12 Tacoma Front pads/rotors (pics) change now?

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wagsrk08

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On the Lake, Ohio
Original owner of a 2012 Tacoma 2.7L 4x4 5-speed MT SR5 with 98,350 mi. on the clock. I do 95% of all my maintenance and have been thinking about original front brake replacement. Current pads are between 3-4 mm (.118 - .157). Owner's manual said change @ .039 (1 mm). I read somewhere best to change pads @ 3 mm. Rotors are pretty rusted up as pictures show since I live in snow/rust belt along Lake Erie. If I choose Toyota OEM I'm looking at a little under $250 which is reasonable to me. Would you wait and let them whittle down a little more or change now? Currently no vibration, noise or pulling. Great brakes since get go. Thanks!

LEFT SIDE:
[IMG]

RIGHT SIDE:
[IMG]
 
How do the contact areas of the rotors look? If it looks like the pads are still contacting the rotor surfaces evenly, I don't see why you would need to replace the pads immediately.
 
Looks like the first one isn't sliding right - wear is 1 sided, stuck in rust?
Spend your cleaning time painting newer stuff - let the tank clean 'em.
 
I recently changed out the rotors and pads on my Toyota after 140,000 miles or so. There was still plenty of pad material left, but I was glad when I took everything apart because I found that the caliper pins were very dry - not to the point of binding - but close. And that's without any of the rust issues that you have. I purchased a Raybestos Element3 pad/rotor kit from RockAuto for a good price, but I believe they carry pad/rotor/caliper kits as well.

I vote for replace it all now.
 
If you have the money:
Change the Rotors, get coated, NOT bare metal and NEW Pads.
Replace the Calipers / also get the coated.

If you DO NOT have the money / considering the parts are only 8 years old:
Install new Pads and clean the Rotors with a wire-wheel
and
Clean the Calipers with a Wire-Brush
Recheck in two years.

There is great satisfaction in having NEW brake parts.
No matter what, make sure you lube any places that require it.
 
Pads and calipers for sure if the rotors are smooth and no pulsating I would say they would be OK maybe clean the inside if you replace get coated rotors.
 
Those are four piston calipers, I'd bet they are NOT cheap.

Me personally I would put new pads/tins/rotors on it, and use a dremel tool to clean up the caliper.

Clean up the slides real good and put it back together.

I've done a ton of Buffalo brake jobs, that isn't the worst caliper I've seen.

I think you might have trouble with compressing one of those pistons and will end up buying calipers anyway, but I could be wrong.
 
I would wire wheel those calipers then see what condition they're in before replacing. There's a lot of metal there to rust, they usually look worse than they really are. But if the pistons don't move freely then you're looking at replacement.

To me, it looks like the min pad thickness there is about 1/8". When I see my cars with 1/8" I put it on the to-do list and then do brakes at my convenience or when the weather is nice. I don't consider 1/8" to be a drop what you're doing and get it done repair, you're looking at 5-10k miles before you're on metal. But pads & rotors at the least, calipers if you encounter any issues or the rust has compromised them somehow (hard to tell from picture.)

Dang, that's quite the caliper. Don't see 4-piston calipers very often, and interesting they did not used a single sided slide design like nearly every other manufacturer uses.
 
The front brakes on our old Tundra seemed to be OK, even though they are too small for this vehicle.
I pad slapped 'em with the new Raybestos Element pads and braking was improved.

Living in sunny CA, I am blown away by the rust. Looks like some of the east coast C2 and C3 Corvettes I have worked on...
 
Not the worst I’ve seen.......but some serious rust jacking going on there.......No Joke:
Replace Rotors, pads.......that goes without saying, and all metal brake hardware ( those pins are beyond wire wheel repair)
Wire brush / wire cup brush those calipers As best as possible and make sure you lube all moving parts ( both metal and rubber) as best as possible......
 
Living in CA my whole life makes those look awful to me. I never see brakes that grungy. I had to look to see where you are from. I'd replace everything.
 
wagsrk08 said:
Original owner of a 2012 Tacoma 2.7L 4x4 5-speed MT SR5 with 98,350 mi. on the clock. I do 95% of all my maintenance and have been thinking about original front brake replacement. Current pads are between 3-4 mm (.118 - .157). Owner's manual said change @ .039 (1 mm). I read somewhere best to change pads @ 3 mm. Rotors are pretty rusted up as pictures show since I live in snow/rust belt along Lake Erie. If I choose Toyota OEM I'm looking at a little under $250 which is reasonable to me. Would you wait and let them whittle down a little more or change now? Currently no vibration, noise or pulling. Great brakes since get go. Thanks!

LEFT SIDE:
[IMG]

RIGHT SIDE:
[IMG]
Click to expand...
Rock has brand new elements 3 calipers 4 piston front for 83ea, Elements 3 coated rotors 24ea and Elements 3 pads 31 set. For $245 plus shipping you have all new parts up front, the Elements 3 line is very good and corrosion resistant.

Edit: Add links. Check all part #s.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=9650080&cc=1502961&jsn=407
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=9650076&cc=1502961&jsn=408
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=5417589&cc=1502961&jsn=614&jsn=614

Rotor for 5 and 6 lug wheel.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=7577556&cc=1502961&jsn=488

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=8826628&cc=1502961&jsn=491&jsn=491
 
Sorry to spook you members on the west coast...... :p New Toyota OEM parts ie Rotors, Pads & shim kit, Calipers & kit, Pins from a discount Toyota parts dealer is going to run me around $485 plus shipping. Should I purchase less expensive aftermarket (re-manufactured) parts since they're going to possibly look this bad as well? NAPA, Autozone, Advance Auto, & Rock Auto come to mind. I feel more comfortable with Toyota OEM since these brakes have held up well but uglier than snot and not cheap..... just thinking out loud. Thanks.
 
Those pins will be a bear to pull out. Should order some spares before attempting. Once out you might be able to reuse, if they didn't get too beat up; once all the rust is sanded off, and the holes cleaned out, they might slide much easier and be able to be reused.

The pads might have to be hammered out, this looks similar to the setup on my Tundra and they can be a bear to come out.

I would pull apart and check for delamination of the pad material from the backing plate. Then check that the pistons still move freely (push on one and the other will try to come out). If all is well, apply some sort of grease (Honda M77 works for me) onto all sliding surfaces and call it done. This doesn't look bad to me--rust is cosmetic here, on the caliper (as long as it's not in the piston area). The pad lining is getting thin so I'd order some new pads; if the rotors aren't grooved badly then I think they can be reused.
 
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