199mm Sequoia brake caliper swap on 98 4Runner

[Bob98SR5]

199mm Sequoia brake caliper swap on 98 4Runner

Ok ok, I know i'm completely late to the party on this mod and you guys are gonna give me shit about buying 199s vs 231mms, but seriously I looked for a good 2 months and nuttin'. My calipers came off of a 2001 Sequoia 4WD Limited edition. There were 231mm calipers that were on front end damaged Tundras, but I didn't want them. Anyways if I can get better stopping performance and no brake fade going down mountains and smelling hot brake pads, I'll be happy. Last trip from June to Mammoth, we were all smelling it, my brakes were vibrating, and smelling the pads. I'm sure my friends will drive their own car next trip haha.

BACKGROUND ON CALIPER DIFFERENCES AND CALIPER RECALL ON SEQUOIAS
I learned through reading that around 2002, Toyota recalled Sequoia calipers and replaced them with 231mms because of customer complaints about brake performance and brake fading. Make sense because the caliper itself is the same size as the stock 4runner, most likely uses the same pad size, (I didn't verify this), but has a slightly bigger rotor (¼" thicker) for a vehicle that has a significant weight difference vs a 3rd gen 4Runner. See below:

1998 4runner curb weight: 3,440 to 3,940 lbs (avg 3,690 lbs)
2001 Tundra curb weight: 5,070 to 5,295 lbs (avg 5,182 lbs)

Using the average of the weight of both vehicles, the delta between the two is a whopping 1,492 lbs.

Anyways in order to make the most out of my time in front brake land, I also bought a pair of Wheeler's Offroad stainless steel brake lines. My passenger side line was cracking near the caliper, so might as well replace it. Also, the lines are getting a complete flush and gonna use DOT 4 this time.

Some tech/data:

CALIPERS
- The 199mm caliper (really a misnomer---199 vs 231 is the *brake pad side*) is from what I can tell identical in size except for the width of the caliper opening. See my comparison pic.
- The difference is definitely in the inner cavity dimensions:
- The cavity length is identical at 4-11/16 inches.
- The width dead center though is different. Stock caliper cavity is 2-7/8 inches vs the 199mm caliper cavity is 3-1/8 inches, or 1/4 inch wider. This extra width accommodates the thicker rotors.

ROTORS
- Stock rotor width is only 7/8 inches wide
- 199mm rotors are marginally wider at 1-1/8 inches wide or a 1/4 inch thicker, which of course aligns with the wider caliper cavity of 1/4 inch (above)

(continued)

[Bob98SR5]

So this mod is clearly covered ad nauseam for the last 20 years, but I'll add my experience here that I believe are small details that might help the next person doing this:

PARTS (Photo included)
Boy, I read quite a bit of tech from our days at YT and T4R including Big Fish All Day's (who is an excellent tech writer I might add) and this mod is clearly covered ad nauseam over the last 20 years, but I'll add my experience here that I believe are small details that might help the next person doing this:

RUBBER BRAKE LINE REMOVAL (only if changing your lines). Tools: 10mm flare nut wrench, regular 10mm box wrench, 17mm box wrench, vac cap or plug.
My line was cracking so it needed replacement. Yes, leave the clips on before you remove the line nuts. I foolishly tried to remove one of the clips first and then the line, but the line end's metal fits into the holder/bracket and is secured by the clip. So I ended up spinning the line before I realized my idiotic mistake. I put the clip back in and all was well. A 10mm flare nut wrench is the best to break the connection, but if too stubborn, you can add some counter leverage by using a 17mm box wrench on the bottom part of the metal part of the line to secure it and then try to break the connection. This worked for me quite nicely and so I did this on all the remaining lines. I would break the connection w/ a 10mm flare nut wrench but then used a regular 10mm box wrench as its easier to turn, flip, and turn the nut off.

Have both a towel, drip pan, and or a plug or cap to stop/slow the leaking. Replacing the line is fairly straight forward once you get the clips off. I ended up using a long ass flat bladed screw driver and slowly knocked the clip off about half way. Once off half way, you can pull them off w/ your fingers and then remove the line.

Securing the line is just the reverse.

BOTTOM HARD LINE REMOVAL (10mm flare nut wrench, regular 10mm box wrench, 17mm box wrench, vac cap or plug)
As with the rubber brake line, partially disconnect the brake line connector at the caliper with a 10mm flare nut wrench and a regular box wrench of the same size. Plug it with a cap or a plug. Leave the top one connected.

CALIPER REMOVAL (17mm socket)
Use a breaker bar and a 17mm socket. T'was easy. I found it a lot easier to remove the bottom one first and then the top one.

ROTOR REMOVAL (rubber hammer)
Living on on the west coast has its advantages. I didn't have to pound on my rotors too hard to get them off. Just a few light taps around the mid part of the rotors and they broke the connection and easily pulled off.

(continued)

[Bob98SR5]

ROTOR INSTALL (21mm socket)
Of course this is simple enough to do, but there's something here that no one I've seen ever mention or document on a vid: if you want to test fit the caliper correctly, you must tighten down the rotors with all bolts. I tried with 3 and when I tried to fit the caliper, it would be off and I was frustrated for a good 20 minutes before common sense kicked. Once all of the bolts were secured against the rotor (don't need to torque to 85 ft/lb, just so the rotor isn't wobbly if grasped) against the rotor's surface after the inner shield trimming, then the caliper will fit right in.

INNER SHIELD TRIMMING (dremel w/ cutting wheel)
Even with the 199s, I had to cut off 0.5 inches from the inner shield. Forgot to take a pic but just spin your rotor and see/listen for anything that sounds like its rubbing or catching. My rotors were catching. No other cuts on the dust shield were required to cut off. No pics.

UNLOADED (no brake pads) CALIPER INSTALL (17mm socket and torque wrench)
Install the calipers w/ a 17mm socket. Torque to 90 ft/lb. Now one thing that was driving me nuts was fitting that lower brake line connector to the rebuilt calipers. I struggled for about 5-10 mins in vain before I had an epiphany (hot tip here, gents): lightly remove the top connector on the bottom hard line so that it's still connected but slightly loose. Then secure the bottom connector 50% of the way. Move up to the top of the hardline and screw in 50%. Finish off the bottom connector and then move to the top. Why: it was much easier re-fastening the upper one because there's a helluva lot more hand space/work space up there than at the bottom of the caliper

No pics. By this point, your hands will be covered in grease and brake fluid

BRAKE PAD PREP
I realize there's a ton of different options out there, but I'm sticking with all Toyota parts this go around. The stock Tundra / Sequoia pads require the shim and anti rattle pad. Flip the pad so that the pad is on your work surface. The pads come with black grease. Coat most of it on the back side where the two recessed holes are. One or two people mentioned the grease only has to go inside the recessed holes, but I've seen most people coat most of the back side. I inadvertently out of haste coat the entire backing, but it makes handling the completed pad a messy affair. The order of the pads goes:

- Pad, then on top of pad:
- finned metal anti rattle pad
- shim (solid)

See my pics of what not to do (backside all covered in grease) and what to do (partially covered). Pic #4 is what you should NOT do. Just wipe off the excess portion.

[Bob98SR5]

SETTING PADS
Having never done this, I inserted a pad w/ the shim/anti-rattle clips and the first one went in without a problem. The second one though didn't fit well at all. Why? Because the rotor wasn't fully seated against the hub backing plate as I later found out. I referred to Timmy the Toolman's video and he had a similar problem. Odd, but that's what happened.

Also you have to fully seat the caliper pistons in. With both hands just press them into the caliper itself. Pro tip: might as well do this before you actually mount the caliper.

The pads went into the cavity a lot farther into the cavity than expected for both sides.

RETAINING PINS/HARDWARE
Gently pull out both pads just a little bit so that the pin holes align with the caliper holes. If you've got big fat fingers, use a needle nose plier. I started with the bottom part of the pad and this one didn't require a clip. Not sure why Toyota engineers decided that the bottom side didn't need it, but hey, I'm sure there's a good reason. Liberally apply some brake grease on the pin itself and slide it through the caliper and the pad holes making sure that the tiny pin hole faces upwards. This will make things easier for the next step.

Take the M-shaped clip and install it as show in my pic. I found it easier to install it one side at a time. The wire "bulges" as I'll call them, should rest on top of the brake pad itself. If it doesn't, you have it on the wrong way. Just flip it around and try again. Liberally apply some brake grease on the pin itself and slide it through the caliper and the pad holes making sure that the tiny pin hole faces upwards. This will make things easier for the next step.

SIDE PIN RETAINING CLIP
Run the bottom part of the clip through the bottom pin hole, then the top one, and then slightly bow/bend the center curved retaining part of the pin into the caliper as shown. This is made easier if you follow the tip in the previous step to insert the pins with the holes facing upwards/downwards (vertically) to each other.

On to brake bleeding, which will not be covered in this post but I do use a combination of the Motive Brake bleeder plus the good ol' fashion 2nd person open, pump 10-15 times, and hold/close method. The Motive gets the major bubbles out to about 80-90% and the open, pump, and close method gets it almost to 100% perfect.

I just took two test drives and what a huge difference. Loving this already. I can finally lock out the brakes too. What a weird feeling that is after driving this truck since 2000 to be able to lock the brakes.

[4x4mike]

Great info, especially for a common mod. It seems the Tundra mod is very popular but I always notice most guys are sourcing cheap parts and having only so-so results. In the end they seem to do the job twice but do like the adding braking.

[Bob98SR5]

Great info, especially for a common mod. It seems the Tundra mod is very popular but I always notice most guys are sourcing cheap parts and having only so-so results. In the end they seem to do the job twice but do like the adding braking.

Yeah I read through a ton of thread posts on various forums and I agree. There wasn't an ideal combination of aftermarket parts (too many various opinions), so I stuck with OEM. I drove my truck last night and the brake feel is more firm/solid. It's not like it grabs any harder, just more firm. I'm glad I did this.