Hi y'all. I'm having a rotor problem in my 96 4 runner ltd, automatic. I've gone through 3 sets in less than 6 months. I live up on a mountain, but i gear down to first going down it. My last set of rotors lasted 1500 miles, about 1 1/2 months! My mechanic is stymied... i don't ride the brakes, my average commute is 40 miles one way, no traffic, i just don't understand it... new rotors, new pads, new master cylinder last time... Is there a heavy duty type rotor? wtf is making this go all of a sudden? I drove the car for 3 years with no problem, then all of a sudden, nothing but problems! thanks for any advice...

 

That's some mighty hard steel to drill through 3 sets in 6 months, not a clue...
regards J

 

Might not be so hard if it was chinese slave labor goods.


OEM Toyota or Brembos are good.

Might be a problem with the master cylinder- not releasing pressure.

 

Just what is the problem??

Are you also going through brake pads as well??

What happened when all the problems started ??

 

The pads seem to be fine; . First brake job was because of wear, the rotors were not replaced at that time. Second brake job was because of shimmy in the wheel when stopping. Rotors and pads replaced, under a napa warranty... third time, because of shimmy and shuddering in the wheel and a wtf? we replaced the master cylinder, rotors, and pads... The back brakes are not wearing at all. My driving habits have not changed. I'm stymied.

 

We just replaced the master cylinder, thinking that might be it. And checked the computer for any Anti-locking brake codes. nuthin.

I've heard of ceramic pads being anti-warp....know anything about it?

 

When the rotors seem to warp are they ever measured for run out.

I have had people torque the lug nuts uneven cause it to pulse just like warped rotors.

The back brakes not wearing are they working though ??

Front brakes doing all the work getting hotter then they should.

 

Like the man said, what's missing here is a good post-mortem on the rotors. What may also be is uneven deposit of pad material because a cylinder is not releasing correctly.

Was correct bedding-in process followed after swap? Did you go down the mountain with your new rotor and then hold with the brake at the first stop sign or light at the bottom? This will bake a layer of pad material into one spot on the rotor.

Hand torquing the lugs is a real good idea--epecially with new brakes. If some clown put the wheels back on with the air wrench on high (far too common), bad things can happen.

 

x2 on what wyoming9 and TheDurk said. I always insist on hand tightening of the lugnuts.

 

Funny I have not used anything but a impact for years.

Thing is very seldom if ever does someone else remove and replace my wheels.

This goes back to were the rotors warped or does some other problem exist.

Then it is possible rotors not having the correct heat treating could warp in a few thousand miles.

 

I had the rear lspv go out and do the same thing to me. Rear brakes weren't working at all

 

SORRY for the lateness of reply, email server went wacko.... as far as bedding in, ??? when i go down mountain i drop it into low, i don't ride the brakes at all, there is a level platch at the bottom before i have to brake at the hiway.... don't know about the lug nuts, but he doesn't hand torque them, i'll ask. afaik, the back brakes are working fine..

what's a lspv?

 

load sensing proportioning valve

 

You might also consider a Tundra brake upgrade. 4Runner brakes seem to be slightly underspecced for heavier use.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/t...de-faq-239519/

We don't live up a mountain, but my wife struggled with recurring warped/shuddery rotors on her 4Runner until she upgraded, then no problems since. Not long after I got my '99, the stock brakes started to shudder as well, just from fairly normal city/hwy driving. I learned from her experience and skipped the repeated replacements of stock sized rotors and went straight to the Tundra upgrade. Pretty cheap through RockAuto, and *almost* a straight bolt-on (just a tiny trim of the dust shield). Well, also some older style wheels won't clear the bigger calipers without some small spacers. I've put 35K miles on the tundra upgrade with absolutely no problems, my wife has a bunch more miles on her swap, no shudders on either.

 

downgraded to cheap brake shoes. that lasted about from May to September....just about got my local mechanic talked into helping with the swap. I read on some other forums about this model toyota being a little under workable brake capacity for the weight limits..i'll update if i get this pulled off.

 

Have you pulled the drums off, and looked at ther rear brakes? It's probably a slim chance, but if your rear axle seals are bad, the shoes could be covered in oil, rendering them useless.

 

Toyota states that our rear drums are self-adjusting. I don't buy into that BS and find myself adjusting the drums every few oil changes. If I go too long without checking the rears, I'll start to feel ocassional pulsing at the front.

I've had 231mm Tundra brakes for a few years - as long as the rears are kept adjusted, my truck brakes very strongly.

Lastly, I'd venture to say that most 3rd Gen 4Runners on the road today have rear drums that are completely out of adjustment. And thus fairly useless.



Andreas

 

I understand that the master cylinder were checked. but were the calipers checked for stuck pistons? stuck pistons won't release brake pressure causing faster wear on the pads and rotors.

 

I'll just chime in to say that undersized brakes are not the problem here. I mean they may or may not be "undersized", but my Toyota motorhome was on the road for 35 years, with the 1978 brake technology they put on little 2wd Japanese pickups, with no issues.

I mean it didn't stop fast or anything... But it didn't chew through brake pads OR rotors.

That's not to say a Tundra upgrade isn't a bad idea. But it's not addressing the problem. You may FIND the problem while doing this swap, but an upgrade isn't addressing the issues. There's something going on here, but undersized brakes ain't it...