well i just got my 4runner back today from the mechanic. he rebuilt the front end on my truck and also put front and rear brakes on. well i was pullin out of his parkin lot and tried to stop and couldn't. i now have very little to no brakes, the pedal just goes all the way in and i have to pump it to build up pressure to get it stopped. needless to say it was a very fun drive home. well i need my 4runner as soon as possible so is there anything that yall would recommend me trying to solve my problem. i was thinkin that i need to just bleed the brakes but im really not sure and i dont wanna mess anything up? any suggestions?

 

sounds like here forgot to bleed the brakes i would take it back to him

 

alright well since i really dont wanna have to take my 4runner up to his shop tomorrow without brakes, i just wanna bleed them myself. plz tell me if i am doing somethin wrong here. go passenger rear, driver rear, passengere front, driver front. with front brakes u have someone pump the pedal a couple times then have them hold the pedal down. while they hold it down u loosen the bleeder screw and out comes fluid and air then while the pedal is on the floor u tighten screw and repeat a couple times. while doing all this u keep an eye on the fluid level and keep it full. sounds easy enough. well how do u do the rear drum brakes? i have searched and found nothing for the rear brakes. thanks for the help and sorry for the newb questions. Thanks.
-Kyle

 

Do the rears the same. The bleeder is on the back of the backing plate where the line goes in.

 

Oh ya, I would not have the peson hold the brakes down then loosen the bleeder. You will get fluid everywhere. I just loosen the bleeder and slowly push to the floor. Tightn the bleeder then release the pedal. Do this over and over until you think the air is out.

 

You can also get a bleeder kit from the auto parts store that has a pump. This allows you to do it without a helper. I think they are around $30 or so. Not a bad investment if your going to be doing a lot of things alone.

When he did your brakes, what exactly did he do? Did he just do pads and shoes or did he also replace the calipers and/or rear wheel cylinders? If he only did the shoes and pads then you may just need to adjust the rear brakes. There should not be a need to bleed them if the lines were not removed during the repair. I'm guessing he backed off on the rear adjusters to make it easier to remove the drums and replace the shoes. Then he may have forgotten to adjust them.

Either way he should not have let the truck leave the shop without test driving it first.

 

he changed front pads and rear shoes. i called him today and he said that he did not bleed the brakes because he did not feel it necessary. so im just gonna bleed the brakes and see what we have from there. about the rear brakes, if they need to be adjusted, i heard that they are self adjusting. supposedly if you go in reverese then pull the parking break they will adjust to what they are supposed to be at. is this true or do i need to pull of the drum and adjust them?
-Kyle

 

You got it right as far as the adjusting the rear brakes. Your problem...well before you go to bleeding, make sure you are not leaking fluid. It's kind of weird when everything is OK, then you bring it to the mechanic who says he didn't bleed the system (so basically didn't touch the lines, because you don't need to to change the brakes) and then something doesn't work.

 

Just in case....if the bleeding does not work, make sure he adjusted the rear shoes out far enough. If they are not close enough to the drum, your pedal will go right to the floor.

I don't know the "official" way to check these, but I typically jack the rear end and spin the drum...I always make sure there is a little drag from the shoe to drum. You should hear this dragging going on too.

Dave

 

Haha, you found yourself a good mechanic!

I suggest you throw a brick through his bedroom window for that one. That was no ĊĊĊĊing "accident" - either pure, unmitigated, unadulterated stupidity, or the guy is trying to kill you.

Another trick I've seen is to loosen the caliper bolts while the car is at the shop. 2-4 weeks later, BAM! The first time a mechanic did this I didn't realize...the second.. well, I need to find a brick.

Don't forget to bleed your proportioning valve.

 

I'd think this "mechanic" should get the truck back to his shop on his dime, and be thankful you didn't take anyone out on the way home. Doesn't make sense for you to make the problem right, if you paid for a brake job.

Unless you only paid 50%... because that sounds like about as much work that was done.