97-98 4 runner

i was wondering if any one knows why they rated the 98 with a bad braking system. they said the 97 and 99 were just fine but said the 98 were not as nice so if you know, let me know thanks.

When we bought our 98 Limited (used) the front rotors were warped. It also has drum brakes in the back. Also, there are different types of ABS systems.

Im not sure if any of this has anythign to do with it but it may be a help

i was wondering if any one knows why they rated the 98 with a bad braking system. they said the 97 and 99 were just fine but said the 98 were not as nice so if you know, let me know thanks.

Anyone here tried the TRD brake pads before? well... here's a secret. the TRD pads were actually made by performance friction (available from autozone for $39 a pair). They are the EXACT SAME pads as the TRD ones except they have a different wear indicator. But that's about it. They only changed the wear indicator so that TRD could say that theirs was exclusive. But it's the exact same pad. These stop much better than stock.

Then upgrade the rotors to Brembos. They are a much higher quality rotor than stock. With the combination of these two. Braking will be night and day difference.
Just be sure that whoever installs the new rotors, that when they put the lugnuts back on for the wheels that they handtighten them with a torquewrench (i believe 83lbs is the correct torque). When they use the airwrench that they normally do, they overtighten the lugs and will put more stress on the rotors.

Honestly, I dont know why they would say the 97 and 99 are fine, they all have poor braking. The rotors are small, the calipers are wayyyy too small, and those drums, they do almost nothing. But if/when you get new rotors, make sure you get them cross drilled, or at least slotted, or you can get both, but it isn't all that necessary. The TRD pads are meant more for towing and stopping heavy loads without much effort than they are for spirited (VERY spirited) driving. They aren't excatly the same as "high performance" pads, but I doubt it would make much of a difference.