My 231mm Tundra brake upgrade
 

After reading as many related threads as possible, I finally decided to take the plunge and do this upgrade. My front brakes were starting to shudder again, so it was time... I located a pair of 2006 Tundra calipers on Ebay. Once I received them, I noticed that a few of the dust seals were bad. Since a rebuild was in order, I went ahead and bead blasted the calipers to bare cast iron. They were then washed with a prep solvent before painting with a high-temp primer and high-temp engine enamel (Duplicolor DE1651 ‘Cast Coat Iron). This is a 500-degree rated paint that I’ve had great success with in the past. Once I gave the paint a few days to cure, I set about rebuilding the calipers. I chose to do each piston individually, and used wood blocks to keep all but one piston in place as I nudged a piston out using compressed air (20-30 psi). I cleaned each bore, removed the bore seals with a dental pick, and then lubed the bores and bore seals with assembly grease (Brembo/Klüber). Then I gave the dust seals a light wipe of the same grease before popping those in place. The rebuild work was super easy, and really should be done with any used calipers before install. The rebuild kit from Toyota included eight bore seals, eight dust boots, grease, and two bleed screw caps.

The rest of the job was like any other 4Runner brake job. In addition to the calipers, I purchased Tundra rotors/pads/shims/seals from the local Toyota dealer. After installing the front brakes, I used my Motive Power Bleeder to run new fluid through the front lines and took a test drive to bed the brakes. They felt great. But...

I noticed a few years ago that the bleed screws for the rear drums were corroded in place. No amount of coaxing could crack them loose. So a few days after completing the front brakes, I purchased two new wheel cylinders from Toyota. When I pulled the first drum, I noticed that one of the shoes was quite thin. So I ran back to the dealership for a set of shoes. After completing the first side, I pulled the passenger-side drum and was greeted with gear-oil saturated brake shoes. Since I had already replaced the driver's side oil seal years ago, I was familiar with what I needed to do (and I still had an extra axle seal from the first job). This job is well-documented on Yotatech, so I'll refrain from discussing it.

Once the rear brakes were buttoned up and adjusted (truck in the air on four stands) I re-bled the entire brake system, taking my time to run nearly a quart of new fluid through it. I've used the Motive bleeder for years on my other cars with great success. With the mileage my truck has, I'd rather not damage the master cylinder seals by using the old-school pumping & bleeding method.

I've now taken the truck on a few local drives and can say without hesitation - it brakes better than it has in nearly eleven years of ownership. Solid, smooth, and noticeably stronger. I'm sold.

Enjoy the pics:


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Andreas

Nice work, I love my 199mm's.
I bought rebuilt calipers, I wish I would've taken the time to finish them like you did, I thought the coating from the rebuilder (Al Cardone) was good enough. Needless to say I was wrong, and I now have a nice coat of rust on them.

Thanks! I'm giving away my stock front brakes - you're welcome to them. Then you can pull the 199's, install my old ones, refinish the 199's, and then roll in style. :)


Andreas

What rims do you have on there? I thought the 231s rubbed on stock 4runner rims... tundra rims?

I have TRD Tundra snowflakes on my '99, they cleared the 231mm brakes with no spacers needed.

The normal 6-spoke 'Triclops' 3rd gen wheels will rub.

Stock 2002 4Runner 16" wheels. My original 5-spoke 2001 16" wheels fit fine as well.

No clearance issues.


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Andreas

^dang you're quick!

just found this: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/t...estion-249033/
don't know how i missed that...
thanks

I presume you mean the more traditional double three-spoke design found on Tacomas as well (typically had a machined finish)?

The '02 wheels (shown above) have around .25" clearance nearest to the wheel hub.


Andreas

Sweet. I've always wondered if this was possible to do on earlier trucks with the v6 brakes. I wouldn't mind doing it on my FJ62 axle, if it worked.

So what ultimately pushed you to the 231mm rather than 199mm? It seems to me that it's both beefier and a larger surface area to stop it, but most people go with 199mm

In this case, bigger is better. Minor trimming of my 11-year old dust shields was of no concern. :)

Since these fit within the stock wheels (without wheel spacers), I saw no reason to install the smaller calipers.

The braking really is noticeably better. I'm sure it helped that I replaced the rear shoes and did a proper bleed - but the truck now stops with authority. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.


Andreas

I'll gladly send my stock calipers & rotors to you. If they bolt up, and your wheels clear with room to spare, no reason the 231mm brakes wouldn't work.


Andreas

Cool, thanks. That's the way I think too.

All you need for clearance on the stock 3 split spoke 16" wheels is a 1/4" spacer - a pair costs about $20.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MRG-2376

That's enough to give you a very small amount of clearance between the wheel and the bump on the outside of the caliper.

Is the tundra rotor too thick to use with the 4runner calipers? I mean if it were cut down to the same diameter as the 4runner rotor. It's tough to tell if the calipers are different from the pics.
Thanks

My second pic clearly shows the size difference between the 4Runner & Tundra calipers.

The rotors are the exact same diameter.

To answer your question - no, the Tundra rotor will not work with the 4Runner caliper.


Andreas

What was your total cost?

$150, both calipers (EBay)
~$350, rotors/pads/shims/rebuild kit (Toyota)


Andreas

I noticed you used the motive products Brake Bleeder but I did not recognize the fittings. I assume you knew we wouldn't since you made a point of posting a picture of it. What did you do? I'm about to do the upgrade and this has always been a pain in the butt part of the job.

I have the Motive Black Label bleeder which came with a machined aluminum 'European' adaptor. A few years ago I sniffed around the plumbing aisle at Home Depot and came up with the adaptor shown in the pics. If you'd like better pics of just the adaptor, I'll gladly post a few.

The only other change I made to the Motive was to add a set of CPC dry-break fittings so the tank can stay pressurized while I add fluid to the reservoir. I'm one of those weirdos who use the Motive dry. :)


Andreas