2015 4x4, 2TR-FE, 5sp. access cab. Front pads and rotors first replaced on warranty @ 15k miles by Toyota, years ago.
I had the idea to do this brake job myself. Even had friends offer me jacks and stands for the job.
But a call from my daughter led to a convergence of logistics: she wanted to come over & get her old headliner from her '02 BMW, and her 4 BBS wheels and tires that were in the basement.
When I mentioned I still had the brake job ahead of me, she said, 'Just bring it here! Lucas has a lift!"
And as it turns out, her BF Lucas' shop, Mario's Auto, is a fully equipped 3-lift garage.
'fully equipped' - with an actual mechanic... LUCAS!!! lol. The lift was a full dual ramp-drive on. Beautiful.
1st things first, you'll be better off w/4 new pins when you do front brakes around 60k. The clips were OK but what the hey - get them too. I purchased the pads from ToyotaOverstock dot calm. P/N 04465-04070. $90 shipped. The pins cleaned up OK but there are noticeable wear spots.
Even doing MC brakes for 25 yrs, I'm glad I let the young gun handle it. I would NOT have wanted to do that job on rotors and pads w/40K on them, and hubs and studs aged 57k miles, lying on cardboard, working w/minimal elevation, and no experience w/truck small brakes... nah. Not that it was that big a deal. Lucas had to bang the pins for awhile with a Visegrips to remove them. He used a screwdriver or something to separate the pads from the rotors, then removed the brackets and hung each caliper w/a bungee after removing the pads. I didn't take enuff fluid out the first time so there was a little overflow in the master cyl when he spread the calipers, but all in all it went very smoothly. I havta open the hood today and see if there's any more to clean up, and check the level. I took out a lot more fluid eventually
Initially I toyed w/the idea of saving the old rotors and getting them turned, but there's fewer and fewer shops who do that kinda work these days. They weren't too bad though, in terms of wear. They could've been salvaged.
I used one of his whizzers, a SS cup brush and some Brakleen to clean the pins and clips while he did the grunt and skilled work. (clips brushed by hand only - no whizzer)
I used a softer brass brush on the whizzer to clean up the rotors. The rotors have been lying around for a year or so and had a sheen of rust from a brief xposure to dampness @ one point. You will need new pins if you do brakes around 60k. I didn't have them for this job, but I'm gonna order then and maybe swap them out myself when I remove the wheels to black them w/spray bedliner. (Only been meaning to do that for the last couple years, lol)
Having my Mighty Vac that I got many yrs ago for my motorcycles was such a convenience, cause you don't need someone to pump the pedal when the bleeders are cracked. When the truck is up on the lift that makes for REAL easy going. A very talented guy I know who built a crazy show car, a 50's GOAT, told me to take this opportunity to draw some of the 'old, burned' brake fluid out of the calipers.
Those pads had almost 42k mi on them. That's cause from years of riding, I look far and wide ... and when I see the light change way up the road, I don't accelerate towards red. lol. The pads as you can see still have visible wear grooves. I could've gone a few thousand more miles ...
I'm gonna overpay Lucas a bit for the job. I love that he inherited a shop from the previous owner, and at 20yrs old he is a self-employed auto tech. He may not want to wrench in his future, but for now, it's a great opp for him.
I had the idea to do this brake job myself. Even had friends offer me jacks and stands for the job.
But a call from my daughter led to a convergence of logistics: she wanted to come over & get her old headliner from her '02 BMW, and her 4 BBS wheels and tires that were in the basement.
When I mentioned I still had the brake job ahead of me, she said, 'Just bring it here! Lucas has a lift!"
And as it turns out, her BF Lucas' shop, Mario's Auto, is a fully equipped 3-lift garage.
'fully equipped' - with an actual mechanic... LUCAS!!! lol. The lift was a full dual ramp-drive on. Beautiful.
1st things first, you'll be better off w/4 new pins when you do front brakes around 60k. The clips were OK but what the hey - get them too. I purchased the pads from ToyotaOverstock dot calm. P/N 04465-04070. $90 shipped. The pins cleaned up OK but there are noticeable wear spots.
Even doing MC brakes for 25 yrs, I'm glad I let the young gun handle it. I would NOT have wanted to do that job on rotors and pads w/40K on them, and hubs and studs aged 57k miles, lying on cardboard, working w/minimal elevation, and no experience w/truck small brakes... nah. Not that it was that big a deal. Lucas had to bang the pins for awhile with a Visegrips to remove them. He used a screwdriver or something to separate the pads from the rotors, then removed the brackets and hung each caliper w/a bungee after removing the pads. I didn't take enuff fluid out the first time so there was a little overflow in the master cyl when he spread the calipers, but all in all it went very smoothly. I havta open the hood today and see if there's any more to clean up, and check the level. I took out a lot more fluid eventually
Initially I toyed w/the idea of saving the old rotors and getting them turned, but there's fewer and fewer shops who do that kinda work these days. They weren't too bad though, in terms of wear. They could've been salvaged.
I used one of his whizzers, a SS cup brush and some Brakleen to clean the pins and clips while he did the grunt and skilled work. (clips brushed by hand only - no whizzer)
I used a softer brass brush on the whizzer to clean up the rotors. The rotors have been lying around for a year or so and had a sheen of rust from a brief xposure to dampness @ one point. You will need new pins if you do brakes around 60k. I didn't have them for this job, but I'm gonna order then and maybe swap them out myself when I remove the wheels to black them w/spray bedliner. (Only been meaning to do that for the last couple years, lol)
Having my Mighty Vac that I got many yrs ago for my motorcycles was such a convenience, cause you don't need someone to pump the pedal when the bleeders are cracked. When the truck is up on the lift that makes for REAL easy going. A very talented guy I know who built a crazy show car, a 50's GOAT, told me to take this opportunity to draw some of the 'old, burned' brake fluid out of the calipers.
Those pads had almost 42k mi on them. That's cause from years of riding, I look far and wide ... and when I see the light change way up the road, I don't accelerate towards red. lol. The pads as you can see still have visible wear grooves. I could've gone a few thousand more miles ...
I'm gonna overpay Lucas a bit for the job. I love that he inherited a shop from the previous owner, and at 20yrs old he is a self-employed auto tech. He may not want to wrench in his future, but for now, it's a great opp for him.
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