Brake Question - Toyota Tundra Forums : Tundra Solutions Forum

wjsizemore77 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-20-2007, 05:50 PM

My girlfriend's Tacoma seems to take forever to stop. She had the brakes done, pads/shoe/resurface, last year at a Just Brakes (should be spelled Just BREAKS). We took it to the Toyota dealer, and they resurfaced the discs and drums and said the pads and shoes still had a good amount of wear left. They also said it looked like the front disc had glazed up, looked blue. This alleviated the pulsation in the pedal, but it still seems like it doesn't stop like it should. Panic stop from 45mph yielded no tire scrub, no anti-lock, not at much dive. The parking brake got tight real fast, so it seems like the rears are adjusted out where they should be. After a few stops I started to smell the brakes so I left it at that. Could the pads be ruined even though they have wear left because of the glazing? Hopfully I can just pop some new ones in and be done with it, and it is not something else like a booster. If it is the pads, is it worth it to go to an organic or ceramic? Thanks.

Bill.

MEvang · #2 (**permalink**) 12-20-2007, 07:55 PM

If the pads keep glazing and the rotors are blueing there is defiantly something wrong with the pads. This of course is true if the caliper or hoses are not at fault. But, I would bet the problem lies in some very cheap pads.

Now the bad news, just putting pads in at this point may not be a good idea. The rotors have been machine twice and they could be under specification or very close to it. I don't know the minimum thickness for your Tacoma but if you give me a year I can probably find out.
I suggest you check the rotors thickness if they are under or close, replace the rotors.You might also want to repack the wheel bearing if they are not permanent pack bearings. Install a set of Toyota pads and I think you'll see a big difference.
Mike

wjsizemore77 · #3 (**permalink**) 12-20-2007, 08:50 PM

Thanks for the info. It is an 03 Prerunner double cab. Visually, is it easy to tell if the pads are/have been glazed over?

MEvang · #4 (**permalink**) 12-21-2007, 06:08 AM

It's kind of something you learn to identify by experience.
Then a pad glazes or overheats the resins in the pad are boiled off the surface. This can leave the pad a white color at the edges near the surface. If you remove the pad and the surface is hard and flaky or you see small chucks missing from the surface this is a sign of glazed pad. The rotor can be the best way to read this, blue spots on the rotor is a sure sign.
Once a pad has been burnt and glazed it not likely you can save it. If the pad material is a poor quality and cannot transfer heat well it will glazed and make it hard to stop as you have noticed.
Mike

MEvang · #5 (**permalink**) 12-21-2007, 06:25 AM

Brake rotor and drum specs for 2003 Tacoma Prerunner
Rotor
New thickness: .866
Minimum Thickness: .787
Max runout: .0028

Drum
Maximum Diameter: 297mm
FYI these specification come from Auto Zone's web site.
They have a nice online data base of manufacturer specification such as these.
Remmber, Auto Zone owns Alldata so I trust these are acurate.
Mike

wjsizemore77 · #6 (**permalink**) 12-22-2007, 05:40 PM

Thank you. We put a set of Toyota pads on the front and now it seems to have a better feeling. The old pads still had a lot of wear left, but they were silver with metal stuck to them. The tech explained that they were probably about the hardest & crappiest compound available, being Just Brakes pads.