Thanks to all the info posted here, was able to complete this rather drama free with very little experience doing such a thing. Must have been the help from here and at home from this little guy.
DIY Tundra Brakes (BBK)
- Thread starter TeCKis300
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Oh, forgot to mention, my toyota shop would only take the calipers back for the core charge if they were returned in the box that the new ones came in. Manager was rude and insistent that that was written on the caliper box, it was not. Luckily the trash truck hadnt been by yet.
So the new calipers are $140 each for 2016+? And the only other items are reamer and new larger rotors?
Caliper bolts and probably crush washers for banjo bolt.
@turbo8 called it. This is shockingly affordable.
That said my parts source did go up to $152 ea. Inflation sucks.
Drilling out the holes is kind of a pain. It took me a long time. The reamer itself was not effective at all at drilling out the holes, but it was helpful to clean them up and keep them aligned. I ended up using 3 bits plus the reamer. I used a 1/2, 17/32 and finally a 9/16 bit. And I think they all might be dull now. The bits kept slipping in the chuck as well as you can see in the picture.
The total cost for me was roughly $500 for calipers, rotors, bolts, and crush washers.
Here's the drill I used. A heavier duty drill would have been better. I feel this was barely adequate.
Did you use any oil when doing the drilling?
Yeah a lot. I didn't have any cutting oil so I used motor oil. Not sure if it makes a big difference or not.
- Thread starter
- #109
How was the fit-up in the end?
Drilling metal can be tough. Name of the game is to minimize heat. Cutting oil to @bloc point, but also the high torque low speed setting on the drill to maximize drill bit effectiveness and life. Easier said than done with a handheld drill as it's easy to catch edges. I've definitely burned up my fair share of bits.
Drilling metal can be tough. Name of the game is to minimize heat. Cutting oil to @bloc point, but also the high torque low speed setting on the drill to maximize drill bit effectiveness and life. Easier said than done with a handheld drill as it's easy to catch edges. I've definitely burned up my fair share of bits.
Fit up was fine. I think there's a little room for error that the hole alignment doesn't need to be completely exact. I was nervous though that fitment might be an issue.
I did employ a high torque and low speed technique, but damn, the steel they use is pretty hard. And yeah those bits got caught up plenty of times as you said.
I did some digging and there are high-end step drills in a variety of sizes that would guide themself in and just cut the extra mm per side.. should be a whole lot easier.
Thing is they are solid carbide (which no regular drill chuck will grip) and.. get this.. eight hundred dollars each.
I think your method plus a better corded drill is probably best for a shade-tree situation. And maybe some wrist taping. I've done damage to mine over the years when big drills catch.
I do see a 14mm step bit online that might be worth a shot.. but from your description of the steel the knuckle is made of I'm not sure it would hold up.
In your opinion, would the reamer do ok taking the final .3mm when enlarging from a 14mm step-bit up to 9/16"?
$800 seems a bit high. Try this: McMaster-Carr - https://www.mcmaster.com/Reamers/system-of-measurement~inch/reamer-diameter~0-5650/reamer-diameter~0-5600/reamer-diameter~0-5000/ They have 3 different reamer styles that taper.
Those are similar enough to what @bemerritt had trouble with that I don’t think they’d be good for anything other than final cleaning. I’m guessing because of the number of flutes. For what seems to be hard steel you want more point pressure, and less flutes does this. As does a 90 degree cutting face.. exactly what is on the part I linked. On top of a 12mm shank that will help guide itself with the existing hole.
Not that I’m ready to spend $800 for a tool I’ll use for four holes. Or even half that. Just looking for ideas on a tool that will make this job easier than what was done above.
Yeah I'm pretty sure it would. A few millimeters or more and it probably wouldn't be able to do it but .3mm should be no problem.
Good to know. I ordered some tools and will be heading to a local pick-a-part to try enlarging the bolt holes on a junk knuckle before I take mine all apart. If it works well I’ll order parts and document this version of the brake upgrade.
Not sure if anyone knows but as the front rotors and calipers are "Tundra" 354mm versions, what are the rears? Are they the same as the Tundra setup? I have a client wanting my big brake kit we supply on the 200 (as per pic) but also wants new rears for his 2019 Tundra
I don’t know what the differences are but rear brake rotors for my 13LC have a different part number than for a 13 tundra
Edit: but non-toyota sites are showing the same aftermarket part numbers for 13 cruiser and 13 tundra.. so it looks like they’ll cross. Maybe the toyota parts have different sourcing?
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Been reading like crazy over the last many days, preparing for this upgrade as my right front caliper needs to be replaced, and want to go with the 2016+ LC caliper option. I'm comfortable with the brake work but drilling the knuckle isn't the kind of thing I've done before and I'm not seeing (in this thread at least) a solid suggested solution (at least that I can interpret).
Any new info on the best way to get this done?
Any new info on the best way to get this done?
- Thread starter
- #119
2016 caliper is enticing with some detail differences. Functionally, the Tundra solution is the same. Tundra caliper has the installation advantage in that there's no permanent modifications. Drops right in as if it were stock. Except needing a retention solution for the brake line.
Choose your poison.
I’m more apprehensive about the brake line retention issue than I am about drilling the knuckle, for whatever reason. If there was an easy and obvious solution for that I might feel differently but since I can’t machine aluminum I don’t know if I trust myself with adhesive and zip ties to do it correctly on something as critical as brakes.