hey, im not familiar with 4x4 front brakes.Can anyone give me som tips on how to do them?i did yhem on my 86 toyo p/u turbo 2.4.but these are different.It is a 1989 3.0 v6 toyo p/u 4x4. any advice would help.thanks!:icon16:

Repair manual, repair manual, repair manual. You should not attempt the job without one. If you do not wish to purchase one, your local library may have one you can make copies from.

At the top of the pick-up forum is a repair manual available. Another possible source is autozone.com for a repair guide.

will do, thanks.

turn the rotors

here, i did a write-up in a post not too long ago about replacing the front brakes on my 94 toyota p/u. If you need anymore help just ask, someone here will be able to help. autozone.com has some manuals that may be helpful. anyway, here's the write-up:

I just did my brakes a couple weekends ago so i'll help you out. I know the date on the original post may be older, but ill do a step by step procedure anyway because it may help someone. These instructions are for my 1994 Toyota Pickup. I did this complete write-up from memory so there may be a few errors but i think i got most all of it. I will start with the basics too.

Step 1. Park your truck on level ground and place blocks around the rear tires so it wont roll at all. Also, if is a manual leave it in gear and pull the parking brake out all the way. jack up the front of the vehicle and place 2 jack stands on each side (make sure they are locked in place and that they are under something that could support the weight of the truck. Slowly release the jack that was used to jack up the vehicle to make sure the jack stands are properly situated. Take the jack and position it in the middle of the front of the truck (probably under the front axle hub) and jack the truck up just enough so 100% of the weight isnt on the jack stands anymore (try to make the jack the same height as the stands so the jack and the jack stands support the same amount of weight). Now that the front of the vehicle is safely in the air, we can move to step 2.

Step 2 - Remove the tires on both sides of the truck. There should be 6 lugs. Once you slide the tire off place it somewhere out of the way. Now you have access to the calipers. To make things easier, get in the truck and turn the wheel to the right (dont start the truck, just turn key over until the steering wheel lock is disengaged). after you shut the key off, we can move to step 3.

Step 3 - Get down in your wheel well of the left side of your truck (only replace one side at a time because if you mix something up, you can always go to the other side to make sure it gets back together properly) and visually inspect your rotors, calipers, brake lines, and your old pads to make sure they were wearing evenly. If they aren't wearing evenly then you may have seized pistons in the calipers (this is what happened to me, new calipers were about $50 each). Check your rotors for wear, if they are nice and smooth on either side then they are probably o.k., but if your pads were grinding on them then you will need to replace the rotors (im not gonna cover how to do this unless needed because it requires taking off the 4x4 hub). If your pads were wearing evenly and your rotors are good then we can start taking stuff off. With the visual inspection done I will start disassembly in step 4.

Step 4 - Locate the holding clip on the inside of the caliper. It looks like a thin straight wire that has a 'hook' bent in the middle to hold it on the caliper. remove this clip and place it in a safe spot so you dont loose it. That clip held 2 pins (one on top and one on bottom) that hold the brake pads in the calipers. The pins are probably 4" long and only come out one way. you may need to tap the end of the pin with a hammer so you can get pliers on the outside end. When you remove the top pin, be very careful to take note how the anti-vibration clip is held in place. This clip looks kinda like an 'M', and it needs to go back the same way it was taken off on the top pin. With the holding clip, the anti-vibration clip, and the 2 pins removed from the calipers, you can now slide the old brake pads out of the calipers. with the old pads out, we can move to step 5.

Step 5 - Open the hood of the vehicle and remove the brake fluid cap. Get someone to keep an eye on the level of fluid so it doesnt overflow. Take a small wooden handle and put it between a piston and the rotor. Pry so that you force the piston back into the caliper. Do this on all the pistons so that they make room for the newer, thicker pads. Put the new pads in and re-install the pins, the anti-vibration clip, and the holding clip in the same way that you took them off. If you forgot how they came off, go to the other side of the vehicle (remember this is the side that you havent touched yet) and check. Now you should be finished with this side of the truck. Go back to the middle of step 2 and start the process over by turning the steering wheel to the left.

Step 6 - After you have completely replaced the pads on both sides and everthing is back together again, put the wheels back on and torque the lugs in a star pattern to 100 ft/lbs. Make sure your brake fluid is at the correct level, then put the brake fluid cap back on. Now jack the truck up farther so you can remove the jack stands, then you can let the jack down slowly. This should finish everything, your brakes shouldnt need to be bled. Take the truck around the block slowly to make sure the brakes work. Dont over work them either. If your pedal is too mushy then you will need to bleed the brakes.

Some things might be different but this should get you started.

-Jason