4Runner shakes when braking. Rotors are fine

Hey guys,

I'm pretty much new to these forums, so I don't know what to expect. But hopefully I can garner some knowledge here. I love 4Runners. Especially the 3rd and 5th Gens. I'm trying to keep mine as long as I can. But I have encountered some issues lately. Primarily with the braking. Every time I brake, my 4Runner shakes. When I talked to people and searched online, I was told that it could be the rotors. But when I had the rotors checked, they were fine. Nothing warped or anything. I changed the brake pads because they needed to be changed, but I don't think it made any of a difference. The only thing I can think of is if there is something wrong with the suspension? I do need to change the two front tires because they're starting to bald and definitely need an alignment. I don't know if that could be the case too. But anyways, I'm pretty sure someone has had this issue as well, just need to find the root problem so I can fix this. Thanks.

 

There are a lot of components up front. When the rotors were checked. They should inspect all the bushings. Check for play in the upper and lower ball joints. It is a 20 year old vehicle, so careful inspection is always a good idea.

 

Welcome.

 

Welcome from FL.

 

Welcome from Utah. Are you feeling the shaking in the steering wheel or through the body? Did you check the rear drums too or just the fronts?

 

It’s mainly the front I’m having issues with. I recently just changed the lower ball joint on the driver side and just changed the two front tires. Going to the shop for an Alignment tomorrow. Hopefully an Alignment will help.

 

I stand corrected. When I went to my local repair shop, my guy Darren told me straight off the bat it WAS indeed the rotors and brakes that are causing the shaking. When I told him that when I installed new brake pads, he told me that it made it worse. Also, he mentioned that one, if not both rotors have a curve. I don't know, I'm not a big mechanics guy but when I helped my dad change my brake pads, just by looking at my rotors I didn't see anything visually different or off. But when my mechanic Darren showed me, I definitely saw what he was talking about. He also mentioned that getting an alignment wouldn't make a difference anyway. So now I gotta get me some new rotors and brake pads. Any good rotors or rotor kits you guys can recommend for a good affordable price? Thanks!

 

It's good that you know the cause. There are threads here that discuss the rotors being undersized on the 3rd gen models. Thus causing premature warping, due to heat issues. If you do some searching;you should find some have upgraded to Tacoma rotors and calipers (they are larger). Others have recommended slotted and cross drilled rotors to help with heat dispersion. I took the slotted and cross drilled option. It has been a year, and they seem to be doing well for me. As for a source and pricing you may have to just do some searches. Pricing on our stuff seems to eb and flow? Perhaps someone else can give more detailed information. Oh, I failed to welcome you to the forum earlier. I'm pretty new here, but welcome.

 

They aren't warped it's actually pad material burned onto the rotor. You MUST properly bed in new brake pads to prevent this.

 

If you feel like spending for new calipers the "Tundra Brake Upgrade" is a good option. Tundra calipers and rotors from ~2005 bolt right up to the 3rd gen, just requires some minor trimming of the dust shield. There were two sizes of Tundra rotors from those years, which one to get depends on what wheel you're running.

 

+1 on the tundra upgrade. Front rotors and calipers, need 17" wheels tho.

 

I believe most oem 16s will work.

 

I had a 2015 tacoma, at 22k miles my rotors warped, ignored it for 20k miles. Replaced them at 40k woth EBC and didnt have any issues

 

Having the same issue. Did the Tundra upgrade 20,000 miles ago. StopTech rotors checked out ok as did brake pads. Not sure what to check next 1998 4Runner, 242,000 miles.

 

I have a 2000 4Runner with 200,000 miles on the clock. It has had front brake shudder from day one. The rotors have been turned (and replaced) many times, but within a short time the shudder returns. It turns out the solution is very simple. When the lug nuts are torqued unevenly, the rotor does not seat properly against the hub. Most tire shops (and even garages) crank their airguns up to infinity. Occasionally they've snapped the bolts right off my wheels. Toyota has very specific torque settings for those bolts, and they must be even. The torque is lower than you would guess. I recently moved to a small town and took my 4Runner to a Mazda dealer (they do full service) and when they rotated the tires, they snugged the bolts with the airgun on low pressure, then used a very nice manual torque wrench to set everything to factory spec. The shutter disappeared like magic.

 

Using a torque wrench is good. However, when watching them put the wheels back on (I always stand and watch from just outside the bay just to keep them honest), make sure, when they use the torque wrench, that the lug nut turns a little BEFORE the wrench clicks. If the lug nut doesn’t turn before the wrench clicks, there’s a good chance the lug nut was overtightened. If that’s the case, ask the guy to loosen them all a little and retighten them with just the torque wrench. Proper tightening sequence is back and forth to opposite sides, working around the wheel.

 

Hard or extended braking can build up a lot of heat. When the vehicle comes to a stop, if the hot pads stay in contact with the same spot on the hot rotor, the metal in the rotor at that contact point can crystalize at the molecular level. This can cause a “permanent”* slick spot on the rotor. Even though the rotor may not be warped, the pads will not “bite” as well each time that slick spot comes around and will grab and release, grab and release slightly and feel as though the rotor is warped. The slick spots can be seen as slightly discolored patches on the rotor. *If the rotor is still thick enough, the slick spots can be turned out.

Prevention?

Use lower gear when descending a hill rather than relying heavily on your brakes, even if you’re not pulling a trailer. If you have to keep riding your brakes, you’re in too high of a gear. Use your gears. It’s safer and your brakes will last longer.

If you have needed to do heavy braking, stop a few feet from where you intend to stop and expect to sit for a minute or two (like at a signal), and then let the vehicle creep forward slowly. This will keep the rotors moving and prevent heat buildup in one spot.

 

my brakes have been grabbing a bit recently, i am hoping it is not an insanely expensive fix. maybe just rotor replacement?

 

Does the vehicle keep going straight when the brakes “grab” or is it pulling to one side or another?

 

still going straight.

 

Hmmm. Just looking for some clues.

Any change in peddle response from when it wasn’t grabbing?

Any odd noises when it grabs?

Does speed make any difference?

 

only really grabs in lower speed. highway was fine. no noises as of yet. its almost like a pulsing feeling coming from the front.

 

Brakes are more effective at slower speeds because of something to do with the physics of friction (train brakes are almost useless above 35 mph). The pulsing might come from a slick spot on a rotor (high heat from hard braking and then the pads sit applied in one place on the rotor can cause the metal to crystallize at the molecular level and loose “traction” through that portion of the rotation). Your “grab” would be from the good part of the rotor and what you perceive as “normal” would be in the slick area. The slick spots are visible as a subtle visual texture difference and can be turned out if the rotor is still thick enough to be turned.

 

I'm sure this is my problem. Started right AFTER i got my tires balanced. Even took it back a second time because I didn't feel they were balanced, because it was slighlty shuddering, now its shuddering even MORE!! Stupid tire shop. I am sure the wheel is not sitting flat against the rotor.