YotaMafia Rear Extended (24″ Brake Lines – 4″ Over Stock): Step by Step Install Guide on 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Tacoma
The stock brake lines on the 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Tacoma might be plenty for a 1″ – 2″ lift kit but when you start to go over 2.5″ to 3″ in the rear, you want to extend those brake lines. This is especially the case if you plan on wheeling your truck. If your intentions are to flex out your suspension and really droop that driver-side rear axle, then extended brake lines will give you added peace of mind.
Why Extend Your Brake Lines?
The factory brake lines on the Tacoma are 20″ and the ones we’re installing here today from YotaMafia are 24″ so that puts you 4″ over stock. Adding 4″ of length to your brake lines will give you plenty of additional travel to accommodate big 3″ lift kits in the rear and even most long-travel suspension setups. Without further delay, let’s jump into it.
Find it online:Â
- YotaMafia Brake Lines: Check Price
YotaMafia Brake Lines (24″)
The YotaMafia brake lines provided are 24″ (4″ over the factory length).
Features:Â
- Five (5) layer stainless steel brake lines
- Kevlar reinforced with a Teflon inner core
- Steel fittings that are extremely durable and reliable
- DOT-approved brake lines compatible with all brake fluids
- Extended Length – 24″ Rear Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines
- These brake lines are approximately 4″ longer than your stock rear OEM lines
- Includes all fittings needed for a quick installation
- Fits 2005+ Tacoma 6 lug 4wd/2wd & Prerunner
Factory Brake Lines (20″)
How long are the stock Tacoma Brake lines?
The factory brake lines on the 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Tacoma measure 20″.
Tools and Materials
Not all of these tools are required, however, the 30° pliers from GearWrench really do make things easier for pinching those brake line brackets in order to separate them from the mounting bracket.
Suggested Tools and Materials:
- Diagonal Cutting Pliers
- Small C-Clamps (optional)
- 3/4″ Wrench or 19mm Angle WrenchÂ
- 10mm Wrench (Flare Nut)
- 30° Pliers from GearWrench
- Clip Fastener Removal Set GearWrench (optional)
- Hammer
- Vice Grips
- Bent Needle Nose Pliers
- Compact Needle Nose
- Prestone DOT 3 Synthetic Brake Fluid
- Plastic Bottle
- 5/16″ Tubing
- Rubber Nipple Caps
- Plastic Bottle with Tip
- Shop Towels or Rag
Step 1. Jack Truck, Support Axle, and Prep Lines
The first thing you want to do is to jack up your truck and set the driver-side rear axle on a jack stand. Now prep your new extended lines.
Removing Tires Optional: In order to make the factory brake lines accessible, you may want to remove your spare tire. Removing the passenger rear tire is completely optional as well but it does help as you might need to reach in from the outside wheel well in order to remove or secure the brake lines.
Step 2. Loosen 10mm Brake Line Nut with Flare Wrench
Before removing the actual brake lines, slightly loosen the 10mm brake line nut with a 10mm flare wrench. If you don’t have a 10mm flare wrench, that’s okay, a 10mm open-end wrench will work, however, you do risk the wrench slipping off and stripping the nut – especially when brake fluid is present making everything slippery. If you’re reading this post before you start removing or installing brake lines, do yourself a favor and buy a 10mm flare wrench.
This first step is important because, with the brake line brackets in place, it provides some resistance when cracking that 10mm nut. You can always loosen and remove the 10mm nut after the brake line brackets are off, you just need two wrenches and it’s a bit more challenging. Cracking the 10mm prior to removing the brake line brackets just makes it a little easier on you.
Step 3. Remove Brake Line Brackets
There are a couple of different ways you can remove the brake line brackets. I found that it was easiest to use the 30° pliers from GearWrench. Using the 30° pliers, clamp the outside edge of the bracket until the bracket is off the metal backing plate. At this point, you can use the pliers to work the brackets up and out or use your pliers of choice to fully remove the brackets.
Step 4. Remove Factory Brake Lines
Once the brackets have been removed and the soft lines are loose from the hard lines, you can fully remove the soft lines. Keep in mind that when you remove the soft lines, your hard lines will leak brake fluid. You can stop the brake fluid from leaking with some rubber stoppers or a threaded brake line plug.
Step 5. Connect New Extended Brake Lines
If you’re not using a brake line plug, you need to move fast as the lines will drip fluid and it sure adds up quickly. As long as you lightly thread the extended brake lines on, the fluid will stop leaking. At this point, you can clean everything up and wipe everything down.
Step 6. Tighten with 3/4″ Wrench + 10mm Wrench
Once the lines are threaded into place, tighten with a 3/4″ angle wrench (19mm) and a 10mm flare nut wrench. You want to make sure the loop of your extended brake line is facing the rear of the Tacoma. You don’t want your lines to face the front or side of the Tacoma. Let the lines flow and face the same direction as the factory lines.
Step 7. Push Soft Line Against Metal Bracket
Make sure your brake lines are pressed firmly against the metal mounting bracket.
Step 8. Brake Line Brackets
These are the new brackets provided by YotaMafia.com.
Step 9. Hammer Brackets Into Place
Use a hammer or compact ball peen hammer to knock the brackets into place.
Step 10. Top Brackets Pro Tip
The top brackets may be difficult to hammer in as there is a lack of room to swing a hammer. I found it easy to use a mini c-clamp to pull the bracket into place.
Finished Extended Brake Lines
Bleeding Brakes: What Type of Fluid? (DOT 3)
The cap on your brake fluid reservoir indicates which fluid to use.
Although DOT4 is acceptable, DOT3 is recommended per the Master Cylinder Cap.
Step 11. DIY Brake Bleeding Kit (Plastic Bottle & Tubing)
Step 12. Open Brake Bleeder Valve –Â 5/16″ or 1/4″ Tubing
Before you open this valve, please continue reading the whole post.
Once you have the brake bleeder valve open, pump the brakes to remove any air bubbles. Start by bleeding the brakes farthest from the master cylinder.
Order of brake bleeding on Tacoma:
- Passenger Rear
- Driver Rear
- Passenger Front
- Driver Front
Step 13. Pump Brakes and Release Air Bubbles in Fluid
Pictured here is a 2015 TRD Sport, so I have a vacuum-assisted master cylinder as opposed to an electric master cylinder. If you are unsure of which master cylinder you have, check out this thread on TW.
Bleed with an Electronic master cylinder?
While you have the bleeder line hooked up to each corner and the valve open, lightly press down on your brake pedal. The electronically assisted cylinder will push any air bubbles through the line along with brake fluid. It doesn’t take much to push any air bubbles through. A couple of light pushes on the pedal should do it. Once you have the air bubbles out and the brake fluid is solid, close the valve off.
Bleed with Vacuum-assisted master cylinder?
If you have two people, you can pump the brakes with the lines closed, and then once the pressure builds up, release the valve and air bubbles will come out. Repeat this process until all the air bubbles have been released. It also doesn’t take much to release the pressure here. You can also perform a brake bleed job with one person. Just follow this process; pump brakes, crack valve, bleed lines, close valve, repeat until the air has been removed. Easy.
It’s important not to force the brake pedal down too hard. If you press down too hard, you may damage the master cylinder’s primary or secondary pistons along the cylinder walls. Either that or you can damage a seal. Regardless, don’t push on your pedal extremely hard.
Step 14. Refill Master Cylinder
Once you have removed all the air bubbles from the brake lines, refill the master cylinder with brake fluid to spec. Be careful to watch for the fluid level as you bleed the brakes. If you drain the reservoir completely, you’re gonna have an expensive trip to the mechanic. Also, just before you start bleeding the lines, you can top off the master cylinder as well depending on where your level was sitting before you started the bleeding process.
Final Thoughts
Sitting high in the rear with the expectations of wheeling hard, extended brake lines are a must. The quality of these brake lines from YotaMafia.com is on another level. I have installed the extended brake lines from Metal Tech 4×4 on my 4Runner, and those were nice but these from YM are a step above. The actual lines, crimped connections, and hardware provided… all high quality. No complaints here.
