unlugg

HELP My 4 runner is eating pads and rotors, ive been told several differant things "its the calipers" "its the propotioning valve" "its the cheap pads" what the heck is it and what do i look for to fix it. About two years ago i replaced pads on my front wheels i took off the caliper and used a large "C" clamp to push the pistons back into the caliper body ( i was told thats not right thing to do either)anyways not to long after that it started every 6 months or so the pads are gone and are eating into the rotoers i have replaced several pads and 2 sets of rotors now i think it is time again for the rotors and pads HELP?!?!

camo31_10.50

why did you push the piston back into the caliper?

i've done lots of brake jobs n a variety of vehicles, and never done this????? never had to....

it could be a few things.

riding the brakes.
excessive speed.
crappy pads.


idk how the proportioning valve would do it????

unlugg

really then how did you ever get the new pads into the caliper around the rotors. No it is none of those things you have mentioned i bought the high dollar ceramic pads maybe they did see me comming huh glad to hear it isnt the proportioning valve dont know how to troubleshoot that!

camo31_10.50

well ya see..

you take the caliper off....put pads in..then put caliper back onto the rotor and bolt it down...i've never had any trouble.

done them on a lot of different vehicles, '86 toyota, '80 toyota, '98 civic, '96 dodge 1/2 ton, '02 dodge 3/4ton, '97 ford 1/2 ton, '97 Ford 1ton SRW, '02 tiburon, numerous cavilers and chevies, blazers, jeeps, did some on a new Challenger...all done the same way, never had any problems or any come-backs.


pads wear out FAST if you drive fast...i found that out over the summer working for a pipeline company...when i left the '96 dodge's pads on the front we're at about 3/4 material left...12,000 miles later...no material

4runnerFireman

Hey y'all....I kinda agree with Unlugg......I have done numerous brake jobs as well, and I have always had to push the piston back into the caliper at least 1/16-1/8"....when the pads wear down, the piston pushes further out. Then when u put the new (much thicker than old) pads on, there is not enough clearance in between the pads to slide over the rotor. I don't know any other way around this.....Anyway, yes unilugg, use a c-clamp, just be sure to take the cap off your brake fluid reservoir, and squeeze them SLOWLY.

I am not sure why the pads are wearing so fast, like camo31 said, it could be a number of things. If the proportioning valve is "out of whack", it could be sending not enough (or none) braking power to the back wheels, which in turn will make the front brakes work much harder, ya know!!! Good luck

camo31_10.50

dah, didnt think about that proportioning valve thing 4runnerfireman lol

unlugg

Great feed back thanks. Anyone know how to troubleshoot that proportioning valve???? Could it be that the calipers are bad (doesnt seem likely)?

Ron Helmuth

It does sound like the rear brakes are not doing their share of the braking. I'd take it to a qualified shop that does brakes all day. Like a Midas or a Meineke or Brakes Plus or whatever.

I'd hope you would agree that a few dollars spent diagnosing the issue properly will save you a few dollars in the long run. Then if the repair is more expensive than what you want to hear at least you have gotten the benefit of a solid diagnosis and know what to do. Then discuss amongst us a bit more and arrive at a lower cost solution.

A good check is your emergency brake for example, does it engage tightly and at the right number of clicks? I'm not positive on the 3rd gens but on my 2nd gen the Yota techs would actually drive in reverse (slowly) and adjust the rear brakes by engaging the emergency brake to adjust the rears.

Never have really heard about a proportioning valve going bad but I guess it is entirely possible.

And yes regarding the push in of the pistons-on my 89 Toy MR2 we also have to push them into the calipers and on the rear disc brakes we even have to spin the piston counter clockwise to lower it back into place properly. I recently had a full on panic stop in that car and we had to reset the rear pistons back down to stop the new pads from continuing to ride on the rotors.

ab_mekanik

too many variables to be sure. if it were the calipers, I can see one or two pistons sticking and causing one side of the pad pair to wear prematurely. the pins across the pads can also jam up if they're bent or not and cause a similar issue.

Chances are, that LSPV (load sensing proportioning valve) is faulty, bypassed, or no longer attached. that's possible. if your front pads and rotors are constantly wearing out, try adjusting what your stopping distance is and easing into it. what road surfaces are you regularly driving on? if it's mud or sand, that can cause premature pad wear (16k km in the mine here). too little information to really help. how often does your abs come on?