I'm about to do my front brakes followed by a flush/bleed to replace the old fluid. On most other cars I've owned there was a small screen or panel that popped out so you could access the bottom of the master cylinder reservoir.

On my 4th gen there seems to be nothing but a small plug with maybe a 1/16" hole in the center. This prevents me from draining at least the bottom half or more of the reservoir. Does this plug come out? I cleaned a pair large forceps and tried to pull/twist it out but it didn't budge and I didn't want to break anything.

I can always just drain it down a bit via a wheel bleeder, top it off, and keep going from there. However, it would be nice to get the vast majority of the old fluid out of the reservoir from the start.

I dug through a bunch of brake bleeding threads with no mention of this. Anyone point me in the right direction?

Here's my two cents:

Read through the forums and find the appropriate method for bleeding the lines. It is very important that you do it correctly, pump the brakes 40 times with the engine off.

If I remember correctly the appropriate bleeding procedure is rear lines first, but it's been a while.

I know you're not asking about bleeding the lines, but if you get a bubble in the master/slave or whatever then you're boned.

Here's the real trick though: SPEED BLEEDERS!! I sincerely recommend installing speed bleeders on your calipers. It makes it a one man job, and you can quickly replace all of the brake fluid in the lines and the cylinder/reservoir. Just don't overfill the reservoir before you pump the brakes, mine was looking low and then I pumped the brakes and it was perfect; six months later it's still 3/4 between low and full marks.

TL;DR: SPEED BLEEDERS

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The rears bleed is easy, and will get most of the fluid out. Don't follow any generic wisdom in bleeding 4 Runners - follow the procedure specific to the 4R.

Bottom line, turn on ign and rears pump out fluid automatically, add fluid while this is in progress of course.

http://4runnerclub.com/i/4r_files/fs...r/03900210.pdf

I'm planning to have one of my kids pump/hold the brakes following these instructions. I think I can reach the fronts from my ramps (just leave the wheels on). I'm not so sure about the rears but I think those will work too.

It just seems kind of silly not to remove as much old fluid as possible from the master cylinder before I get started. I guess that's just a "feature" of the Toyota system.

To remove fluid from the res I have just been using a small hand pump...like off a hand soap bottle or other such little manual pump. Can get a lot but not all of the fluid. Turkey baster works too, messier though.
Can also buy them at a autoparts place.

if you want to remove old fluid first, just use the driver side, have it vacuum out the bleeder, and top it off with fresh fluid before the traditional RR RL FR FL bleeding.

Remove the fluid in the reservoir via small $5 hand pump available at auto parts stores. Top off fluid. Then use a pressure bleeder like the one Motive sells. Use 10-15 psi and bleed RR, LR, RF, LF. This way you don't risk damaging your seals with the shade tree "pump the brake" method.

Bleeding the rears was a pretty weird experience... the booster pump or whavever the rear uses sends a continuous flow of fluid on one pump.

Yes, I just went through this process for the 1st time after years of doing it the old fashioned pump-the-pedal way. Super easy to get almost all the old fluid out in a couple minutes, but keep filling the master so you don’t drain it and suck in air.

this is how I did it too. suck as much fluid as possible. refill the reservoir above the full mark or at least almost full. bleed it from the rear by turning on the key, pressing on the brake(use a wooden block or another person), then opening the rear bleader a couple of seconds and closing it until the fluid from the reservoir is below the minimum level or at least you have used 2 (12oz) bottles. refill the reservoir when it's below the minimum mark.

for the front, you will need another person to pump the brakes and holding it while you bleed it. it's okay to turn off the switch at this time.

as said above, get a cheap pump from the parts store. I like to use what is technically a battery filler. looks like a turkey baster. has a small bulb with about a 6" long end. works great. they are about $5.

suction as much of the old fluid out as you can, then top it off and flush/bleed normally.