ebelen1

First, I'm not trying to make my truck a race car but I believe good braking is a must for a DD (and I don't want to get flamed).

I had a shop do the Tundra brake conversion with Brembo slotted Tundra rotors and Raybestos fully-loaded calipers. The Tundra rotors were massive compared to my stock rotors (15" wheel package). The mechanic also said the pads that came with the calipers were better than the ones he replaced (OEM). BTW, I have a 3rd gen 4runner.

Results: The truck stops way better than before. Having said this, let me explain. The truck had 98k on the original pads and rotors. The rotors were slightly warped but not as bad as others have mentioned on this board. When I would come to a stop at an intersection, the truck would slow down but to get it to completely stop took some time. With the new setup, once you step hard on the brake pedal, the truck STOPS!!!

Questions: The mechanic bled the brakes twice but the pedal has not come up. What I mean is, I have to step just as far on the pedal (as before the upgrade) before brakes are engaged. I'm used to having the pedal come up after a brake change. The mechanic said that I have to engage the ABS by going over a dirt road for the pedal to come up. Does this sound right? I'm having a hard time where I live finding a dirt road; I live in the city. For those that have done this upgrade or those just familiar with brakes, am I missing anything? How can I get the pedal to come up further before engaging the brakes? Sorry for the long post.

oly884

Well you could wait for it to rain and go to an empty street and slam on the brakes. The surface is usually slick enough for the ABS to engage.

ebelen1

After I posted, I did more searching and I found out that the pedal is about the same after the upgrade. Someone did say that stainless steel lines will firm up the pedal. Has anyone done this and if so, did this firm up the pedal?

jimbo74

i have used stainless lines because my truck is lifted, and i did notice it was firmer....

also since the fronts were bigger, iwonder if a master cylinder is needed or aftermarket adjustable proportioning valve are needed... with drum to disc rear conversions, they always have t odo something with the master for some reason i cant recall right now

MTL_4runner

The porportioning valve is to keep rear discs from locking up (without adjustment they will lock much easier than drums).

There are a few things to do/check to get your pedal as firm as possible. I assume the lines have been properly bled after installing the calipers. Make sure the rear drums are properly adjusted. You may need to step up to a larger master cyclinder (not sure how different the volume of the 4runner's calipers are to the Tundra's). Finally stainless lines in place of rubber will help to some extent as well (not a dramatic difference tough).

I hope you will do a writeup for the benefit of the rest of us (including myself).

jimbo74

^^^^^ was the reason i was searching for and couldnt remember

ebelen1

I hope I don't have to get a new master cylinder. The reason I did the upgrade was b/c it was a bolt-on mod w/ very little fabrication. I know the system was bled twice but I'm sure the drums weren't adjusted. This is something I will be doing pretty soon.

The writeup has been done before. Here's a link to what was done and a bunch of questions/answers on the mod: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...t=tundra+brake

I tweaked mine a little by using Brembo slotted rotors but used the Raybestos fully-loaded calipers discussed in the thread above. The thread even has the part numbers, which I used.

As far as benefits, I just wanted the ability to stop the truck better w/ no vibration from the somewhat warped rotors. I know that others have complained about the OEM rotors warping pretty easily so I did the mod. I also think that bigger tires on the smaller rotors were really pushing it for me. I've only had the truck back for a day but I can definitely tell the difference. It just stops better. If I had a scale, I would give pre Tundra brakes a 3 and the Tundra setup a 7 or 8. I do wish that the pedal would sit up higher and engage the brakes sooner but others that have done this mod say the pedal is exactly the same as before the mod. I will try steel-braided lines, bleed the system again, and adjust the drums. If I notice a difference, I will let you guys know. This is one of the better mods when I think about the cost/benefit relationship.

MTL_4runner

When I said writeup I think I meant pics more than anything else (and if you did anything different). Yeah, that thread you pointed to is pretty much the definitive source for that mod at the moment.

As far as the pedal travel, I am not surprised if it was as bad or worse (assuming the volume of the Tundra calipers are larger). The only way to make it tigher is to remove as much variation from the system as you can (ie anything that can allow travel like rubber flex lines, air bubbles in the lines, drum shoe travel, etc). That will be as good as you can do with the stock master cylinder. If you still want less travel, you need to increase the volume of fluid moved when you step on the brake pedal. You accomplish that with a larger master cylinder like that from an FJ40 or the like.

ebelen1

Great. Now I have to see who's done the master cylinder replacement mod. j/k.

I guess I'll do as I said earlier and whatever happens is fine. The stopping power is great and coupled with the sway bars makes the truck "fun to drive." I keep finding excuses to take the truck out b/c it's just fun to drive.

Mason Dixon

can't you adjust the brake pedal travel under the dash? maybe i misunderstood the question

snap-on

ive read a coupe of these break upgrade threads, and still am not clear on 1 thing...

can you use 15" rims with the tundra calapers?

I assume if it will bolt on my 94 truck then my stock 15" rims will still clear...

ebelen1

Don't understand your question. I've been told that you don't adjust the pedal but do items such as steel-braided lines (more brake fluid) and adjust your drums to firm the pedal up. Is this what you're asking?

99_Runner

ebelen1

I didn't know that Tundra had 15" calipers so I can't answer your question.
I don't even know if this will bolt on your 94 truck.

I know for sure that this mod works for 3rd gen and others have asked about other models w/o answer. So, I would hesitate to say that this mod will work for you.

dewey

hey, i dont know if this is the problem that you are having or not....i had new rotors and pads done on my 94 4runner a couple months ago. before this i could push the pedal down pretty far before it would slow down....pretty much worn out brakes. so after the new rotors and pads were put on, i noticed that the pedal didnt need to be pushed down as far to make the truck stop. i asked my mechanic about this and he said that if the pedal is going to the floor after a brake replacement, it means the rear drums are out of adjustment. he told me that it is the rear drum brakes that determine how much travel the brake pedal needs. so take that for what its worth...if it were me, i would check the adjustment on the rear drums first.

ebelen1

Yup. I am having the drums checked and adjusted this weekend. I'm also having steel-braided lines put up front. Once I come back from a business trip, I'll post the results.