Front brake pad longevity 2002 Toyota 4-runner

I have a 2002 4-runner sport SR5 with towing package.

I thought it was supposed to have upgraded brakes (not sure)

My truck has 48k and the front brakes look good still.

Whats the average life?

Any hints on how to change them?

I loosened the 2 of the caliper bolts, and fluid started leaking.. These are nothing like previous brake work I have done.

Reply to
hombrewdude
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Yep, never loosen those bolts.

Pad life varies greatly with the driving habits and traffic conditions of the driver. There is no way to estimate someone else's pad life.

Don't the pads just slip out after the retainers are removed?

Ken

Reply to
Ken Shelton

I will have to check that..

I sometimes pull a small camper with the truck.

When the brakes heat up they sometimes have some chatter. Probably warped rotors. I bought new rotors, so I need to change the pads and the rotors...

I need to find a book!

Reply to
hombrewdude

If fluid came out, you didn't loosen the caliper bolts.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Yes, you do.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Loosening the bolts that hold the two halves of the caliper together will allow fluid to leak out.

Reply to
Ken Shelton

I found that out...

so how do I replace the rotor then?

Reply to
hombrewdude

The caliper itself is held on the steering knuckle by two 17mm bolts. Once the bolts are out, you can slide the caliper off the rotor, and the rotor pops right off the hub. If you are in to doing basic stuff like this yourself, grab a Chilton. It's a must have for doing little simple (yet critical) things like brake work!

Reply to
qslim

I have done many brakes before on american cars... I never seen one like this. Chilton does not make a book for my 2002 truck.. I checked.

Are my brakes different cause it was the towing package? My rims are 16"

Reply to
hombrewdude

You might have to break down and get the Toyota Factory Service Manual set from the dealer. They are hellaciously expensive when compared to Chilton or Haynes, but the best and most accurate repair books I have ever worked with.

You'll get your payback for them the first problem you solve (like how your front brakes come apart) and you'll get a chunk of it back again in resale value by passing the books on to the new owner when you sell the car.

Might be, but I don't know. (I have a LandCruiser with the 4-piston fixed calipers.) They are more than likely different between the 2WD and 4WD versions of the truck. That might be a case of 'plop them on the dealer parts counter and see what the parts man says.'

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

The books are $129 each and there are 2 of them..

I don't mind spending the money on a repair book, since I do everything myself... But I didn't know how detailed the factory books were...

Reply to
hombrewdude

Sure, but those aren't the bolts that hold the caliper to the hub assembly, and hence are not the "caliper bolts".

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

... which is a MUCH better choice, by the way.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Very.

If you do your own work, you NEED the factory shop manuals. I have it for my Jeep, and it's WONDERFUL. I can't imagine doing the work without it. The pictures are, "your framis looks like this," where the Hanyes or Chilton say, "your framis looks kinda like this," but the framis they are showing doesn't even begin to approach the part you have in your hand.

If one is inclined to buy a manual, they should buy the factory shop manual and not even consider Hanyes or Chilton.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Check eBay if you don't need them in a hurry, they have a wide selection for various models and are usually at a good price. I've bought 3 new factory sets there at a lot less than dealer. HTH, davidj92

Reply to
davidj92

A typical Chilton or Haynes repair book literally guesses at how the car goes together - they take a photographer, a book writer, and a mechanic, they buy one example car of that model, and partially take it apart while taking pictures. (Then they put the car back together and sell it.) Unless someone clues them in on a detail, they ASSUME that all the cars in the covered model year range are all built like that one example.

They have no idea about running changes between model years or other details like. They can't have access to or copy the Toyota drawings or paperwork outright, because that would be a copyright violation.

The Toyota books are written by Toyota paid technical writers - and if there are any questions, they walk across the hall and ask the Toyota engineers that built the car for the wiring diagrams, exploded assembly drawings, troubleshooting diagrams and other data that they wrote up while designing the car. They have full access, no guessing.

The TFRM are detailed enough that you can do practically anything given time, patience, and access to the proper tools - if anything, they're TOO detailed, which can be both good and bad... ;-)

Oh, and another note on that 'Proper Tools' line - if the manual calls for a Special Service Tool, most of the time that can be done with an industry standard tool from your local Snap-On or MAC dealer, or a quality auto parts supplier. You might spend $50 or $100 on special brake tools before you do your first brake job, but the next time they're "free" because you already have them.

A two-post car lift is handy if you have the scratch ($2K up) to install one in your garage (and necessary if you want to swap transmissions at home) but you can do just fine with a good full-size floor trolley jack, a set of wheel ramps and a set of jackstands.

And tools are there for the long haul - don't waste your money buying crap. Good tools can be handed down for several generations, bad tools can break the first time you use them. There are good mid-priced ones (Craftsman, Husky, Kobalt, Stanley) if you are on a budget, but avoid stuff from the 99c Bargain Bin that will not last.

And don't be afraid to ask the Snap-On Man (or the other route service tool companies) for a cash discount, because they normally figure the "Free Financing" into their posted prices for beginning mechanics buying a full $10K to $20K+ toolbox and set of tools on credit. TANSTAAFL - they have to pay those finance charges somehow.

And now you know why mechanics don't normally loan out tools - they have a hell of an investment tied up in that little rolling box.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

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