Brake Job

[ben550]

Well, I changed out the front rotors, calipers, pads and the rear pads on my 06 this past weekend as well as doing a brake fluid flush. I installed dorman speed bleeders on all 4 calipers. Everything looked right and seemed to go well. I was careful not to drop below the minimum line on the reservoir and worked from rear right rear left front right front left. Used DOT3 fluid.

After finishing and doing my test drive, it seemed as if the hydrolic pressure in the brake pedal was not where it used to be. The travel seemed to be much longer and the feel of the pedal much softer. The truck stops and stops well, but I have to push the brake pedal a lot further down to get good braking power.

I re-bled the brakes and it still seems like there is air in the system. I believe there could be air that somehow got into the master cylinder.

I called around and found most dealers quoting the bleeding job to be $105 and 1.5 hours. Which seems excessive. I read some other threads about bleeding from the MC being a 15 min job at the dealer and costing $30-40 bucks... whats the deal here?

Should I be looking at another option or specifically tell them to bleed only from the MC?

Thanks.

 

[Handgunner480]

If you're not doing a job yourself, a worst case emergency situation would be going to a dealer for service of any type. Find a certified reputable mechanic that runs a real shop, not a dealership.

 

[radlynx]

you have new pads and it means it's not fully seated to the rotors and which means you'll not feel the same pedal feel as before. give it a month or so and bleed again.

 

[Levinz11]

Well, I changed out the front rotors, calipers, pads and the rear pads on my 06 this past weekend as well as doing a brake fluid flush. I installed dorman speed bleeders on all 4 calipers. Everything looked right and seemed to go well. I was careful not to drop below the minimum line on the reservoir and worked from rear right rear left front right front left. Used DOT3 fluid.

After finishing and doing my test drive, it seemed as if the hydrolic pressure in the brake pedal was not where it used to be. The travel seemed to be much longer and the feel of the pedal much softer. The truck stops and stops well, but I have to push the brake pedal a lot further down to get good braking power.

I re-bled the brakes and it still seems like there is air in the system. I believe there could be air that somehow got into the master cylinder.

I called around and found most dealers quoting the bleeding job to be $105 and 1.5 hours. Which seems excessive. I read some other threads about bleeding from the MC being a 15 min job at the dealer and costing $30-40 bucks... whats the deal here?

Should I be looking at another option or specifically tell them to bleed only from the MC?

Thanks.

Pretty sure these brakes aren't bleed like most cars. See all the electronics attached to the master cylinder? I took mine to the dealership for a brake fluid flush.

 

[m85476585]

Pretty sure these brakes aren't bleed like most cars. See all the electronics attached to the master cylinder? I took mine to the dealership for a brake fluid flush.

The electronics make it even easier! All you have to do is click a button on a laptop (a few times) to bleed the master cylinder. When I asked at the dealer they told me it takes at least 15 minutes to find the laptop/scan tool and hook it up, so there's that.

I did a DIY for bleeding the brakes with a scan tool. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/189108-diy-brake-fluid-change-bleed-using-scan-tool.html It's not necessary unless you think you got air in the MC. If there's no air in the MC, the regular bleed procedure works best. My instructions are for bleeding the calipers and lines since I didn't get air in the MC, but according to the service manual, what you need to do may be only slightly different. I can't remember the details.

 

[ben550]

The electronics make it even easier! All you have to do is click a button on a laptop (a few times) to bleed the master cylinder. When I asked at the dealer they told me it takes at least 15 minutes to find the laptop/scan tool and hook it up, so there's that.

I did a DIY for bleeding the brakes with a scan tool. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/189108-diy-brake-fluid-change-bleed-using-scan-tool.html It's not necessary unless you think you got air in the MC. If there's no air in the MC, the regular bleed procedure works best. My instructions are for bleeding the calipers and lines since I didn't get air in the MC, but according to the service manual, what you need to do may be only slightly different. I can't remember the details.

That's what I don't get. The dealer service rep at two different dealers are telling me it will take 1 and a half hours... not 15 min.

I read your post and don't see how the MC would be bled using the scan tool? is it bled directly from the MC unit or through the wheels?

 

[ben550]

you have new pads and it means it's not fully seated to the rotors and which means you'll not feel the same pedal feel as before. give it a month or so and bleed again.

I know the new pads will make it brake less efficiently at first but am just checking with others to be sure I didn't mess something up.

Really don't want to blow $100 dollars at the dealer to do something that really isn't necessary.

One thing that happened is when I was bleeding the brakes there was a beeping sound which came from the dash only when the brakes were firmly pressed. I eased up and didn't press so hard and it didn't beep again. I checked the reservoir level and it was well above min. Was that beeping telling me air was being sucked into the MC.

Driving the truck is completely normal. Everything is functioning as it should save the long brake pedal travel. The brake booster operates as before. No excessive running/pumping while driving.

Here are some pics... old vs new. The old were very rusted. The guide pins were completely stuck. The two inner pistons on both front calipers were frozen while the two outside pistons on both calipers were still operational. you can see the increased pad wear on the outer side due to the frozen pistons.

 

[m85476585]

That's what I don't get. The dealer service rep at two different dealers are telling me it will take 1 and a half hours... not 15 min.

I read your post and don't see how the MC would be bled using the scan tool? is it bled directly from the MC unit or through the wheels?

It probably took me an hour or two, but an experienced tech should be able to do it faster. Dealers build in padding to the time they quote (book time) and add overhead to the labor rate, for more $$$ all around.

I think it's through the wheels, maybe just the rear wheels since that's where it can pump fluid out. Check the service manual to be sure.

I don't know what the beeping sound indicates. It looks like it has wires to sense the fluid level, but I'm not sure if it can detect air getting pulled in. Or maybe it means it's getting too hot, or maybe the solenoids are getting tired (the scan tool only lets you open them for 2-3 seconds at a time, then you must wait 20 seconds). It might indicate that it thinks something is wrong, since you don't tell it you are bleeding the brakes it might think there's some kind of malfunction. But I don't think any warning lights came on with the beeping.

 

[ben550]

you have new pads and it means it's not fully seated to the rotors and which means you'll not feel the same pedal feel as before. give it a month or so and bleed again.

Good news, after driving for a a week or two and bleeding all four wheels again the pedal feels much better. It was just the new pads needing to be bedded in with the new rotors.

On a side note, I decided to swap out the rear calipers as well. I bought remanned calipers from Autozone. Looked good. Removed the first caliper and connected the new caliper with all the correct gaskets and such, but it would not seal. The connection would not seal and continued a slow drip of brake fluid from where the banjo fitting connects to the caliper itself. I tried using the new gaskets, the old gaskets, etc but nothing worked. Ended up just putting the original caliper back on and cleaning it up a bit. I just wanted to put that experience out there. Maybe the other caliper was good but I didnt even attempt it. I plan on returning both calipers for a refund. Wouldnt go that route again. One of the calipers looked more worn under the new paint... maybe it was just remanned one too many times...

Truck drives and brakes well now. No issues.