The front brakes will always do most of the braking, so they will be the ones to wear out first. I doubt anyone has racked up enough miles to need a brake pad change yet, but I could be wrong. I'm also at 10K miles, but haven't noticed any difference in braking power. I would assume the pads wouldn't need to be changed until at least 50-60k miles (depending on driving conditions).

 

I am just guessing, based on my experience with vehicles, that we will be in for an unpleasant surprise with the life of the pads on the new Tacoma's. The brakes appear to be woefully undersized for this truck and since day one I have felt so. I think way too much pedal is needed to stop this truck just during normal driving. If you tow, are a lead foot, or do a lot of stop and go driving it is even going to be worse. I would not be surprised to see pad life in the 20-30K range max. Of course they could go longer but I certainly have my doubts. Hopefully I am wrong.

 

. I am curious cuz my access cab prerunner v6 is only a bit over 10k mi, but the brakes feel much weaker than before.



Thanks.

When you say weaker does the brakes pedal feel spongy as you press down on the pedal as you stop or are just talking stopping distance? If it's spongy when you stop, you need to check your brake system, most common problem is moisture in the brake fluid. If it is just stopping distance your drum & rotors are starting to get a glaze over them, which it is normal. You can feel your rotors to see how smooth they are. You can get them turned but you usually do it when you change your brake pads.

 

I hope my brakes outlive my crap OEM tires!

 

As was said, the fronts shoulder about 75% of the braking force (which varies depending upon how much weight you are hauling due to the proportioning valve), and the fronts will wear much quicker than the rears. To give you an idea, I just recently replaced the rear pads on my F-150 at 120,000 miles. The front pads have only lasted about 15,000 miles on average.
As far as how long the pads will last, thats hard to say. As was said, it depends how you drive and where you drive. The more you use the brakes, the quicker they will wear.
Cap'n

 

As far as the brakes feeling "weaker" the amount of pad left won't have anything to do with that. "Glazed" rotors will actually increase braking power because they are smooth and provide more surface area than a new or freshly machined rotor.

Do you use your parking brake? The rear shoes may be out of adjustment causing the pedal to be a little lower than when it was new.

Mike

 

2005 DC LB 4X4 32000 miles,

Looking for some advice.
Over the past 8 years, I have changed the brake pads every 25K miles or so on a Chevy Astro work van.

Heres a summary of my steps:
1. truck in park, loosen lugs, open master cylinder lid,
2. jack up truck, lower onto jack stands.
3. remove tire, remove long caliper bolts, remove caliper
4. pull out old pads, clean, push in the "piston"
5. snap in the new pads.............

AS you can see from my terms above, I'm no mechanic.

My Question: Should the steps taken changing the front brake pads on the Tacoma be similar to the method I use on the Chevy Astro?

I appreciate any suggestion or advice.
Kbulllll

 

2005 DC LB 4X4 32000 miles,

Looking for some advice.
Over the past 8 years, I have changed the brake pads every 25K miles or so on a Chevy Astro work van.

Heres a summary of my steps:
1. truck in park, loosen lugs, open master cylinder lid,
2. jack up truck, lower onto jack stands.
3. remove tire, remove long caliper bolts, remove caliper
4. pull out old pads, clean, push in the "piston"
5. snap in the new pads.............

AS you can see from my terms above, I'm no mechanic.

My Question: Should the steps taken changing the front brake pads on the Tacoma be similar to the method I use on the Chevy Astro?

I appreciate any suggestion or advice.
Kbulllll

Yup, it's that easy. I'm up to 40,000 on my '05 and my pads are still looking good. I'll probably change them at 45-50K or so. My last Toyota I used to need new pads every 20-25K until I realized I needed to adjust the rear brakes. You know the drill-

 

I changed my front pads at 33K miles on my XRunner. They were 72 bucks for the pads at the dealership with our account.

 

Since we are talking about brakes how do you adjust the rear brakes?

 

I take off the wheels and drums, spray everything down with brake cleaner, then there's a rotating sprocket than you turn to bring out the shoes. At 30K miles they only needed to be cleaned up, the self adjusters have been doing their job

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/drum-brake2.htm

 

Thanks so much REDMAN and Cam2X.

Kbullll

 

2005 DC LB 4X4 32000 miles,

Looking for some advice.
Over the past 8 years, I have changed the brake pads every 25K miles or so on a Chevy Astro work van.

Heres a summary of my steps:
1. truck in park, loosen lugs, open master cylinder lid,
2. jack up truck, lower onto jack stands.
3. remove tire, remove long caliper bolts, remove caliper
4. pull out old pads, clean, push in the "piston"
5. snap in the new pads.............

AS you can see from my terms above, I'm no mechanic.

My Question: Should the steps taken changing the front brake pads on the Tacoma be similar to the method I use on the Chevy Astro?

I appreciate any suggestion or advice.
Kbulllll

If you don't have the service manual, I would suggest you grab a copy or find some other source for the exploded view. The brake calipers on the PreRunner and 4WD Tacos are significantly different from most auto/light truck calipers (in fact, it has multiple pistons). You can probably muddle your way thru, but it will be easier w/ the pics. The 2002-2004 are similar to the 2005+. A friend who is a CPA (not exactly trained academically for such things) had no trouble at all changing his. He borrowed my manual for reference and was going to lift the vehicle, etc then call me when he needed me. He called me an hour later to say he must've screwed up badly 'cause it was really easy. :clap:
As for reports of the brakes being "weak" or otherwise lacking, if you look at the rotor and pad sizes, and the caliper design, these things are far from being wimpy components. I think that the "feel" that you get, which depends on master/slave piston and boost diaphragm ratios misleads folks into thinking the brakes are anemic. (Another possibility is air in the brake system, which should be purged if that's the case. Water in the system generally will result in only two prblms: corrosion, spongy brakes when they get hot -due to the water turning to steam. Spongy feel when cold, if excessive, is almost always air in the lines or cylinders.) Generally, in my other trucks, suv, cars, and vans that I've owned or worked on, front brakes will have to be replaced 2 to 3 times the frequency of rear. (mostly 2x) Judging from the service my friend got from his 2002, I would expect to get about 45k from the front pads, unless you do a lot of open road driving, or less if you really like that brake pedal.

Only add'l suggestion that comes to mind is that on some vehicles it's easier to compress the caliper pistons before disassembly, using a C-clamp. Pop the cap on the master cylinder as you described and then carefully compress the piston(s). As soon as you've compressed both calipers, put that cap back on the reservoir.

Happy Trails.

 

Anyone know the starting thickness of the front and rear brakes?

I did my 15000 tune up (a little late 20k on the odometer) and my dealer said I have 4mm of brake pad left in the rear and they recomend replacing at 2mm. Personally I would like to know what I started with so I know how much has actually worn.

 

I take off the wheels and drums, spray everything down with brake cleaner, then there's a rotating sprocket than you turn to bring out the shoes. At 30K miles they only needed to be cleaned up, the self adjusters have been doing their job

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/drum-brake2.htm

Thanks for the link. Should a person apply their parking brake weekly since it mentions that in the article?

 

Heres a questions whats a good brake pad to use, long life and durabul? Mabye some trd brake pads?

 

Here's some good brake pads. http://www.hawkperformance.com/part...=2005&make=TOYOTA+TRUCK+/+VAN&model=TACOMA&show_street=yes&Submit=Find+Parts+>>

 

Here's some good brake pads. http://www.hawkperformance.com/part...=2005&make=TOYOTA+TRUCK+/+VAN&model=TACOMA&show_street=yes&Submit=Find+Parts+>>

If you're a member at CT, here's a decent price on the Hawk Ceramic Pads.

http://customtacos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60450

 

Heres a questions whats a good brake pad to use, long life and durabul? Mabye some trd brake pads?

I've had good service with the lifetime pads from most of the auto supply places such as Advance, OReilly's, AutoZone -though I won't ever use any of their electrical components (e.g. starters, alternators, batteries).

As for rear drum brakes- I confess I bring it to one of our local Firestone shops. Effort vs. $$ the front pads are a pc of cake, and the drums are a little more trouble than they're worth to me as I get older.

If you search the web, you'll find horror stories, but probably the same for all of the chains. Our local Firestone shops do great brake work, and if you keep an eye out, they usually have a decent discount coupon (that they actually honor, unlike our local Midas). I've been pleased with their work, and the two that I use the most have not sold me unnecessary svcs.

How do I know- I had my wife bring her Ody van in for free brake inspection.
First she went to Midas. She had a coupon for a "brake job" in case she needed a brake job, and had called ahead to confirm that it would apply to her vehicle. Well, a few minutes after she's seated, they come in to tell her that all 4 wheels need brakes relined, and they hand her quotation for something around $300. The guy says her coupon doesn't apply to this vehicle -she then points out she called ahead,and was told it would. He reworks it and it's now around $200. She points out that this is about twice what 2 x the coupon value would be (per axle x 2 -nothing gets by that CPA wife of mine). He says, "Well, the coupon doesn't cover labor." (Of course, it says "Brake Job".) Anyway, she says she'll have to get back to him -yes she is smart.
He warns her not to wait too long.

That evening I pull the front wheels to find that I've got probably 20k miles of wear left on them.
So the next day, my wife goes to Firestone. Tells the guy she would like a brake inspection -all 4 wheels. After a while, he comes back and asks her what prblm she was having. She says no problem, just was told to have them checked at that mileage. He tells her that they see nothing wrong, and that she ought to get another 20k or so out of the front, and more from the rear (also disk). [20k miles later, I changed the front. Another 20k and I changed the rear, just to be done with it.] -Just my experience

 

If you're a member at CT, here's a decent price on the Hawk Ceramic Pads.

http://customtacos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60450

Thanks. I PM'd him.

I think I'll get some of these too. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...motors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=8056834861&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT

 

Have anyone changed their brake pads yet? If so, how many miles did yours last? I know that this varies depending on how much city/freeway those miles are. I am curious cuz my access cab prerunner v6 is only a bit over 10k mi, but the brakes feel much weaker than before.

My old front wheel drive 4-wheel disc brakes Camry wears out the front brakes first. Is it oppose for Tacomas which have rear drive and non-disc rear brakes?

Thanks.

Got my replaced at 21k because they were wearing uneven. This is the only complaint I have bout this truck are the breaks.

 

I don't have any problem with the brakes. According to all the road tests the new Tacomas stop faster than ANY other current compact, mid-size, or full size truck. But even so, I ordered some Brembo drilled and slotted rotors from a guy on Ebay. They arrived today. :clap: They look awesome! Now I'm just waiting on Hawk to send me the brake pads. I ordered them through that guy on CustomTacos.com for $80 shipped.

 

Sweet how much for the brembo? I read those are really good. When do you get your truck back?

 

Hey pb, are you just changing your rotors and pads on the front? Or are you changing anything on your rear drums as well?

 

Heres a good deal i think. On some HAWK brake pads.

http://www.autoanything.com/brakes/61A2910A0A0.aspx