Expert brake question, 2008 2nd Gen, with ABS, but without VSC

I’ve got a question for any brake experts out there. It’s a 2008 Tacoma (2nd Gen.) with ABS, but without VSC.

It’s regarding bleeding/flushing the brake fluid. On the old cars and trucks I owned decades ago, to bleed the brakes you would always start at the right rear wheel, then the left rear wheel, then the right front wheel, and lastly the left front wheel. In other words, the rule was that you start with the wheel that’s furthest from the master cylinder, and eventually finish with the wheel that’s closest to the master cylinder.

I’m not sure that is still true today on these 2nd Gen Tacomas, and this is part of my question.

I reviewed the Factory Service Manuals here. (At least I hope these are the correct Factory Service Manuals!)

http://www.customtacos.com/tech.old/files/05FSM/repair.html

It seems the bleeding procedure for a Tacoma with VSC is a bit complicated, but since I don’t have VSC I can ignore that part.

I was then reading the procedure for bleeding a system without VSC. (Like my truck.) The process talks about bleeding the master cylinder only if you need to. I understand. Then the process talks about bleeding the brake lines at each wheel, but they don’t mention anything about starting at the furthest wheel. As if maybe that doesn’t matter anymore?

I’m having to guess here, but I think maybe having an ABS system means that bleeding wheels in a specific sequence no longer matters??

And yet, my Chilton repair manual says that the proper bleeding sequence is something I have never seen before: right rear wheel, then left front wheel, then left rear wheel, and finally the right front wheel. This ordering is completely different than the regular order of the old cars and trucks I used to work on!

So I guess the questions boils down to this:

Which of these procedures is the right one, and why?

1. Standard procedure from decades ago… start at the furthest wheel.
2. Toyota’s FSM procedure… which mentions nothing about starting at the furthest wheel.
3. Chilton’s procedure… which has a strange order, different than the standard order.

 

I would start at the furthest wheel. I have ABS and no VSC, and when I bled my brakes this is the procedure I followed. Worked great.

 

Start farthest away.

Problem will be ABS. To do the system right you need special software to cycle it for proper bleeding.

Yes, it can be done w/o it, but it's ham fisted and a roll of the dice that you can get it done.

Techstream is what you need, or a shop that has it.

I'm on a phone and somewhat limited right now. But maybe @Jimmyh can comment here. The ole brain recalls another thread(s) where he helped out too.

 

I was under the impression that you only need to bleed the ABS module if you get air in it. This can be avoided by just making sure the MC doesn't get too low on fluid while bleeding.

 

I suppose that could be true. But it sure didn't work out that way on my '04 Highlander when I had to replace the OE master.

Yea, it was bench bled, bled at lines when being connected, and kept full during bleeding each corner.

My workaround was driving and activating ABS then bleeding some more. Was ultimately successful, but never again.

 

If you are trying to bleed the abs module you will need a good scanner