Tacoma brakes

[nixfwc]

I like my 05 Tacoma in many respects, however I find with my FWC camper loaded ,it does not stop well at all. I have looked for rear disc brake conversions and not found much that looks roadable or affordable. Has anyone else discovered a brake improvement for the 05 and later Tacomas?

 

[generubin]

Check and see if you have a brake proportioning valve over your rear axle. If you do, and you have Ride Rites or some sort of rear suspension mod to raise the rear, you need to compensate the valve with a 2 inch bracket. You are likely operating on front brakes only. Search the other threads: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3518/

 

[Alex]

05+ Tacoma does not have proportion valve on the rear axle. From what I read there is no off the shelf rear disk brake conversion kit for 05+ Tacoma.
How bad is your brake? If it can lock up the wheels then it has enough power maybe it's the brake feel that is lacking.

 

[Barko1]

How much braking work is really done in the rear when the camper is on? Once you hit the brakes all that weight is transfered to the front and I would think with higher COG only amplifies that. Better front discs/pads might be of some help, also a wider contact patch.

 

[Argonaut20]

To put it bluntly, nothing with a load on it stops as quickly as it did when unloaded. The more weight you put on, the longer the stopping distance will be. (Don't slam on your brakes if a semi is close behind if you want to avoid a real life demonstration of what weight does to stopping distance.) Driving more defensively is necessary when you are loaded with the camper. I don't find the Tacoma brakes inadequate when the camper is aboard, but I don't drive it the same way as I do when the camper is off.

 

[Southbound]

I just put Powerslot brand slotted rotors and Hawk pads on my 07 Tacoma 4 door this past weekend and it made a big difference. Its used as a work truck with a lot of weight in back and I am very happy with the result. Bought it all from Tire Rack.com.

 

[nixfwc]

I definitely notice a braking difference with the camper on and consequently drive much slower. However I am worry about to having to make an emergency stop with the camper. I may try out different front rotors and pads. Consensus at the Tacoma forum is that they don't help much. I am interested in hearing others experience. Thanks for the info so far. Tundras come with rear discs for some reason.

 

[Lighthawk]

I know this thread is about Taco's but I had some odd experiences while four-wheeling my Tundra last night. I got the brakes wet driving through a stream maybe a foot deep. I then drove down a steep hill. The brakes made a low frequency moaning sound and kept slipping, causing me to pump the brakes to attempt to stop. Fortunately the hill was short and I did not have my FWC mounted on the back. It took almost five minutes to dry the brakes back to normal operation.

Anyone know what upgrades are recommended for all the Toyotas?

 

[generubin]

Hey Andy, after the brakes were wet was it a dirt or gravel road you were on? It sounds to me like your ABS was kicking in, maybe in combination with wet tires slipping a bit. I had a Nissan a while back that I would remove the ABS fuse from while on dirt roads. It never seems to be an issue with my Dodge.
Gene

 

[Lighthawk]

Maybe, Gene. I know the ABS sound and sometimes unfavorable braking it causes, but what I experienced was different. I felt that the pads / shoes were actually shuddering and slipping due to wetness. Probably not a big deal, but I'll want to be aware that I should not descend something really steep immediately after fording a stream. That seems a little bit topographically challenged if you think about it

 

[generubin]

That's when a manual trans and really low gears comes in handy, Andy.

 

[EdoHart]

Your rear drum brakes may be applying little or no braking effort if they haven't been adjusted in a while.

Drum brakes need to be regularly adjusted as the brake shoes wear (every 1000 miles or so). Modern drum brakes are supposed to automatically adjust by coming to a full stop in reverse with the brake pedal depressed, but I haven't found that to work well. Your results may vary.

To manually adjust rear drum brakes, chock the front wheels, place the truck in neutral, raise the rear wheels off the ground and support the truck on jack stands (never trust a jack to hold a car or truck off the ground). Next find the access hole which gives you access to the adjuster star wheel within the drum assembly. It is located at the top of the inboard side of the drum assembly. Hopefully there is a plug of some kind to prevent dirt and water from getting into the drum assembly.

Inside is the adjuster star - a little wheel with teeth on it which you can turn using a standard screw driver. The adjuster star rotates on a horizontal axis parrallel to the frame rails and perpendicular to the axle and is like a ratchet wrench in that it only turns in one direction.

While turning one tire by hand, turn the adjuster wheel for that drum assembly until you feel a slight resistance. Then either live with the additional brake drag for a few hundred miles or turn the adjuster star back one or two clicks as descibed below.

Next to the adjuster star is a small lever which can be pushed with another standard screw driver. By pushing on that small lever, you can turn the adjuster star in the opposite direction to pull the brake shoes away from the drum.

Repeat the proceedure for the other wheel and go for a test drive.

 

[Lighthawk]

Thanks for the detailed Edo. Gosh, I haven't adjusted drum brakes since I used to work on my Rambler

 

[pvstoy]

Some drums/shoes want you to tighten the star wheel all the way down, then back off untill a light drag while spinning wheel. For yours check the service manual.