Front brake caliper help (1 Viewer)

[77HesterSue]

Learning as I go here....

I've got a 77 40 that I've had for about 2 years. Drive her in the spring, summer, and fall. Too much salt and crap on the roads to drive year around. Would like to drive her as a DD this year.

In order to do so, I need to work on the brakes and sloppy steering. Decided I'd tackle the brakes first. Couldn't get brake pads out from the calipers, so I removed the caliper bolts and took them apart. Found out that was a mistake. Brake fluid poured all over the place. Got that cleaned up, but now they calipers are apart, don't quite know what to do. The pads aren't too worn and have even wear. Can I still use them since they have brake fluid on them by sanding the surface down?

The rubber parts of the cylinders are cracked and worn. The cylinders seem to be frozen in place. Can I do a rebuild on these? Looks like CCOT carries the OEM kit. I'm sure I can get better prices from cruiser Dan.

Also, there is ton's of black goop and stuff I had to scrape off, just to get to some of the bolts. I know this isn't normal. Should I just pull it all off and clean it up. Guess that gets into the knuckles and TRE's etc. I've got time and willingness to do this work, but feel pretty lost sometimes. All the builds and pics on here help. I've got access to the FSM pdf's but not the same as having someone in person to help!

 

[77HesterSue]

kitty pacha sleeping while i work. pic of rotor too

thanks

 

[themaraisbouleurway]

If you want to go aftermarket, Autozone has the calipers for around $40.

 

[cjgoode]

Autozone 34.50 is what they told me yesterday, and they actually have it in stock and on the shelf. I picked up some 1977 disc axles and some but not all of the caliper pistons are frozen. Figured for under $35 each might as well go that route as opposed to trying to rebuild them myself. Getting a frozen piston out of these would be a nightmare. I ran an air hammer on them and then compressed air into them and did not budge. Will pick my pair up this week.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

Do a search here on MUD. You can upgrade to V-6 4Runner calipers that have four big pots. These calipers will bolt-up on your front axle - the only mod necessary to make them fit is to cut-out a one inch square section of the dust shield.

Regards,

Alan

 

[Bret]

What Josie said.

 

[77HesterSue]

Hi All:

Do a search here on MUD. You can upgrade to V-6 4Runner calipers that have four big pots. These calipers will bolt-up on your front axle - the only mod necessary to make them fit is to cut-out a one inch square section of the dust shield.

Regards,

Alan

Hey Alan,

What is the advantage of upgrading to the 4Runner caliper? I've done several searches, but didn't know about this one. Thank

 

[remorris]

Well, I searched and found 1 thread on this that was easy to read and the guy did it and evaluated the results:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/393895-upgrading-front-disc-brakes.html

What caught my eye is the "no appreciable increase in braking" statement.

I read most of the threads on the 4Runner calipers and I don't really see anyone saying that they are significantly better than the stock FJ40 disc calipers. I see the benefit of having larger pistons rather than what the FJ40 has, but it's still 4 pistons and only 2 of them on the FJ40 are small. It's one of those things that if you had a race car and needed every last tiny bit of performance, you would do it, but for normal usage, it's a mod of question-able worth.

With a little luck, Poser may chime in here.

 

[cjgoode]

Would the size of the piston really make much of a difference on pressure applied. If I can easily lock up the front tires with the stock calipers how much better do I really need.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Id just get rebuilt from Toyota. MIke

 

[73tlcv8]

autozone calipers for 77 40 lock up the front wheels, what else do you need for a DD? Not like we're running F1 or towing a big heavy trailer.

 

[FJforty]

Changing piston sizes changes your front to rear braking pressures, stay stock. Use hydraulic pressure to get stuck pistons out, avoid using air pressure because it can make the piston a projectile.

 

[cjgoode]

The manual shows them using compressed air, but good point. It does show putting a piece of wood in the middle to prevent them from coming all the way out.