i am curious if the back breaks have anything to do when stopping my 4runner. it seemed, when i first bought it a few years ago it seemed to stop better. i have since changed the the front brakes and now have to switch them out again. any suggestions on what it could be or is it just my imagination.

 

Nope, they're there strictly for decoration and to satisfy government requirements.

 

^this





Try setting your parking brake, and driving backwards a ways.

 

would changing the rotors help out more?

 

no rotors in the back dude. You haven't even mentioned why you think the back brakes are bad.

 

it helps if there adjusted right theres a plug on the back u use a small screw drive to adjust tell they drag and back it off a hair

 

They adjust off the parking brake. As long as you use Toyota shoes and not Raybestos which often don't fit right the rears should be very competent. I locked mine up the other day when I got cut off.

The front is a different story. See the Tundra swap to fix any ills you have there.

 

I've locked the rear brakes up too, never want to do that again. They work trust me

 

Decreased brake performance can also be caused by a common issue on the 4R: Leaky rear axle seals. Be sure to inspect and/or pull off the drum and have a look.

While I agree that an adjustment may be in order, I'd first question why it's in order. I mean, the rears are self-adjusting; adjusting them via the parking brake or via the flathead screwdriver access port theoretically should not be necessary under normal circumstances. So I'd definitely attempt to get to the root cause before I made an adjustment. BTW, I have never had luck with the parking brake adjustment method. For whatever reason, it has never worked for me. The access port method, conversely, has always worked (and it's pretty simple too). Let us know what you find out...

 

i like the brakes on my 3rd gen better than that stupid 2nd gen rear abs is pretty pointless when the front wheels lock up great idea

 

I dont mean to be an A$$--but really--are you really asking this question? What happend to all the real technical questions and here on Yotatech?

I would suggest guy that you read up on basic mechanics type stuff. There is information everwhere--dont ask to get spoon fed.

 

I'm somewhat confused by the question... Are you saying that the front brakes are wearing much more quickly? If so then there are a few probabilities: 1. your rear drums are not properly adjusted. 2. you have sticking front calipers. 3. you are riding the brakes too much. 4. as rimpainter mentioned you possibly have a rear axle seal leak.

You'll need to be more specific on your question for us to help. You seem to be a newbie here. Welcome to YT, we don't flame too bad here but if you want to elimnate smart a$$ comments when you've posted a question. Try using the search button first. If then you cannot find the answer you are looking for then please by all means ask.

 

Sorry--didnt mean to sounds like a Flamer--but there is alot of stuff to be learned by reading up on your vehicle. I.e.. I always wondered what those slits in the lower intake manifold were for. Thenm while i was researching another issue i was having--I discovered they were part of toyotas Air Assisted Fuel injection. My understanding of the motor and its theory grew by quite a bit.

These questions are also why we have the Newbie section.

 

AFAIK the drums are not self adjusting. Some vehicles adjust when you brake in reverse but I think these only adjust with the parking brake (or manually as you say). I suspect people with automatics rarely use the parking brake so the drums become so far out that they have to be adjusted manually (or ten thousand cycles on the parking brake). LOL
You are so right about finding the cause. People have to do some looking first especially since the original axle seals were a bad design and Toyota replaced the part using the T100 version which is heavier.

I constantly looked at the drums as the source of my braking woes not willing to concede that there could be anything wrong with those big 4 piston calipers and rotors up front. And yet the drums work perfect and the stock rotors up front are too thin and warp so easily.

Here is what I meant about the shoes for the drums though. See the extra tabs on the Raybestos Red shoes? They will screw up the whole drum setup and prevent the drums from working correctly! Figured this out about 5 years ago.

 

for those experiencing warped rotors but has not done the tundra brake upgrade, you might like to consider replacing them with DBA 4000 series rotors. p/n are DBA 4792 (SL/SR for slotted rotors). the 4000-series rotors have a higher thermal rating than the stock rotors..

check out www.dba.com.au

 

According to the FSM, there is an auto adjusting mechanism. But it does not specify whether or not adjustment occurs with the parking brake moved or not. So I see what you're saying on that. It might be related to the parking brake engagement and you have a good point about auto tranny folks not using the parking brake. Check out step 4 of the attached pdf from the FSM.

I attached it in this post already if anyone wants to see it.

 

Yea we're making the same point. There is a mechanism that adjusts them without crawling under there. They kinda work but sometimes don't.

Hey I like the rim painting. I've been considering painting my IS350 wheels Flat Black. Makes the brakes work better right? Looks like the tires would best be dismounted first huh?

 

Right on. IS350's are awesome. And flat black is my favorite for most vehicles. You can actually leave the tires on when painting rims, you just have to make sure you get the outer edge of the lip during the process.

Send me a PM or email me if you need any more info.

 

hmm... i am having issues w/ my REAR brakes... they seem to be locking up. if i park on ice, then attempt to drive again, i essentially am "powerbraking". They do not lock up in reverse though. Does anyone have any ideaz? if so pleaze help!!

 

I just had to fix a seized bellcrank on my '99 4Runner rear brakes and I did a clean, lube and adjust on both sides. I spent some time figuring out how the adjuster works. It seemed clear to me that the only way the adjuster can turn the pawl is with movement of the e-brake lever. Normal brake operation by the cylinder won't do it. I had my FSM open to that exact page while I played with the thing.

At 120K, I am still on my factory original rear shoes (and I only did my front pads once at 90K). The shoes have more than 3mm lining left with original of 6mm and a minimum of 1mm. The OP's question may have some validity. (Yeah, mine might of been badly adjusted some of the time, but I get them right every two years or so. I have a 5sp manual and I use my e-brake.) I am original owner and sole mechanic.

The truth is, I believe the fronts do 75+% of the work and the rears really only come into play when you stomp on the pedal, something I rarely do.