Builds Over the Hills, and Far Away

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From my past experiences on heavy duty pads, I have had my old diskus get all torn up and eaten from over abrasive howler chunks.

So if your disks/drums are good quality without too much embedded chinesium you should be able to run higher spec pads.
Or just go with the factory grade pads that are likely easier to aquire, cheaper too...
From my notes, Advics 0436 are well regarded (front brakes)

If your feeling up to it, a brake booster from 80 series and 1990 4runner/tacoma calipers are considered an upgrade...
When I drive my 2005 Prado 120 series (4 wheel disks) then get into my FJ73, I have a heart attack as the old 73 brakes are just for looks... I rolled through a red light due to high idle and the 3F torque just pushed through all the available braking effort! Super keen for brake upgrade someday (or just replace with new!)
 
From my past experiences on heavy duty pads, I have had my old diskus get all torn up and eaten from over abrasive howler chunks.

Been there, myself, just not in this particular platform.

So if your disks/drums are good quality without too much embedded chinesium you should be able to run higher spec pads.

I'm pretty sure they're OEM Toyota at the moment, but I'd have to pull things apart to verify that.

Or just go with the factory grade pads that are likely easier to aquire, cheaper too...

I'm not averse to that plan, but the increased rotational mass of larger tires wouldn't be unhappy about better braking. It's really just a question of whether or not the factory setup is still within its comfort zone, given the overall vehicle mass at current...and I don't have a good baseline for that assessment.

From my notes, Advics 0436 are well regarded (front brakes)

Just looked them up; surprisingly affordable! I'm used to pads costing twice that much, per corner.

If your feeling up to it, a brake booster from 80 series and 1990 4runner/tacoma calipers are considered an upgrade...

Unless there's a gotcha somewhere in that sentence, that sounds like a one-banana job. I managed to bring my line wrenches out here with me, and I even made sure that I have the metric set...so that should be all I need for the booster and lines, if A) the booster is a direct bolt-in, and 2) Toyota builds things like most others do.

Calipers aren't too much of a concern; if they need some kind of weird saddle or something else needs modifying, that could be fun...but on the whole, I'm not too worried about them. Compared to the brakes on my TJ, nothing seems complicated: if I recall correctly, those were discs from an Explorer Sport-Trac, Chevy caliper saddles, shaved-down Dodge 1500-series calipers and a brake pad from Centric that shouldn't have fit any of that stuff, yet still did...and all of that was bolted into a highly-modified TJ knuckle and shoved underneath a 15" wheel. Had about 2mm of clearance between the inside of the wheel and the caliper; tight, but it worked.

When I drive my 2005 Prado 120 series (4 wheel disks) then get into my FJ73, I have a heart attack as the old 73 brakes are just for looks... I rolled through a red light due to high idle and the 3F torque just pushed through all the available braking effort! Super keen for brake upgrade someday (or just replace with new!)

Huh, that's definitely not been my experience; the brakes on mine are pretty good, even with 33's and a full tank. It'll lock all four at 45MPH; I know that for a fact because I did it two weeks ago when someone walked across the road in front of me. That being said: the possibility of running a 35" somewhere down the line means that there's no such thing as too much braking...or too much steering.

On that note: I was under the front end doing the oil change the other day and really just looking around at everything, and yeah: I think I'd like to see a heavier tie rod, at a minimum. Preferable one without pinch-bolts. These haven't really skipped and slipped on me, yet, but that's definitely not my experience with that kind of retainer. Also, I'm not sure about the TREs on this axle, but a bit more beef there might be nice as well; same goes for the drag link. I don't think I need wontons, but maybe a slight upgrayedd is in order at some point.

🤔
 
The 80-series master cylinder and booster isn’t quite a direct bolt in upgrade, but it isn’t far off. Depending on how your original brake lines run you’ll most likely need to reroute the lines to the MC, and I’ve heard that the pushrod on the pedal side can be too short (mine was just right in my LJ78).
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The 80-series master cylinder and booster isn’t quite a direct bolt in upgrade, but it isn’t far off. Depending on how your original brake lines run you’ll most likely need to reroute the lines to the MC, and I’ve heard that the pushrod on the pedal side can be too short (mine was just right in my LJ78).

Looks like you used a new pair of flex lines to the master; is that correct?
 
Looks like you used a new pair of flex lines to the master; is that correct?
Yep, -3AN stainless lines, 10mm banjo fitting on one end and a -3AN to 10mm inverted flare adapter on the factory lines.
 
Yep, -3AN stainless lines, 10mm banjo fitting on one end and a -3AN to 10mm inverted flare adapter on the factory lines.

Sweet, thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know. 👍👍

Also, I have a question on another topic, since I was just starting at the tie rod for a minute...

If I wanted to do a quick upgrade on the steering, could I just swap in a set of the RHD steering arms from Trail Gear and then use a Y-link TRE on the passenger side of a DOM tie rod with two threaded adapters welded in? Ditto for the drag link, except with standard TREs on both ends and a reamed pitman? I know I'm kind of getting ahead of myself on all of that because I don't really have a good comparison of the relative strength of the Toyota parts in comparison to the stuff that I'm used to working with, but I wanted to ask while I was thinking about it. Seems like it's not too difficult of a swap, pending that the TG steering arms (or something similar) will bolt on...and if they won't, I have to ream the pitman, regardless, so I could always just save $400 and ream the factory arms.

Just thinking out loud, there.

🤔
 
Secondary question: if I ream the factory steering arms for wonton TREs, can I flip the tie rod over the arm and keep my factory backspacing, or is that a recipe for disaster? Seems like it would make more sense to swap in a high-steer arm and ream it for the tie rod going underneath, but that's just me looking at it casually.
 
Ahhh...8:30 in the morning and I've already been laying under a Land Cruiser with a mug of coffee for thirty minutes; that would've been a great start to the day, except for the sprinklers next door coming on without any warning...

Anyway, I was looking at the front brakes, and I don't see much of a difference between mine and the 1990-era 4Runner calipers; they look like basic four-piston models...but yeah, I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna need pads very soon. From the outside, mine were looking pretty thin.

Rear brakes are a standard single-piston design, and they look pretty dinky; that being said, it's probably time for new pads back there as well. Also, on humid mornings I'm getting a bit of a squeak from the parking brake shoes after I release them-

... actually, I just assumed that there are brake shoes involved. I didn't actually check that; I'm used to drum-in-hat brakes so I just decided that that's what was present without even looking. Either way, there's a squeak.

I guess the big decision to make, then, is whether to futz with the 80-series master cylinder and booster. And which brake pads to go with. And come to think of it, I don't even know what brake fluid this thing takes. Ugh, I'm really bad at this "owning a Toyota" thing...
 
Ahhh...8:30 in the morning and I've already been laying under a Land Cruiser with a mug of coffee for thirty minutes; that would've been a great start to the day, except for the sprinklers next door coming on without any warning...

Anyway, I was looking at the front brakes, and I don't see much of a difference between mine and the 1990-era 4Runner calipers; they look like basic four-piston models...but yeah, I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna need pads very soon. From the outside, mine were looking pretty thin.

Rear brakes are a standard single-piston design, and they look pretty dinky; that being said, it's probably time for new pads back there as well. Also, on humid mornings I'm getting a bit of a squeak from the parking brake shoes after I release them-

... actually, I just assumed that there are brake shoes involved. I didn't actually check that; I'm used to drum-in-hat brakes so I just decided that that's what was present without even looking. Either way, there's a squeak.

I guess the big decision to make, then, is whether to futz with the 80-series master cylinder and booster. And which brake pads to go with. And come to think of it, I don't even know what brake fluid this thing takes. Ugh, I'm really bad at this "owning a Toyota" thing...
I used new 4R calipers on my troopy, fit perfectly.

I'm also working through the new booster/MC that you are.
 
I used new 4R calipers on my troopy, fit perfectly.

I mean, I can't tell if they're identical without one beside the other, but from what I can see: mine are identical to the ones that I'm seeing online for the 4Runner.

Where'd you buy your calipers?

I'm also working through the new booster/MC that you are.

I'll follow along on that. I don't know that I really have issues with the braking on my rig, but I'm not going to argue with a bit of surplus brake boost...but I'm also entirely unfamiliar with this brake system, so I'm not sure if that extra pressure is actually helping anything. So, is the stock MC/boosta' actually undersized, or what?
 
Anyway, I was looking at the front brakes, and I don't see much of a difference between mine and the 1990-era 4Runner calipers; they look like basic four-piston models
See my build thread.

Fronts: Good Times - 1992 HZJ73 - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/good-times-1992-hzj73.1324843/post-15455568

Rears:
 
So, while I'm waiting for jack parts to come in, and while I'm trying to figure out if there are a set of Longfields available for my front axle, I decided to tackle another project: cleaning up my sheetmetal brake. I have a few light-gauge projects in mind, so I thought I'd just take an hour to remove the dried grease and muck that's been on there since long before I bought it.

And that's why I'm now on my way to buy dowel pins, a screw, a repair tap and a spring, and it's also why I wonder how people let their tools get this bad.

Pictured: Johnny Chimpo strikes again.

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I've seen oil pits that look like that, but a sheet brake? I don't even know what to say.

But for seriously: is there a part number that I can't find for the Longfields? I see parts for 7x up through 1/90, but after that I'm kind of striking out. What am I missing?
 
I think I got my plans for the steering settled; I did a pretty decent search on here (at least, I think I did) and it seems like the simplest solution is to just use an aftermarket set of steering arms and then build inward with commonly-available wonton parts. That's not the least-expensive option, but it's exceptionally easy to do because I could use Chevy/Dodge parts, or possibly stuff from an 80-series. Either way, I have options.

Next question along the future-planning way is whether or not to lock the axles. I like the limited-slips, but a lunchbox in the rear and a selectable in the front are a hard combination to beat...and it looks like that would be an Auburn/ARB setup due to lack of other options; mostly a lack of front options, in specific. I'd run twin eLockers if I could, but I'm pretty sure they're 12-volt only; same goes for the rest of their clones.

Also, I picked up a spare set of hubs today from @87BJ74... and since I've spent the last three days reorganizing my garage, I might have a place to put them, now.
 
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I just love to savor that new-spare-parts flavor...

Pictured: It has the aroma of...iron oxide.

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I know it looks crustaceous right now, but I think it's gonna clean up just fine in the end...and if it doesn't, I'll just vivisect it and keep the good bits.

Obviously, this is one of the spares that I just picked up from @87BJ74 - thanks for the lighting-fast shipping, by the way - so it'll probably end up being my trail spare, as long as it's working; I can probably rig up a test circuit with my power supply to check functionality. And as a bonus, I got a free hub and t-case switch out of the deal!

Pictured: Too bad it got Uncle Sam-handled on the way.

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We just can't have nice things, it seems...

So, the front of the housing/bezel is toast, but I think the switches themselves are okay...and I might be able to replace that bezel, nonetheless. Toyota probably used it elsewhere, so it's just a matter of finding it.
 
Pictured: Told you I had room for them!

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...of course, I'd have more room if I wasn't keeping eight oil filters, a spare air filter, the rear quarter compartment, a few wiring harness bits, a window regulator, the HAC and every interior trim part I've replaced on the shelf, as well. Thankfully, I didn't make that mistake with my small-parts shelf; I used bins, and that means I can only f*** myself over so much.

Pictured: We will have ORDER!

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Of course, that system only works if you keep it organized properly; no comment on whether or not I've actually done that.
 
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And then I started going through my box of random parts from the previous owner...

Pictured: Seriously, what the f*** is this...?

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The contours and finish match the interior sheetmetal...but I don't know where it would go. Nothing seems to be missing, but that's probably meaningless because the batteries don't look like they're missing any parts, either, but it turns out that this pair of uninstalled battery covers was missing from under the hood, so what the hell do I know?

Pictured: Thank Buddha for cast-in-place part numbers.

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Also, that's a broken water pump gasket...and I know that because it matches up to a brand-new, not-broken water pump; that later object was stuffed inside one of those covers along with a timing belt, and the whole shebang was tied up inside a plastic grocery bag. And right next to them, in the same box, were the pristine factory front floor mats...but all of that was overshadowed by the *other* object in that box.

Pictured: Oh HELL yes.

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I'm pretty sure this is what happens when a Nintendo Entertainment System has a one-night-stand with a spare tire...and it's glorious. It won't fit my current tires and it's a bit worse for wear, but it's all there. I'm thinking that this is gonna get a place of outright honor on the garage wall; either that, or I'm going to use it to reproduce a cover that'll fit my tires, and then hang it on the garage wall.

Things are looking up. 🤙
 
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