Squishy brakes, new pads, shoes and bled?

[Luke325i]

If the rear cylinders have a lot of free play, that for sure will squishify your feel. If the adjuster is at minimum, I hope your pistons all stayed in their cylinders. If one pops out, you'll have a real mess and no amount of bleeding will get things working.

So, if they DID come out of their cylinders, i will see a bunch of brake fluid leaking out of the wheel cylinders, correct?

 

[TheDurk]

OK lets see if i have this correct...

When i tried earlier, i disconnected the two brake lines from the drivers side of the master cylinder. I had someone push the pedal in, then i plugged the holes with my fingers and had them release the pedal. The reason i stopped at once was because all that fluid came out of the 2 ports when they pressed the pedal in, i figured ..well the master must be full of fluid...why the hell do my brakes still feel squishy then....

when they pressed the pedal in though, a BUNCH of fluid shot out of the two holes onto the engine bay, which i really dont give a shit about, ill just put some cardboard down, but i need to repeat this process 5 times, correct?

remove fingers, pump pedal down(fluid squirts from 2 ports), plug holes with fingers, release pedal (to suck in new fluid from reservoir), repeat

Correct?

and again, thank you so much...im really getting worried ive messed something up, this whole axle job was stressful and at the very edge of my comfort range.....

Correct. Book says 3 or 4 times, not five.

 

[TheDurk]

So, if they DID come out of their cylinders, i will see a bunch of brake fluid leaking out of the wheel cylinders, correct?

Oh, yeah.

 

[Luke325i]

Correct. Book says 3 or 4 times, not five.

Phew ok. wish me luck, will try this tomorrow!

It IS these two ports, right? ...probably obvious: Screenshot by Lightshot

 

[tvpierce]

Pumping to get a hard pedal sounds like air in the system or misadjusted rear drum(s). But holding your foot on it as it fades is a classic symptom of a bad master cylinder. It's a common failure following brake service that requires bleeding. During the bleeding process, the pedal gets pushed to the floor pushing the MC beyond its normal (clean) range of motion. As a result a seal is compromised, and the MC won't hold pressure.

The recommendation is to put something like a piece of 2x4 (or the Nancy Drew novel you're currently reading) under the pedal so it doesn't go to the floor.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Thanks for your answers man, yeah i searched for hours, actually did read your thread earlier, just thought there was another way to bleed it. I tried what you said earlier today, but only once. Didnt help, i will do it 5 times tomorrow.

No way to attach hoses to catch the 5 pumps of fluid that are going to come out i assume.

Im really starting to wonder if its my un-adjusted rear brakes that might be causing this problem...i mean if the rear pads are not engaging at all, maybe thats where the squishy-ness is coming from?

Anyways. i will report back on this thread tomorrow, thanks again!

If your rear brakes aren't adjusted correctly you will have a low pedal. Adjust them until they are just making contact with the drum when you turn it. Do this first before anymore more bleed procedures.

 

[fourfive]

Im really starting to wonder if its my un-adjusted rear brakes that might be causing this problem...i mean if the rear pads are not engaging at all, maybe thats where the squishy-ness is coming from?

I've read many times the rear drum brakes on our 3rd gens don't do much for braking and most of the braking power comes from the front. I don't know how accurate that statement is but in my opinion, properly adjusting & maintaining the rear drums is an important part of braking performance.

The stopping power of my brakes & brake pedal always felt normal but after I adjusted both rear drums so that the drums would lightly make contact with the brake shoes, there was a very noticeable improvement in braking response & a good firmness in the brake pedal. The FSM states .5mm of difference between the inside diameter of the drum and the outside diameter of the brake shoes.

 

[TheDurk]

Phew ok. wish me luck, will try this tomorrow!

It IS these two ports, right? ...probably obvious: Screenshot by Lightshot

Hmm. Yes, those are the ports. However, that is NOT the same MC as on the '99. I really thought there were only two versions. So I can't guarantee the procedure from the 1999 FSM will work on yours. I don't have a '98 FSM to check.

Like I said, no fluid shoots out when I've done it on mine and I've had to do it twice. Makes me wonder if '98 had a different procedure. I can't see how it would hurt to try it, though.

But definitely adjust those rears.

 

[Luke325i]

well. found part of the problem. I guess they changed the brakes in 2001? anyways. my replacement axle from the wrecker has slightly different brakes that wont work

Here are the details:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...brake-design-during-3rd-gen-years-2001-a.html