Marlin Crawler Ceramic Clutches & Tundra brake upgrade for 3rd gen P/U?
 

Hey fellas,
Got a buddy with basically the exact same truck as mine down to the year and he's looking to replace his clutch (only difference is he run's 33" x 10.50 x 15 BFG A/T's and he has a 3" body lift). He sometimes uses his truck for hauling his compact camper through mountain passes (with airbags), as well as mild to semi-moderate offroading to some fishing spots and such. I know the OEM clutches are proven, reliable, and damn solid as long as they are installed correctly and they will handle the heavy loads to an extent and this is what I'm recommending to him. I read the thread posted here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/clutch-opinions-90-4runner-76565/
and I checked out the Marlin crawler link found here from that thread: http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/tra...ion/clutch.htm. They have their Ceramic clutches for a few bones more. I am just curious if anyone has tried one of these out and how do you feel about them? Would they be a suitable "upgrade" for heavier duty hauling that my buddy requires? Any thoughts would be appreciated on this matter.

Also one more thing. His Rotors are getting a little warped. My understanding is that the OEM rotors are different on the base V6 and SR5 V6 pickups. The rotors are supposedly slightly heavier duty on the SR5 trucks & 4runners. I notice a lot of guys are talking about putting Tundra Calipers & rotors on their 3rd gen 96-02 4runners. In theory do you think the Tundra Calipers/rotors would be transplantable onto a 3rd gen (89-95) truck as long as you moved to 16" rims? Would you think a master cylinder upgrade or anything of the sort would be needed? Or do you think it's not worth the effort and he should just get the heavier duty OEM rotors from the SR5 and tighten the drums up a little more for additional braking?

I never knew that the rotors were diff on v6 and sr5 v6 trucks...everything id heard is that the only diff is between 4 cyl and v6 trucks but even that changed in '92 when the 4 cyl got the v6 brakes. I'd just get some brembo rotors and some good pads (i.e EBC) and call it good, check the rear shoes and if they're still good just adjust em. As far as the clutch go, as of now I'm leaning toward the Marlin for when I do mine this summer.

ST, you're learning towards the Marlin OEM offering, or the Ceramic offering?

I have noticed a difference in brakes! I have a '92 extracab 4x4 V6 dx trim and I tried putting on a front caliper from a '94 SR5 4Runner V6 4x4 and it was a little different. After comparing the calipers, rotors, and pads I concluded that the '94 brakes were a little bigger! I think the caliper size is the same (interchangeable) but the pads are sized to the different diameter rotors. Whatever year rotor you use, that's the year pads you use. The only thing different between calipers is the outer half casting. The reinforcing ribs are thicker over the pistons to firm up the brakes. On the older trucks, you can actually SEE the caliper flex out under pressure! So yes, older trucks (maybe it's only the dx models) can upgrade their brakes to the '94 SR5 4Runner brakes. Maybe they're the same as the T-100?

Last night I went to Autozone and had my wife look up some part #'s for me. We've concluded that as far as differences in brakes, it doesn't make a difference if you have an SR-5 or a DX model. The REAL difference is between the pickups and the 4Runners/T-100's. The 4Runners and T-100's (4x4) use the same size brakes, while the 4x4 trucks (even V6) use a bit smaller size brake. So, anyone with a truck can upgrade their front brakes by using the 4Runner/T-100 brake rotors/calipers/pads! A stage 1 factory upgrade, and you might even be able to find the parts at a junk yard!! Cool, huh? :walk: :) :banger: :great:

I know of a lot of people using the Land Cruiser rotors. Not sure about the Tundra.

I'm leaning towards the ceramic one for now. From what I've read and heard it seems to work pretty well and the price isn't bad.