FJ62 Brake Upgrade (1 Viewer)

[sbelinge]

Hey @lechnito I know you've upgrades your brakes, booster, etc. Can you summarize your set up? I'm thinking of going the 4Runner & T100 route soon. I keep warping discs and probably need to rebuild the whole system (front end at least). To be honest I really want to spend my money on an new ARB front bumper but I suppose it's better to stop well than to look 'cool'.
If anyone else has advise feel free to share.

 

[IronFJ55pig]

I have heard its a good up-grade. Especially since the FJ62 booster is NLA. I will probably go this route in the future. The 4R calipers are the way to go to decrease braking distance.

Did you get your 4wd system back on track?

 

[lechnito]

Are you still having trouble with brake performance after the OME install?

Here's the current state of my brakes:

• 4runner calipers
• Late style brake pads
  
• Extended caliper bolts and lockwashers
• Drilled + slotted rotors
• Backing plate eliminators
  
• 1" bore master cylinder for a Hilux/T100 (NLA from Marlin but the FJ80 master cylinder is a common bolt-on equivalent)
• Brake booster is from a '95 v6 4runner (picked up a reman from NAPA)
• 5x braided brake lines from Oil Filter Service in SE Portland (made to order as you wait at the counter)
  
• 5x speed bleeders (makes bleeding the system by yourself super convenient)
• Custom 3.5" LSPV bracket

You probably don't need to rebuild the entire system to get sufficiently effective brakes and I took these extreme measures because I was doing a knuckle service at the time. You also don't need to do everything all at once of course.

Hit me up if you want more detailed install details/tips.

 

[sbelinge]

How is the brake pedal feel? I’ve read many mixed reviews from excellent to poor.

@IronFJ55pig yes I did. It seems to just be a faulty light bulb. I’ll fix that some time before I die, no hurry.

 

[lechnito]

My brake pedal feels "softer" in that it offers less resistance compared to the original setup, yet actual stopping performance is awesome and I'm satisfied with my ability to panic stop, shed speed on the highway, etc.

This upgrade arguably has advantages compared to the stock brakes, but I think a lot of people will tell you that the stock brakes are fine if everything is well tuned. Are you sure that your rear brakes are adjusted correctly? Have you tried zip-tying your LSPV anchor to the top of the body?

If you still want to proceed with the upgrade, Mud user @ntsqd has written up a lot of general tech notes on the subject of braking/hydraulics and you should check out some of his threads. To summarize the key points:

• Larger caliper pistons provide more hydraulic leverage, resulting in lower pedal effort and greater pedal travel.
  
• Larger MC bore means you have to push the pedal harder to get an equivalent hydraulic pressure in the lines, which helps counteract the pedal effects from increasing the size of your caliper pistons.

To install the 4runner calipers, you will need to trim or eliminate the backing plate. You will also need the longer bolts/lockwashers (torqued to spec with some blue loctite or else you too may end up being stranded in Challis Idaho). The 4runner calipers work great with the stock wheels, but will limit the range of aftermarket wheels unless you grind some material off the front of the calipers (just a bad idea IMHO).

I don't think the MC upgrade makes sense unless you upgrade the calipers. However, if you do upgrade the MC, you should plan on getting a larger booster, which is actually installed upside down and you'll need a longer vacuum hose to reach the vacuum port. Also, the fluid level sensor plug on the T100 MC was not compatible and I needed to splice in the old sensor plug. The FJ80 MC sensor may or may not require this too.

Replacing the rubber brake lines can be done independently from everything else and is a worthwhile upgrade because braided lines last longer and they eliminate the possibility of losing hydraulic pressure through bulging, etc. Speedbleeders are also optional, but makes bleeding your lines unbelievably easy.

 

[JTFJ62PDX]

Are you still having trouble with brake performance after the OME install?

Here's the current state of my brakes:

• 4runner calipers
• Late style brake pads
• Extended caliper bolts and lockwashers
• Drilled + slotted rotors
• Backing plate eliminators
• 1" bore master cylinder for a Hilux/T100 (NLA from Marlin but the FJ80 master cylinder is a common bolt-on equivalent)
• Brake booster is from a '95 v6 4runner (picked up a reman from NAPA)
• 5x braided brake lines from Oil Filter Service in SE Portland (made to order as you wait at the counter)
• 5x speed bleeders (makes bleeding the system by yourself super convenient)
• Custom 3.5" LSPV bracket

You probably don't need to rebuild the entire system to get sufficiently effective brakes and I took these extreme measures because I was doing a knuckle service at the time. You also don't need to do everything all at once of course.

Hit me up if you want more detailed install details/tips.

You wouldn't happen to have the specs on those braided lines? I had a caliper seize up and cooked a rotor yesterday, so I've got some brake work to do in my very near future. Going for the 4runner calipers and rotors, and the soft lines are all looking pretty rotten...I just realized I work down the street from Oil Filter Services (now Les Hall) and could walk over there on my lunch break. Stupid me, I should've taken the lines off yesterday and brought them with me to match up, but my fj62 is a 5000lb paperweight until my parts come in.