Solid axle Toyota Pickups and 4 Runners have a problem with brake fade and feel due to their solid front rotor design especially when you add larger tires. One cure for the problem is to swap out the existing solid rotors with a vented style rotor which cools better due to more surface area to dissipate the heat. There are a few ways to do this. The way that I chose uses all Toyota parts.
Parts that you will need:
- 1981 FJ-40 Landcruiser rotors
- 1990 Toyota Pickup V-6 calipers
- 1990 Toyota pickup V-6 master cylinder with reservoir.
- Brake fluid
Cast iron V-6 master cylinder installed on 4 cylinder brake booster.
Note splice of wiring harness and relocation of front brake line.
V-6 caliper and vented rotor installed
Complete installation
Problems I ran into:
One minor problem that I ran into was because of the size of the V-6 calipers, the calipers were rubbing on the rim. I had to grind down a portion of the outside of the caliper. This does not effect its performance. Just be careful not to take too much off!!
Another problem was that when I did my swap, I did it over a few days.
Therefore, I let all of the brake fluid drain out and had a VERY hard time
bleeding the system. Notice all of the speedy dry in the above picture.
My advice, crimp all lines to prevent fluid loss. It will save you alot
of headaches.
Costs:
rotors
$56.00 each new
calipers
$48.00 each rebuilt, $50.00 each for a core
master cylinder $90.00 new
m/c reservior $ 5.00 used
Brake fluid $10.00
Grand Total $313.00 plus tax and another $100 for core charge
NOTE: The parts jockeys shouldn't know the difference between
your stock calipers and a V-6 caliper. The only difference between them
is the cut out to accomodate the vented rotor. But dont hold me responsible
for your $100 if it doesn't work.
Last updated: 11/02/99
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Fox
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