Okay, now to work. I started with the left side since the wheel was already removed, but will be switching side-to-side to include all of the steps.
Pull the hub cap off. This may be more difficult than it looks here, like needing a screw(chisel) to break it loose.
Pull the cotter pin out – if you’re a cheapskate and you’re careful, you can re-use it.
Pull the castle lock off and remove the axle (spindle) nut – then put the cap back on to keep the bearing in place when you take the whole thing.
With pliers of some sort, remove the brake line clips from the strut and chassis at the hard line, then cut the hard line, open up the bracket at the strut and pull the lines loose.
Removing the caliper bracket - pull the two 17mm headed bolts…
they might be tight and need a push
but should come out quite easily
then you can simply pull the whole assembly off of the spindle
Zoomy and I were both quite surprised to find purple (silicone) grease in the wheel bearings! Somebody had done good work.
I then re-installed the nut and castle lock.
From there, I thought I’d take the M/C (mine was leaking) and the booster (it
is a Cressida),
but ran into multiple problems. In a nutshell, it was a major PITA to get the nuts off of the booster under the dash –
The (power) seat was all of the way forward
There is the closest stud – just above that bolt
It’s a tight fit, and there are sharp corners up there
Tut tut – looks like rain!
Good thing Zoomy brought the umbrella!
It turns out that the booster can’t slip out w/o jacking up the engine a bit because it hits the intake manifold, and of course, once I got the M/C loose, it was leaking too.
I did take the proportioning valve though, as the Corona will get a Mk I Supra disc brake diff shortly.
Cressida brake pad on the left, 3rd gen/MK II pad on the right
Cressida brake pad on the left, 3rd gen/MK II pad on the right
Cressida caliper on the left, 3rd gen/MK II caliper on the right
Cressida caliper on the left, 3rd gen/MK II caliper on the right
Cressida caliper on the left, 3rd gen/MK II caliper on the right
Cressida rotor on the left, 3rd gen/MK II rotor on the right
Cressida rotor on the left, 3rd gen/MK II rotor on the right
Cressida rotor in the back, 3rd gen/MK II rotor in the front
Measuring Cressida rotor
Cressida rotor diameter 272mm…
…which is 10.71 inches
Measuring 3rd gen/MK II rotor
3rd gen/MK II rotor diameter 258mm…
…which is 10.18 inches
Cressida minimum rotor thickness 21mm
3rd gen/MK II minimum rotor thickness 19mm
For those curious about cost - after a 15% “Spring Break” discount, I was charged $13.17 per caliper (no charge for the four rubber lines or pads
), and $9.77 for each "brake rotor w/o hub" (
). The grand total was $45.88, not including the $3.69 "Environmental Fee", $2.99 x 4 core charges, or the $2 admission fee (x2).
I did not take the backing plates off of the Cressida (for an additional $6.99 each), I just bent mine back a bit.
It is said that material must be ground off of the caliper to clear 14” (GT-S/Supra) wheels. I did not install new brake pads yet, and the calipers cleared my Enkies. I do not know if they will clear with new pads or not, so will update if I do.
I should also go over installation, and include doing a proper brake job, but basically it is the reverse of disassembly - or (again) go to the write up "
Front Brake Job" (which isn't
quite perfect in my eyes). Make sure the calipers slide smoothly on the mounting brackets…
Again, check caliper to wheel clearance before assuming it is good and messing up a wheel and/or caliper!
I have not taken this out for an abusive drive yet to verify any improvement, but then again, I never smoked the old brakes. It does definitely give me more confidence though, knowing they are even better than my last upgrade!
