tommytuttle

Ok. Two simple quesitons

1 I somehow last night when I was putting in new pads and rotors I got myself confused with pad installation. The two metal wear indicators go on the outside side of the rotor correct? and the pad with the single indicator goes on the inside side.

2. I have a small tear in one of the boots on the caliper on the driver side and the springs on both sides seem to be sliding up the caliper due to rust. New caliper vs rebuild kit? advice? (the other caliper looks in better shape)

tommytuttle

just ordered a repair kit for the caliper.. 54$.. new caliper from dealer.. 595$

So.. next step is look for a write up on the caliper rebuild.

DailyDrive

1. doesn't really matter
2. you want to replace the dust boot for $50? i would not put in the effort, it's just a dust boot

pkt1213

iTrader: (1)

That was 50 for a rebuild kit right? For the whole caliper.

I know when I did the brakes on my moms car, not ym 4runner, i replaced all those boots and it cost about $12.

You're talking about the boots that protect the pin so the caliper slides right? That's kind of important to make sure that stays rust free and use some brake grease on so your caliper stays working.

tommytuttle

$50.00 for the rebuild kit from the dealer. Quoted something like $595.00 for a new caliper.. (canadian). I've read some previous posts not to buy other than toyota parts for calipers.. but I was thinking of getting a price on the rebuild from CarQuest. I can try to rebuild the one side and if all else fails I'll probably have to buy an aftermarket.

The boots on the cylinders for the caliper that press against the pad. the crack in the rubber is about 1/8th of an inch.. (yeah not the pins that some cars have that slide the caliper back and forth.)

The round clips that hold the boot on also look pretty rusty, on one side you could see they were riding up on the portion of the caliper which holds the cylinder so I took it apart and cleaned them up.. didn't remove the boot. but just tryed to clean up the ring and get rid of some of the rust.

Thanks for the help.

pkt1213

iTrader: (1)

Good luck on the rebuild. I haven't personally rebuilt a caliper but I have had plenty of friends that have and in general it doesn't seem to hard if you have some instructions.

I can't think of exactly what you're talking about off the top of my head.

GSGALLANT

The rebuild is not that bad. You got new seals for the pistons in that kit too, right? Just make sure that there are no rust pits on the seal surface of the pistons before you put them back in. If any of the piston seal surfaces are pitted, replace them, or you'll eventually have to rebuild the calipers again when that piston seizes.

tommytuttle

ok What did I do wrong!!

my kit doesn't come in till today, however, the driver's side caliper was the one I had issue with.

Put it on the bench last night and thought I should check out the cylinders etc.

Cleaned it all up. Popped out a cyinder cleaned it up with a rag, rubbed off any dirt or what looked like rust, seemed smooth no pitting etc. put it in with rubber boot and went to the next one. same procedure.

It all looked pretty good and the tear in the one boot was quite small so I thought I would put the truck together incase my wife needed it today, then I could replace the boot tonight (after practicing with the old one).

So.. I did not load the caliper with brake fluid on the bench.. (maybe this is where I errored).

I hooked everything up, put fluid in the system, bleed the brakes using a little bottle with extra fluid, lots of air came out on both sides.. eventually nothing but fluid..

Decided to finalize my brake bleeding by getting a neighbour to come over and do the pump and hold.

Well pedal was firm, worked almost done.. one more time on the driver's side.. and no more pedal.. right to the floor no pressure..

Does not seem to be going through fluid?, I visually inspected for leaks (have not taken the rear wheeles off yet to inspect the cylinders.

So.. did I blow something by too much pressure?, did my MC go as well, Do I simply have air in the system?


I'm getting the rebuild kit at lunch so I'll pull it apart again tonight.. but it sure would be nice to know if I screwed up the rebuild and install of the calipers as oppose to an additional problem.

Any help is appreciated.

DailyDrive

See you didn't listen Don't fix what's not broken.

tommytuttle

Yeah.. I'll know better for next time.. just leave it till it is a problem.

DailyDrive

The likelyhood of a small hole in a dust boot becoming a problem is very small relative to the expense, effort and possibility of runaway costs due to things not going exactly right. It's a tradeoff.

As far as the pedal going out, if it goes down REAL easy and the guy pushed the pedal to the floor while pumping it, then probably the seal is gone in the master cylinder.

tommytuttle

Great.. so as you said I should have left it alone. How would the seal have gone in the Master Cylinder.. by pushing too far or something?

I guess if I go pulling the master cylinder off that is a hole new load of trouble.. ie bleeding the entire system..

I guess I can trouble shoot the master cylinder by blocking off the two lines going out of the MC and seing if it is the same problem? although once I do that I let air into the system and have to bleed the whole thing?

DailyDrive

I would get a power bleeder first, and purge everything again. There is a right way to get the air out of the calipers too. It could that you just have massive amounts of air in the system too.

tommytuttle

so what is the right way to get the air out of the calipers?
That would be a good first start.

I just picked up the kit after lunch. I'm thinking tonight I'll take the one boot off and replace with a new one. Load up the caliper with fluid, then put it on the vehicle. then bleed the far side again, then come back to the drivers side.

Mann I really regret taking this on.. amaized how easy the rotors came off.. no idea the calipers would be such and issue.. I should get flex hoses so next time I can just pull the calipers to the side and pull rotors off without undoing the brake lines. (that's how I do it on my corrolla)

Thanks Daily Drive for your help. Much appreciated even if I didn't take your original advice (I wish I had)

DailyDrive

I haven't had the pleasure of emptying out the calipers on a 4Runner yet, and it varies from caliper to caliper. But I would take the caliper off, hold it in hand so the purge nipple is at the highest point, then pump fluid into the lines as usual.

A power bleeder is very useful, or there is this old wisdom of putting a board under the pedal. The board will limit how far the pedal goes, as under normal condition the pistons in the master cylinder do not travel their whole length, and can become corroded. So when you start pumping the pedal to the floor the corroded parts potentially can damage the seals.