Replace 2007 Tacoma Disk Brake Pads

My first attempt. Covers a BASE 2007 Toyota Tacoma 5-Lug 2WD 4 Cyl vehicle - because I could not find any help on this truck 'on the net.' Hope it helps someone else.

CarQuest (Advanced Auto Parts) Platinum Ceramic pad kit

I just finished this job. I

I replaced the factory front pads on a base 2007 Toyota Tacoma 2wd 4 cyl 5-lug truck in about an hour.

Parts used:

CarQuest (Advanced Auto Parts) Platinum Ceramic pad kit. Included, 4 pads, 8 anti-vibration clips, 4 wear indicators, high temp grease packet. 170822 Edit: I used the parts included in this kit and discarded the original Toyota shims mentioned elsewhere.

Tools used:

Jack (I used small floor jack)

Tire iron (4-way HFT)

14mm socket & Ratchet handle

17mm wrench

Screwdriver

6-inch C-clamp

10-inch high box or bucket (to support caliper when removed)

Procedure:

Park truck on flat concrete surface.

Set Parking Brake.

Break the lug nuts free.

Jack one wheel up (about an inch or two above the floor).

Remove lug nuts.

Remove the wheel.

Remove the two 14mm bolts holding the caliper (These are at the top and bottom of the caliper).

Remove the old pads (note position of wear indicators).

Remove the anti-vibration retaining clips from top and bottom of caliper (note orientation).

Install new retaining clips (these will require a bit of persuasion and a screw driver to press into place).

Install wear indicators on bottom of new pads.

Install new pads into caliper. Insert lower portion first, then press top in place.

Compress the piston (using old pad and C-Clamp).

I made and used a tool (Note 2) to allow clamp to center on piston without touching brake lines and fitting.

Compress the caliper attaching bolts by hand to allow fitting of caliper. (See Note 3)

Install the caliper.

Tighten the 2 bolts with 14mm socket and 17mm wrench – TIGHT!

Replace tire and lug nuts (hand-tighten all five lug nuts in sequence 1-3-5-2-4 repeat until all are very snug rotate tire and push it in and out to be sure all lug nuts are secure).

Lower jack and torque or manually tighten all lug nuts in sequence 1-3-5-2-4 sequence repeating until all nuts are tight.

Start vehicle.

Pump the brakes several times.

Repeat this process for the other side.

Note 1: The factory pads employed two metal shims while the CarQuest Platinum pads sold by Advance Auto parts came with a single smaller shim.

I called several Advance Auto stores and none of the people knew what to do. e.g A) remove the CarQuest Shim and re-use the Factory shims or B) use the after-market CarQuest shim alone.

Most frustrating! Best any of them could offer was to call a mechanic!

Note 2: I used a home made device to straddle the rear of the piston housing where the brake line enters so the clamp could be centered on piston and housing to insure it retracted evenly.

Note 3: One can easily remove this fitting and apply High Temp Grease, replace and compress it to fit caliper.

I would suggest, for the money and peace of mind, buy and install factory parts!

To allow centering clamp on piston and piston body, I drilled and cut and ground a section of aluminum tubing such that it fit over the brake lines and fitting on the back of the piston body and laid a small flat piece of aluminum over it to accept the clamp and used an old brake pad over the opposite side to support the other end of the c-clamp.

I've seen videos of folks using the clamp without this precaution - so it can be done w/o such an adapter.

However, if the clamp is skewed, I thought it could damage the piston. That would be very expensive!

One could make this out of a chunk of wood as the pressure/force involved did not seem too great.

I highly recommend this tighten one, skip one approach to installing the lug nuts on your wheel while it is 'in the air' and again when it is down 'on the ground.'

These lug nuts are designed to align the wheel to the hub to keep everything concentric and balanced. The wheel and tire are heavy and, if you were to tighten the first lug nut then each of the others, you might well secure the wheel to the hub 'off center' and have quite a rough ride to say the least.

If you have a power wrench - don't use it until you have hand tightened all five lugs while the wheel and tire are off the ground.

When I get my tires rotated, I watch the mechanic to see that he starts each lug nut by hand and does not use a power tool to start the lug nuts - and to watch that he snugs and my lug nuts in sequence!

This is my first effort at this. I tried to find a YouTube on this truck w/o success and decided to add one hear in case Toyota sold another 2007 Base Tacoma. I wrote out all the steps in one go, then edited the images. I hope you can follow this. Let me know. Thanks for viewing and feeback.