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Front and Rear Brake Rotor and Pad Installation

21K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  dexterdog 
#1 · (Edited)
I was able to get my front pads and rotors changed this past Saturday using the great resources from the forum here but thought I would add a couple of notes for some issues I ran into for others who might be a little worried about doing this job themselves as I was. Given my mechanical knowledge has only come from the forum I think this is a job that most people with the right tools should feel comfortable doing themselves. Here is the thread I used for reference.

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...es/50554-front-brakes-replacement-w-pics.html

My notes:

Go by the Toyota dealership before doing this job and purchase new caliper pins (4 total for the front brakes). Mine were completely rusted out and were very difficult to remove. I am going to go back and re install new ones. $3 a piece.

My EBC green pads came with a lubricant to apply to these pins and the anti squeal shims. If yours don't come with this I would pick it up at the local auto parts store before hand. Apply this to the pins and the the backs of the pads.

If I could do this again I would have also purchased brand new anti squeal shims from the dealership as well, as mine were pretty roasted. (If I do this again I think I will buy entire rebuild kits for my calipers as they were pretty beat)

Getting the pins out was the toughest part of this job. Using a nail set / punch tool was how I was able to finally get them out. It took some hammering.

I went through about 1 can of brake cleaner spray per wheel.

If you have wheel spacers installed plan for additional time to remove / clean these as an extra step in this installation, as they must be removed prior to pulling off the rotors.

I used a modified coat hanger to hang the calipers once removed from the rotors.


Part 2 Rear Rotors and Pads:

Here is a good write up on the pads:

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...51515-rear-brake-pads-replacement-w-pics.html

I was a little worried about doing the rears today because of issues with removing the rotors due to the parking brakes on both rear rotors. It wasn't as big of a deal as I made it out to be and the rears went much quicker than the fronts.

Notes from my install:

There are four 17mm bolts that need to be removed in order to take off the cylinder assembly and the the cylinder mounting. Pretty straight forward.

It took me about 30 mins to figure out that I had to shift the 4WD into Nuetral in order to spin the routers. You have to spin the rotors in order to line up the hole on the outside of the rotor for access to the gear/wheel that loosens the E-Brake. (So don't waste your time like I did, haha, the regular shifter stays in park) E-Brake off of course and chalk your front wheels.

Spin one of the holes in the rotor so that it lines up in the 5 to 6 o'clock position in order to access the wheel that releases the emergency brake (There are two holes in the rotor that allow access to the inside of the E-brake). You can't get the rotor off without doing this. (Make sure to tighten this gear back up after you install the new rotor of the E-Brake won't work right) Use a screw driver to rotate the gear down, then with a couple of whacks with a hammer my rotors came loose and off. Once I figured this step out, the second rear rotor and brake pad install took 1/2 the time of the other.

If I could have done it again I would have bought complete rebuild kits for the calipers and new anti squeal shims for the pads. Once you have the parts off it really wouldn't take much time to clean and rebuild these calipers. However you would of course have to drain out the brake fluid before hand. (And this would require bleeding the system as you go from wheel to wheel.)

Sorry I don't have pictures but I thought that I could save some fellow FJ owner's some time with my lessons learned. I also wanted to give some confidence to those thinking about doing this themselves. It is very doable. As long as you have the right tools, a floor jack and jack stands. I will try to answer any questions or assist in any ones project.

I plan on a full brake fluid flush this week along with the installation of SS break lines. I am a rookie so if the vets see anything misleading or just flat out wrong please chime in.

Jeremy
 
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#2 ·
Looks good. The only thing I see is you don't have to touch the e-brake to take the rears off. Mine were rusted to the point that I used the two small threaded holes to take them off. I keep all of the good bolts, nuts, and washers I take off of or don't use on the FJ. You thread two bolts into the threaded holes and this pushes the rotor off of the axle.

I replaced my front pads 3 months ago and then I replaced all 4 rotors with 360 Performance Rotors and some ceramic pads 3 weeks ago.


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