Uprated brake pads & shoes?

[POPEYE]

Some time back i seem to remember talk of "Green" pads and linings didn't take much notice at the time so wondering what was the outcome? and who sells em, not checked roughtrax or milners but thought i'd ask first, also what brake fluid do i need? (should know that one but i am going gaga fast)
my brakes have suddenly gone soft, comeing home tonight i had to pump em a couple of times to get a bite, got to check the level tomorrow, just couldn't face fecking about tonight with it,
any advice welcome, ta

[BUSHWHACKER]

Sounds like a fluid or master cylinder issue to me, not pads or shoes.

How old is the fluid?

[muddle]

check the level, could be a leak or air or fluid that has absorbed water and lost its boiling point. ideally for dot 4 its a minimum of 155 degrees, new is around 220.

wouldnt bother with uprated EBC brakes, theyre pants and not worth the extra over standard pads, you wont notice difference really.

[KERRSURF]

Best grade of pad I have ever tried is Toyota's own, not the cheap option but good stopping power.
As has been said, to suddenly get a spongy pedal it's probably not pads but a fluid pressure drop caused by leaks or the brake fluid being very old.

[si tate]

I've got some 2 year old DOT 3 if you want it.

[POPEYE]

Thanks guys, i'm guessing it was fluid and only really asked about the pads shoes as i'll soon have to replace the cv rubbers and thought while i'm at it i'll do the rear shoes (never been done since i had the truck), replaced the fronts a year ago and they look meaty still, anyway i'll have a good look for leaks and check the level, it well overdue a good brake serviceing fluidwise,

how much old fluid ya got Si? i use old fluid to strip paint off old model cars etc,

[muddle]

use dot 4 not 3.

its common for the rear cylinders to fail so check those out. pull back the rubber caps on each end of them and see if fluid is hiddden underneath

[Albannach]

use dot 4 not 3.

Why?

[si tate]

Thanks guys, i'm guessing it was fluid and only really asked about the pads shoes as i'll soon have to replace the cv rubbers and thought while i'm at it i'll do the rear shoes (never been done since i had the truck), replaced the fronts a year ago and they look meaty still, anyway i'll have a good look for leaks and check the level, it well overdue a good brake serviceing fluidwise,

how much old fluid ya got Si? i use old fluid to strip paint off old model cars etc,

I was taking the pish, read my brake fluid thread.

[Chris W]

Can you still buy Dot 3?

I thought it had been replaced by dot 4 & 5.1.

[dieselboy]

Some time back i seem to remember talk of "Green" pads and linings didn't take much notice at the time so wondering what was the outcome? and who sells em, not checked roughtrax or milners but thought i'd ask first, also what brake fluid do i need? (should know that one but i am going gaga fast)
my brakes have suddenly gone soft, comeing home tonight i had to pump em a couple of times to get a bite, got to check the level tomorrow, just couldn't face fecking about tonight with it,
any advice welcome, ta

Hi Ian!
When you park the truck up do you leave any oily dots on the ground after you drive off? Years ago on my 2.4 when I had it, the brake bias began to leak and I then had to pump the pedal. The size of your truck should allow you or someone to take a peek

EBC do greenstuff pads designed for SUV. Not sure how theyre different to the usual greenstuff pads but I do know they never fade away. I doubt I've ever actually had genuine Toyota pads but rather OEM copy's so can only compare to the crap pads that were in there before - vibrate when warm and fade when under a controlled heavy braking. Lot less dust too, doesn't seem to stick to the rim at all.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Brake bias??

[POPEYE]

Think he means the load compennsator thingy on the back axle, anyway had a good look round and the fluid levels right up to the mark and no visable wetness anywhere (even the compensator)
one thing i thought of afterwards is i hardly eve use the parking brake, now i believe when you use it it keeps the self adjusters up to the mark, not sure if this would cause excessive pedel travel tho? so first step i reccon is get myself some rear brake shoes (they must need doing by now, i've had the truck over seven years and aint done em) and a decent amount of new fluid and pump new stuff through,

on the subject of that compensator, does it really need to be there? just seems like an unnessary thing to go wrong to me, i carry a fixed load (the scooter) so apart from shopping the weight dont change much, just thought it'd be a fairly simple job to bypass it with new pipe and remove it,
any thoughts on that,?

[dieselboy]

Think he means the load compennsator thingy on the back axle, anyway had a good look round and the fluid levels right up to the mark and no visable wetness anywhere (even the compensator)
one thing i thought of afterwards is i hardly eve use the parking brake, now i believe when you use it it keeps the self adjusters up to the mark, not sure if this would cause excessive pedel travel tho? so first step i reccon is get myself some rear brake shoes (they must need doing by now, i've had the truck over seven years and aint done em) and a decent amount of new fluid and pump new stuff through,

on the subject of that compensator, does it really need to be there? just seems like an unnessary thing to go wrong to me, i carry a fixed load (the scooter) so apart from shopping the weight dont change much, just thought it'd be a fairly simple job to bypass it with new pipe and remove it,
any thoughts on that,?

You got it Ian! Couldn't remember the proper name of the thing. That's what happens when everyone cracks open beers at 4pm on a Friday!

Yes, when I changed my rear shoes I had a crap pedal as I put everything back together un-adjusted. After driving around and it not self adjusting I gave the handbrake a few quick tugs and it sorted itself out.

[Wolfracer]

You got it Ian! Couldn't remember the proper name of the thing. That's what happens when everyone cracks open beers at 10.44am on a Friday!

There ya go Tony, fixed it for ya!