Front Brake Dust Shields

Hey all, wanted to ask a quick question regarding the front brake dust shields on my truck. So I've had my '04 Tundra Access Cab for around a year now and it's been great. It needs front pads and rotors, so I ordered the pads and rotors and will put em on once they come in. However, I noticed that my front dust shields have rust holes (I live in the rust belt), and wondered if I could replace them without completely taking the hub off. I was thinking that if it's possible to replace them with the rotors off, then I would do that. If not, then I won't bother with them until my hub/axles need replacing. Can someone clarify how the dust shields are mounted, since I've never had the brakes/hub/axles apart yet. Thanks in advance!

 

Most definitely you have to have the hubs off

 

man i’ve been looking all over at rust belt specials i thing i’ll raid japanesedismantle for some decent spindles dor cheap and do a rework instead of fanagling with a mess on one of these rust bucets front ends.

 

Thanks. It almost looks as if it would work, but my guess is that you can’t remove the shield because once the bolts are backed all the way out, it looks like they will contact the back side of the hub. I feel like they could’ve easier to get off haha

 

Why replace them? I took mine off off my Tacoma a few years ago and I never had issues. One less thing that will rust.

 

I pondered this, but ultimately came away with the notion that Toyota put them there for a reason (after all, if the factory could save a dollar on each car, why would they not?). They're not dust shields in my estimation, but rather grease shields. A torn CV boot could throw a lot of grease on the rotor causing all kinds of problems. I had the hub off anyway to change the bearing, so it made sense to do it then. It doesn't make sense to do it otherwise. The same reason I haven't changed the rusty rear shields yet.

BTW, Dorman makes a two piece shield that doesn't require removal of the hub (or axle). Although they don't offer a version for our truck, it would be fairly easy to split a factory shield for the same result (at least for the front).

 

Mine both rusted away shortly after I bought it in 2018. Haven't had any adverse affects from them being gone. As a bonus I didn't have to trim them when I did the brake upgrade

 

I can’t imagine not having them would cause any harm… Besides maybe getting dust on some front end parts but that’s not really a big deal at all. I’ll probably just leave them be until they completely rust away

 

Break the rotted shields off while the brakes are apart, leaving them off will not hurt anything

 

Mine rusted off long ago. I would replace them if it were easier but it doesn't affect the brakes at all. Maybe the life is a little shorter with the extra dirt in there but my driving style probably shortens the life of them more.

 

I was just gonna crawl under neath and see if I could break them off without removing wheel or brakes.
Do you have to do it when its part or will it just be easier ?

 

Put some good heavy gloves on, crawl under there and start pulling and bending. If they're as bad as mine were, they'll come apart pretty easily. If you have tin snips or sheet metal shears, that will help getting the remnants out of there.

 

If the rim spokes were shaped like fan blades, they would blow the brake dust out of your rims plus you'd have brake cooling,the faster you go the cooler your brakes...

 

Do these count?

 

Hubs off mi amigo

 

Yup !, I have heard before if you think you thought up something new..10 other people have already applied for a patent on the same thing !

 

Yup. Learned the hard way on that one with the MegaPenetrator I designed.

 

Starfish sans hubs is the only way to go. I still have my dust shields though.

 

Mine came with 17" FJ cruiser wheels on it, which definitely have a look to them.

But I sourced some 16" starfish (for <$100!) pretty quickly. Unfortunately they've been sitting in storage waiting to be cleaned up and have tires put on them for much longer.

 

I was also wondering if having dust shields removed from disc brakes is a yearly inspection concern or not? I live in PA.

 

I've never heard of that being an inspection safety issue here but I don't know of anyone who runs without them.

 

My shields are rusted off. Truck passed inspection PA this year.

 

If the brake dust shields have rusted off, hopefully the frame is faring better! https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

That should explain a lot ^^ hopefully includes places to check the frame, I can’t remember.