #32  
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I figured out the problem.

Inside the caliper threads, at the bottom is a cone shaped washer/fitting/seal thingie.

That is missing from one of the calipers I got.

Maybe I can pull it out of the old calipers. Or the leaking rear wheel cylinder.
Old 09-01-2009 | 01:39 PM
  #33  
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Hmm, I don't think there's supposed to be a washer-thingy at the bottom of the hole - the fitting is supposed to do a sort of interference-wedge seal right into the caliper. Is it possible part of the threaded fitting broke off in the caliper?

Please note, I have no official training with this. I could be wrong. Do you have an expert to check with?

STICK
Old 09-01-2009 | 01:53 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by SharpStick
Hmm, I don't think there's supposed to be a washer-thingy at the bottom of the hole - the fitting is supposed to do a sort of interference-wedge seal right into the caliper. Is it possible part of the threaded fitting broke off in the caliper?

Please note, I have no official training with this. I could be wrong. Do you have an expert to check with?

STICK
I pulled out the cone shaped brass washer out of the stock 4runner caliper and pushed it into the Tundra caliper and it works fine now. Doesnt leak.

Only one tundra caliper was missing the seal.

Anyhoo, Im not totally satisfied, with a new MC and new calipers I should be able to pull the ABS fuse and skid the tires, and it wont.

Not even a squeak. seems to stop ok, but the pedal is still a little mushy, but Ive bled the brakes till Im blue in the face and that didnt help.

Maybe all cars with ABS have mushy pedals I dunno, my other vehicle was designed in '64 and built in '74.
Old 09-02-2009 | 12:00 AM
  #35  
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Okay, then there is a washer. I missed them altogether.

Mushy pedal would not be a master cylinder deal - if you've got lots of miles, those rubber lines are going to have lots of give to them. I'm going to try your ABS trick, though, see if mine do.

STICK
Old 09-02-2009 | 09:06 AM
  #36  
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Old brake lines would be a good thing to check. Maybe also bleed the rears just to make sure there is no air out there too? You should be able to lock them up no prob. I can kick on asb on a solid 10% down grade. THey were stinking but they did it
Old 09-03-2009 | 07:10 AM
  #37  
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Ive replaced the rear flex line, and the MC as well. I can lock up the fronts by driving backwards and jabbing the brakes, but I cant lock the back brakes going forward, nor the fronts going forward.

I think Toyota purposely biased the rear brakes with less.

The parts store listed a diff MC for non ABS, I wonder if it has more rear bias?

Or if the Taco MC, (Tacos have the rear axle load sensing valve right?) would provide more rear brake power?

Only other thing I can try is figure a way to bypass the ABS pump and test it, but I need some brass fittings to make a U-turn with the lines so I dont have to bend em for the test, and cant find anything that looks like it would work.

be careful pulling the ABS fuse, mine was stuck and damaged the fuse block when I yanked it out.
Old 09-04-2009 | 03:22 PM
  #38  
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Heyo.

Yuppers, mine was tricky but I caught it off guard. Didn't see me coming.

My brakes are on the verge of lockup, but I had to punish the pedal. Tell you what, if the rig is stopping properly, and nothing is malfunctioning, stop worrying about it.

You know, there's another factor to consider here: tires. The OEM baloneys are freeway-friendly skinny things and a big thick off-roady tire will behave differently, and probably has a larger footprint. I know for a fact that it's harder to lock up the brakes now that I've got big Goodyears on my truck than when the craptastic BFG Rugged Trails were in their place. That master cylinder is made for the OEM tire sizes, methinks.

STICKing with my theory

Last edited by SharpStick; 09-04-2009 at 03:23 PM. Reason: 'Cause I didn't edit myself.
Old 09-05-2009 | 01:36 PM
  #39  
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For anybody who ground through calipers here is what I did. I took them to a guy I know who is an amazing tig welder. He learned by welding vacuum lines on helicopters in the army. Needless to say I have never seen a tig weld as good as his. After soaking the calipers in lacquer thinner for 3 days and cooking them at 550 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 hours the metal still was not good enough or clean enough to get a good weld. We kept getting pinholes. So after Talking to many shops I decided to fill those pinholes with silver so out came the acetylene torch and my problem is solved. So grind your wheels and not the calipers because I ended up grinding them anyways or just don't let you dad help after he had a few beers.
Old 09-05-2009 | 02:37 PM
  #40  
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Collie, you're hysterical. Today's lesson is GRIND THE FREAKIN' WHEELS.

Hey, everyone tune into my show today - every Saturday, 6: PM San Diego time, 1170AM. KCBQ.com simulcasts it. We're talking CO4RJ and some 'Yota stuff today.

STICK your dad in the recliner

Last edited by SharpStick; 09-05-2009 at 02:37 PM. Reason: I hate smilies.



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