The fluid would just leak past the piston seals back into the master cylinder reservoir.
Tundra Caliper/pads/rotors upgrade but what about the master and booster?!?
- Thread starter martin.1991911
- Start date
The fluid would just leak past the piston seals back into the master cylinder reservoir.
mizzle415
New member
OP, did you ever get your brake issues resolved?
I just did the TBU this weekend as well as replaced the flex line for the rear brakes and now have a mushy pedal; and when I continue to apply pressure to the pedal, it will go to the floor. I've bled the brakes 4 times, so I'm sure theres no air in the system.
My helper may have depressed the brake pedal too far, compromising the seal on my MC. We attmepted to flush the fluid with fresh, so I'm pretty sure we were pushing the pedal to the floor with bleeders open. That's what brought me to this thread.
I've seen on a few threads that the rear brakes may need adjustment. I did check them and when the truck was on the jack, I spun the rear wheels. I could detect a light scraping sound, which I thought indicated my shoes were just touching the drums. I'll try the drive in reverse and hit the ebrake trick.
I also read on a 4th gen thread (not sure if this is applicable at all for 3rd gens) that once you've bled the brakes, with key removed from the ignition, pump the breaks 40+ times with res. cap on. This should draw down fluid and then you need to top it off.
As adjusting the rears and pumping/top off are free, I'll be trying these tonight. If I'm still having issues, I'll guess I'll be changing out the MC next.
I just did the TBU this weekend as well as replaced the flex line for the rear brakes and now have a mushy pedal; and when I continue to apply pressure to the pedal, it will go to the floor. I've bled the brakes 4 times, so I'm sure theres no air in the system.
My helper may have depressed the brake pedal too far, compromising the seal on my MC. We attmepted to flush the fluid with fresh, so I'm pretty sure we were pushing the pedal to the floor with bleeders open. That's what brought me to this thread.
I've seen on a few threads that the rear brakes may need adjustment. I did check them and when the truck was on the jack, I spun the rear wheels. I could detect a light scraping sound, which I thought indicated my shoes were just touching the drums. I'll try the drive in reverse and hit the ebrake trick.
I also read on a 4th gen thread (not sure if this is applicable at all for 3rd gens) that once you've bled the brakes, with key removed from the ignition, pump the breaks 40+ times with res. cap on. This should draw down fluid and then you need to top it off.
As adjusting the rears and pumping/top off are free, I'll be trying these tonight. If I'm still having issues, I'll guess I'll be changing out the MC next.
martin.1991911
New member
I have done nothing yet but I might just go ahead and replace the master and see if that will solve the problem. And if that's won't solve it ill go to the booster!!
One Sick Puppy
New member
Did ya'll ever fix your soft peddle problems? I just did the tundra 231 swap on my 2000 4runner and am begginning the process of troubleshooting.
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tre9er
New member
Me too. It's not "to the floor" soft, by any means, and actually it's not much different than what it was pre-13WL upgrade, but I want a firmer, more responsive pedal that doesn't travel as far.
I haven't adjusted the rears, but the ebrake works fine IMO. I might rebleed after a few hundred miles. I never came back to the fronts, did RF, LF, RR, LR then quit, went and bed them in.
One Sick Puppy
New member
I might try reinstalling the old brakes to see if the problem remains. If it does, then it's probably air in the line. If not, then it seems to me that it would be the new brakes that have an inherent difference, like they require more fluid volume. It's interesting how many people have this problem yet there is so little, definitive info on the cause.
papapoopski
New member
For those with soft pedal issues, how are you bleeding the brakes? With one of those self bleeders? I've been told by several mechanics that the old 2 person method works best.
Take this statement with a grain of salt - but I remember reading that the earlier years of the 3rd gens MC were not quite up to the TBU - again take that with a grain of salt as it was just passing coment that I read here once.
FWIW - my 2002 bled fine after one try. The pedal is definitely more firm. Best upgrade I've done so far.
Take this statement with a grain of salt - but I remember reading that the earlier years of the 3rd gens MC were not quite up to the TBU - again take that with a grain of salt as it was just passing coment that I read here once.
FWIW - my 2002 bled fine after one try. The pedal is definitely more firm. Best upgrade I've done so far.
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nevada
Senior Member
based on the info given, the OP's original problem was the rear brakes. a new MC nor booster will help that situation.
pumping the pedal the first time pushes the incorrectly adjusted shoes out to the drums, the 2nd pump is now a good high pedal.
a soft pedal, and a low pedal are 2 different things.
too bad he never came back and told us the new mc didn't help....
pumping the pedal the first time pushes the incorrectly adjusted shoes out to the drums, the 2nd pump is now a good high pedal.
a soft pedal, and a low pedal are 2 different things.
too bad he never came back and told us the new mc didn't help....
tre9er
New member
I did 2-man bleeding. Pumped 40x with key off until depressurized, turned key on, wait for pump to stop, pump approx 20x, then press and hold pedal, crack bleeder until no bubbles, tighten, release pedal, repeat. I did in this order: LF, RF, LR, RR. Maybe I should return to the front, and/or adjust the rears. This is a manual adjustment in the drum case, right?
nevada
Senior Member
well, they do have automatic adjusters, but its been my experience that they rarely work as designed. if they prevent the adjuster from backing off, they are doing well.
best to pull the drums and visibly check the brakes, and wheel cylinders, and verify the adjuster isn't seized up. make sure all is well, then adjust the shoes until you have a slight drag on the drum.
THEN, go pump the brakes a few times, then check the adjustment again, you will very likely have to readjust, since this will center the shoes.
90goldtsiawd
New member
Sub'n this thread. Having the same issue with my TBU. Soft pedal with extended pedal travel on first push and then solid rock pedal engagment the 2nd time. I've had these brakes bled manually and with the computer many times and did adjust the rears as well. I also have SS lines front and rear. I'm thinking the rears may need more adjusting after reading this thread. Will post back whenever I get to this to see if it fixes anything...
