Diy Brake Job Advice (Cryo Rotors and Hawk Pads)?

I've only got about 27k miles on the factory brakes, when i'm towing the trailer last time on a single lane highway up in the hills it was shaking the hell out of the truck. With another trip coming up in a week and a half where i'll have to be driving on some similar highways but a little worse, its time to get the uneven/warped rotors out and give it a little bit of an upgrade.

I had heard really good things about cryo-treated rotors lasting a long time without uneven wear or warping so i thought i'd give them a try, i also saw that Keith @dirtydeeds over on tundratalk was raving about Frozen Rotors with the EBC Yellow Pads.
I gave Frozen Rotors a call and asked them about it and they said that they recommended the slotted rotors and Hawk Green pads for best truck towing performance.

They cost a little more at right around $200/rotor over the Powerstop Z36 kit that i was looking on Amazon for $300, but money well spent if it gives a more comfortable tow.

https://frozenrotors.com/all-products.html?find=2017-toyota-tundra-all-models-32113&sid=1DZYofMq4C

I have had (or they may still be on my commuter car) hawk pads in the past and they've worked well, i opted to get the green ones on amazon for around $75


This is going to be my first DIY brake job on the Tundra (i've done plenty on other vehicles), anything i should look out for? I only purchased the pads and the rotors, i see there's a Hardware kit with some wire springs and pins.

$20 ACDelco Gold 18K1947X Front Disc Brake Caliper Hardware Kit with Springs and Pins

https://smile.amazon.com/ACDelco-18K1947X-Professional-Caliper-Hardware/dp/B004A535J4?keywords=tundra+brake+hardware+kit&qid=1659998357&s=automotive&sprefix=Tundra+brake+hardware%2Cautomotive%2C137&sr=1-1-spons#customerReviews
Should i get those? Like a lot of things on amazon, its either people saying "works great" or "dont buy, made my truck explode into flames", if they are needed i can always swing by the toyota dealership and grab some factory ones...cant be that expensive.

I've got some C clamps, anti-seize, pads came with lube for the back of the pads, brake cleaner, an impact gun, and a torque wrench...anything else i'll need?

 

Looks like you have it sorted. Don't forget to adjust the parking brake. Let us know how you like the setup after. I'm running yellows and like them alot if I don't do the bbk I may consider those rotors.

 

I'll do updates along the way.

Isn't the parking brake on the rear? I should have mentioned that i'm only doing the fronts, do i need to adjust the parking brake still?

 

Yep. That makes more sense lol

 

I used the same exact slotted cryo rotors from Dirty Deeds and the green Hawk LTS pads (fronts only replaced) No complaints. Minimal dusting, I can’t remember if they bite better than stock. I will be checking to see how much pad is left as I have been doing some heavy towing and slowing from high speeds since supercharger was installed.

BTW My stock front rotors were shaking when I bought the truck with only 21k miles.

 

I have the same rotors but went with different brake pads. I read good things about them and I have had them on for about a year now and they all turned out to be true. I replaced my front rotors and brakes at 27k due to the same reason you are experiencing.
Akebono ASP1303 Performance Ultra Premium Ceramic Disc Brake Pad Kit

 

Think you'll be good with your rotors and pads..Only thing would suggest is cleaning the axle hub before installing the rotor.. Being in CA, rust may not be that bad, here in western NYS , I had a lot of rust and cleaned with Scotch-Bright Roloc and wire brush..
https://youtu.be/iFYrkfLuKTg

 

Good to hear! I did look at akeboni stuff.

Did you reuse all the hardware?

 

Thanks I'll look into this. Rust isn't a problem at all where I'm at.

 

No I bought the replacement clips you showed earlier via Amazon. You could use them but I figured might as well replace everything. I did put anti seize on before mounting the rotor. The originals were on tight, had to hit it with 5 lb sledge from the back to get them off.

 

I also used new pin hardware kit for fronts. Because of my area I had a hard time removing old pins, much patience, penetrating oil, punch ,mini vice grips...Installed new pins and clips, with anti seize of your choice...I recheck them make sure they are free every tire rotation..and as mentioned above I also put a very thin coat of anti seize on hub before new rotor install..

 

Thanks! I'll go ahead and order a hardware kit. Worst case i can always return them.

Got the hawk pads in, those are some heavy suckers!

 

Good call on the new hardware. If you don't need it, no harm is having it on hand for a later date. And as others have mentioned don't forget a generous amount of good grease or anti-seize on the pins. I also use anti-seize or just some fluid film on the hub service before mounting the new rotor, of course after a good clean with a wire brush if needed.

Also, I would highly recommend breaking in your new pads and rotors properly. Some people don't believe this is necessary, but I have been following this procedure for every vehicle I own, and I've never "warped" a rotor since. Proper transfer of pad material to a new rotor is critical. This video is hands down the most informative one on the subject I have ever seen, and exactly the same process I follow. Start at 10:30 if you want to save some time to follow the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdPX6rzuINc

 

I have been really happy with my powerstop Z36 kit.

 

I do plan on bedding them, its a little bit of a ordeal to find the right road thats close enough that you can do the 60-10 pulls.
In that video he really gets them hot!

I plan on following Hawk's although they say to come to a stop, which i probably wont do:

STREET PAD
BED-IN

1. To break in the new components, make 6 to 10 stops from approximately 30 to 35 MPH applying moderate pressure.

2. Make an additional 2 to 3 hard stops from approximately 40 to 45 MPH.

3. DO NOT DRAG BRAKES!

4. Allow 15 minutes for brake system to cool down.

5. Your brakes are now ready for use and can be driven normally.

https://www.hawkperformance.com/how-to

 

Good to hear another person with the same setup is happy!

Tag me when you take a look at the pads, i'll be interested to see how they're holding up.

 

Glad to hear it! Yes I think he got a bit extreme but he had pretty aggressive pads on that Vette.

I did notice it took more work to bed-in Hawk pads to my DBA rotors on my old GTO that it did my daily drivers with more typical pads. I certainly got them pretty hot as well which yeah, was a little sketchy given some roads around here lol

 

I'll probably go the same route when my pads are worn out, maybe sooner. Currently have 67k on OEM pads, with around 1/3-1/2 life left in them. Rotors are original with 246k and no issues at all, it brakes really smooth. I tow alot, but I dont think I brake hard, and I downshift when going down steep or long grades.

Reading alot of posts and people seem to burn through pads rather quickly. I really am curious how it happens.

 

We leave for camping trip a week from today and my schedule is stacking up for this weekend and next week so i went ahead and threw the pads and rotors on last night so that i could get as many miles on them before i tow the trailer to the coast.





I was able to drive around and bed them about 15-20 times from between 45-55mph. I could tell at the end when they were really good and hot and i could feel them fade a bit. I drove around a bit to cool them off without stopping until i parked it in the driveway. Man i could really feel the heat radiating off the pads.

 

Thats nuts that you have that much on the factory rotors. Im at 27k miles and probably 2k miles ago i noticed the warp/uneven wear on the rotors.
I'll update as time goes to see how this setup works.

 

I'll post some pictures today. If I had a good way to set up my dial indicator to check the amount if wear I would do so, but Im.not sure how to go about that

 

Awesome, nice job; they good good on there! It really is good to get a good layer of that pad material down. Honestly even towing will probably help! So long as you don't panic stop with them too soon I'm sure you'll be just fine.

I remember when I did my truck brakes last we also did brakes on my brothers car, so we both did the bed-in process together. He was driving behind me and told me he could both smell and see the smoke coming off my truck lol. It was certainly a bit fun, but it also works! ~10k miles later and zero pulsation or issues. Have fun on your trip!

 

Front rotor


Rear rotor

 

Thanks!
So far they feel like they grip more than the oem pads.

 

shit, they look good. Even wear!

 

The bed-in procedure is definitely worthwhile.

 

Yeah that looks perfect!! Well done man.

 

yeah, it was a bit of a pain to try to get a good stretch where i could really romp then brake over and over without anyone calling the cops on me, but so far i'm verrrrryyyyy happy with how they feel.
i'll be picking up our trailer on wednesday, i'll be interested to see how they feel with 6k lbs behind it.

 

Post towing update:
Towed 6,000 lbs for about 250miles and gotta say that the brakes are great! There were some rural roads with some REALLY steep descents and the brakes held really well and were extremely grippy.

On the way back some jackass merged onto the freeway going way too slow and the semi infront of me had to cram on the brakes pretty well and it grabbed pretty well (i hate people sometimes).

 

@Danimal86 - how are the brakes holding up. Any issues? I am going to need to do my brakes in july some time.