Air in brake lines after flush [FIXED!?]

Not necessary. Bench bleeding the mc is part of the process of replacing it. To get fluid from the reservoir into the mc before attaching the line.

Perhaps not get air into the abs but it could put an air bubble in the line.

I’d do like what’s been suggested, get it on a gravel or dirt patch, slam the brakes a few times to activate the abs, now that you do have brakes. After that, I’m not sure if another bleeding is necessary.

 

I am not sure I followed all of your earlier post but it sounded like you activated the Xtool ABS cycling function while a bleeder was open? I don't think that's right. IIRC you want to bleed the lines, then cycle the ABS module, then bleed all the lines again. And, no, you don't want to remove the master and bench bleed it. It doesn't need to be bled again and if you pull it you'll have to do all the lines all over again.

And if you are relatively new to Tacomas they just have mushy brake pedals. Probably due to the drum brakes. Sometimes you can firm them up a bit by manually adjusting the rear drums.

 

Ok, I will hold off on the MC bleed.

As for this the instructions were explicit: open bleeder, press pedal, run scanner program, close bleeder, let go of pedal. For some reason it wanted to have this done just on the right side, both front and rear. These instructions were the same in both Techstream and the Xtool.

 

If that's the case you really need a second person to man the bleeder so you don't have air sucked back in... or maybe replace the regular bleed nipples with Some Speed Bleeders (these have check valves). I haven't done a full bleed on my truck with the Xtool yet since my rear drum wheel cylinder bleed screws are stuck on and I will have to go gorilla on them which may break them or round them off. So I need to get parts ready for whatever happens. I really should just do a total refresh of the rear drums at 125,000 miles, even though they aren't worn out.

 

The last time that I did this a cinder block was my "second person" and I did a lot of running around the truck. perhaps that was the magic ingredient.

 

I use a power flusher or a vacuum pump flusher these days and it is easy to do the lines single handed. The only missing piece was the ABS... and I think I am going to try it as I mentioned above. Flush the lines, close all the bleeders, then cycle the ABS with the tool (which would be similar to how I used to do it by driving and braking hard on snow). Then flush the lines again.

 

The Car Care nut is legit. Arguably the best on the internet when it comes to Lexus and Toyota vehicles

 

Yes he is. In general he is much better than the random youtubers since he has access to official Toyota service procedures and parts information. Plus working in a dealership shop he has "seen it all".

 

I am going to return the XTOOL and get a blue driver instead. Cheaper, and will actually give me live data and useful info. Having an unofficial copy of Techstream makes the XTOOL seem a bit redundant.

 

Well, I guess I will be joining the crowd of people on here saying "The brakes are just not what they used to be." I bled with techstream again, including a flush of all the lines after it cycled the valves, and really saw no air come out of the system. Then I went to work and the pedal was firm the whole time!! Yay! (or so I thought) When coming home that afternoon I noticed that the pedal once again seemed to have a bit if fade. Some days it seems a bit better, and others a bit worse. It reminds me of my recurring dream where I get in a car crash because I press on the brakes but somehow I can't reach far enough for them to engage fully. I may try a traditional bleed once more, but I am getting rather tired of doing this over and over. I also purchased one of these from Phoenix Systems, and have to say I was very disappointed with it. I will try to return it to NAPA but do yourself a favor and do not get one. I cleaned with Denatured alcohol as stated and now the one-way valve does not function.

 

Ok, so I lived with this for a long time until my wife and I had a baby, and now I want more responsive brakes. I was combing through threads on the topic, and about to go into the dealership tomorrow to REALLY have them get all the air out when I stumbled upon threads like this: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...feet-after-shifting-from-p-to-d.677162/page-4

Long story short, part of the issue seems to be that the rear drum brakes needed adjusting. I thought that I adjusted them correctly about a week before I started this thread, but now I am certain that I did not. I did not use the little window in the backer plate. I did some adjusting today and the feel is MUCH firmer. Still not back to when I bought the truck, but I will keep trying to dial it in. More details in the other thread.

The timeline of the original drum adjustment and spongy pedal after the botched flush does not really point to the drums. Hey, can't argue with positive results.

 

There’s a specific way to adjust tacoma shoes. Look at post 2.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...drums-r-r-or-adjustment.835794/#post-29937784

What helps, with the drum off, stick your adjuster spoon through the hole in the backing plate. You do this to tighten. Then stick the adjuster spoon and whatever release tool you’re going to use. You do this to loosen, moving this much loosens this many clicks. Then put the drum on and follow the procedure.

 

Yes, I came across this today. The funny thing about that is it is not clear to me how to get "15 clicks" when loosening since the thing that makes the clicks has to be disengaged to turn it backwards. I guess I would just have to ballpark it.

 

Ball park sorta.

I meant to say, with the drum off, you can see what the adjuster spoon and release tool is doing, this much range of motion causes x amount of clicks tightening. So then loosening, the same range of motion will loosen x amount of clicks.

When I did mine, I think I did use an adjuster spoon. To release I think I used a mini screwdriver or a pick without the handle. I do remember it being not as easy as most.