Do I need to buy a scan tool to bleed the brakes?

I have a ‘20 OR with the crawl control. I have searched this site and looked on YouTube but cannot find a specific answer to my specific truck.

There seems to be two different opinions about bleeding the brakes. One says because of the ABS and the crawl control system, that the old have someone pump and push down on the pedal while opening the bleeder screw doesn’t work. You need a relatively expensive scan tool to disable the ABS.

The other says simply crank the engine and bleed the brakes starting with the farthest and working your way back to the closest wheel. No special tools needed.

Anyone do this the old way with no problems?

Just thinking down the road when I flush the old fluid out.

thanks

 

I just bought one of these. Came pre-loaded with Toyota software and free updates. So far I have only used it for transmission temp, but it says it does ABS bleeding.

https://www.amazon.com/FOXWELL-NT530-Multi-System-Diagnostic-Scanner/dp/B07XQJKWWB

Also, here is some TW info on bleeding brakes.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-generation-brake-bleeding-for-dummies-me.602575/

 

it really depends on if you pumped air into the system to the actuator. If you are simply changing pads or perhaps opened a line or two by the caliper then the old method is fine. If you ran the master dry or evacuated the whole system then you would need to modulate the actuator in order to purge all the air out of it via the ABS ECU.

 

this is called thread jacking and kind of rude. You should create a new thread and not just tag along to similar or related thread unless you know the OP. Sounds fine to me but I would start a new thread and specify 4Runner since you may just get what everyone’s Tacoma does.

 

Sorry for the problem, I deleted it.

 

I personally prefer to purge the ABS of old fluid when doing a brake fluid change. If you don't have a tool that can do ABS bleeding, I wouldn't buy one just for that though. The manual bleed is probably enough, the old fluid in the ABS will eventually mix throughout the new.

If you have a few things on the list that a scan tool can help, add ABS to the list of usefulness.