2001Millrunner

after I've done this for my front, my brakes became grabby. Only thing I've done different is bleed the front brakes. So I'm thinking i've off-balanced the brake system by bleeding just the front ones. Can anyone guide me to the right direction? I've never really dealt with drum brakes before.......... any help would be appreciated.

2ToyGuy

Bleed order should always be:
PS Rear
DS Rear
PS Front
DS Front

But they shouldn't be too grabby, even without having bled them, unless you got a little water in the lines that's getting hot and vaporising, making a compressible space in the line. I'd bleed them all out just to be safe. Should be done any time you change a shoe or pad, and every other year in any event. The brake fluid can gather moisture in it thrugh the breather on the MC, and that'll give ya fits. Make sure that you keep plenty of fluid in the MC. Air in the lines is the reason for bleed ing in the first place and you don't want to suck any in while you bleed a line!

Hope that helps a little

2001Millrunner

thanks. I'll try the complete flush. Do you know how to adjust drum brakes? maybe it needs to be tighten.

midiwall

Check this thread Ray:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f16/adjusting-rear-drum-brakes-easy-way-43741/

You can adjust 'em without getting your hands dirty.

2001Millrunner

what do you mean? I never get my hands dirty????????? haha. Thanks mark, you always come through for me.

BTW that pulling Ebrake thing never workd for me.

midiwall

The first time I replaced my rear pads, I took a good look at the mechanism that makes that work. It's pretty susceptible to rust and getting mucked up from brake dust. Once I pulled it apart (kinda' have to when replacing the pads) and cleaned and lubed it up, it works pretty well.

A while after that, I trashed a brake pad and when it destroyed itself, it bent up the adjusting mechanism. I bent that back while I was in there the second time and as you'd figure, that helped.

2001Millrunner

well I did bleed my front brakes and they have become soft and grabby towards the end. As for my bleeding rear brakes...NO FLUID COMES OUT! I tried starting the car then it comes out... I dont know what the heck is going on? I was told that i might need to flush my master cylinder? is this true? it seems odd that rear doesnt push out fluid when engine is turned off.

TechWrench

After reading this thread, I am wondering if you are bleeding the brakes the right way. (if I am off base here, just let me know). Are you sure you are only opening the bleed screw on each caliper when someone is pushing down on the pedal, and tightening the bleed screw before the pedal is released?

What you are describing sounds like you are getting air back into the lines somewhere. If you want to flush the lines and master cylinder out without using a power flush unit, this procedure always works for me. It works best with three people, but two can do it. I put the vehicle up on jackstands and remove all four wheels. If you have drum brakes on the rear, make sure they are adjusted properly, so you are not using too much fluid capacity making the shoes hit the drums before the fluid is forced out the bleeders. Be sure to have enough new fluid on hand (I like to start with two quarts). Have one person adding fluid to the master cylinder as needed, while another works the pedal, and the third opens and closes the bleed screws. I use the order mentioned above, starting with the furthest away from the MC (usally the right rear) then the next furthest (left rear), the right front, and the left front last. To keep the fluid mess to a minimum, I use a clear plastic hose about a foot long, that fits snuggly over the bleed screw and a clear glass or plastic jar. After loosening the bleed screw to break the rust bond, I put a small box wrench on the bleed screw and put the hose on it. Put some brake fluid in the jar, about 1/4 full, and hold the jar so the end of the hose is under the fluid. Making sure that the person working the pedal can hear you, have him press the pedal down while you loose the bleeder. Just make sure the person pressing the pdeal doesn't push the pedal down too fast. That can cause fluid to spurt up out of the open master cylinder reservoir. And the person filling the reservoir has to make sure it doesn't got too low and start to suck air in. When the pedal hits the floor, he has to hold it while you tighten up the bleeder. Then he releases the pedal and you repeat the process until clear (new) fluid is comming out the hose. Then move to the next brake corner until all four are done. If you got clear fluid on all four corners, the system should be pretty much flushed out, and all the air should be purged. If you still have a spongy pedal, you missed some air, so go back and try again.

There are other more exotic systems for flushing brake systems, but this method is inexpensive, and works every time if done right.

I hope this helps.

potsy

sorry to hijak the thread but i have a question along these lines. if i replace my front calipers only, and don't touch the rear brakes, do i only need to bleed from the 2 front calipers? or do i have to bleed from all 4 wheels and the cylender? i have a 2002 4wd 4runner...

2001Millrunner

BTW i was able to gravity bleed the brakes and its working fine, I didnt know having air in the rear brake line can make that much of a difference(weak). I dont think I've damaged the seal whew~. I didn't put the wood block underneath the brake pedal when i bleeded but all is well. POTSY, from what i've been researching and learned, you'd be better off bleeding all 4 brakes to balance it all out.

TechWrench

I suppose it is possible that you won't get any air in the rear half of the system, but if the pedal is spongy after replacing the fronts and just bleeding them, then you will have to do the rears also. If you are carefull, you can use a clamp type tool to pinch closed the front rubber brake lines to each caliper before you remove it. This would prevent air from getting back to the master cylinder. Just be carefull you don't damage the line while doing it.

potsy

thanks guys.