Hi Guys,

I replaced 2 front calipers and 2 rear wheel cylinders. When I went to bleed the system I thought all was well when I didn't get any more bubbles coming from the bleeder valves. When I started the truck up to take back the cores for the calipers the brake pedal went all the way to the floor...no brakes. I crawled back under the truck and started to bleed the rears again but I didn't get any fluid coming out and pressure could not be built up enough to produce any. The front calipers bleed ok but I still had no brake pedal pressure. I went out and picked up a one man brake bleeder from Craftsman but couldn't get the pressure up enough to draw fluid from the cylinders without sucking air in around the bleeder threads. How did I get so much air in the system??

I'm heading out to get the components to build my own power bleeder as listed in this site and I'll keep you up on the results. I just wanted to run this by the "experts" to see if I missed anything. And yes, I did maintain adequate fluid in the reservoir to keep from sucking air from the master cylinder :>)

Ok, here's the follow-up. I bled/flushed the brakes IAW standard proceedures. The rig works great. I pumped it up to around 15 psi and it started spewing brake fluid from the fitting at the 2" rubber pipe cap (mental note...seal with RTV before using the unit). I bled it down to 12 psi and it stopped. Pressure Guage is a must have. I only pumped it about 2 1/2 times. I used the 1 gal sprayer as that's all Home Depot had. Total cost for build was about $30. Break down was:

10' clear vinyl tubing 1/4" OD - $1.98
2" Rubber Pipe cap - $2.97
1/4' tubing splicer - $1.49
0-200 psi pressure guage - $5.83
1/4" tubing barb - $1.69
1/2" pipe nut - $1.39
2ea. 1/2" fender washers .30
1gal pump sprayer - $9.97
6 1/4" tubing clamps - $4.74

Ok, after the 20 minutes or so it took to put the thing together, I bled the brakes. What an easy thing to do with this thing! I'll never make momma or son pump the brakes again :>) It still didn't fix the problem though. Next thing to do is replace the master cylinder unless someone says otherwise. I need my truck but I don't want to waste anymore money than I have to...help.

Another mental note...drill small hole next to larger 1/4" hole in coke cap for coke bottle brake fluid waste catcher. I discovered on first effort that when the pressure builds up in the bottle the fluid won't flow. Remedy was to drill a small "relief hole" next to the larger one...

I can add pics if anyone is interested.

Sounds like you didn't bleed the LSPV. It gets bled last.

I tried a pressure bleeder once, thought it was a PITA. I like suction bleeding better, all you need is one of those hand vacuum pumps.

Yup, bleed the LSVP too.

OK, I'll try that first. What's the LSPV? :>/

Is it the load sensing proportional valve? :>)

Here's a longshot. Is it possible the front calipers were installed backwards (I mean left side installed on the right, and vice versa)? Please check the location of the bleeding nipples on the calipers. They should be located below the brake line on the caliper. I once read about a guy who replaced the calipers on his jeep, and he couldn't get any pressure in the system because he installed the right caliper on the left side and the left caliper on the right side. He kept bleeding the system and took the calipers back to the store a few times, but no luck; he couldn't get any pressure. Reverse installation of the calipers by the jeep guy caused the brake bleeding nipple to be located above the brake line, and no amount of bleeding would get the air out of the system because air would always be trapped above the fluid line in the caliper.

When I installed steel braided brake lines and performance friction carbon metallic pads on my 2000 4Runner Ltd a few years ago, I didn't plug any of the brake lines, and my master cylinder went dry. I pressure bled the system a few times using my Motive Products pressure bleeder, and the brakes work fine.

Hmm, I haven't thought of that. I think they are pretty much "murphy proof" though. They only go on one way. Thanks for the tip though. I'm going to bleed the LSPV either this afternoon or tomorrow depending on when I get home. I'll keep the board posted on prgress.

Hey Guys,

I bled the LSPV this morning and still have no pedal. It's tighter when the truck is turned off but when the motor is started it just goes to the floor with little resistance. I drove it around to see if I had any brakes at all and it will stop but I just have no pedal. What gives? If I had a bad M/C wouldn't I be getting fluid around the booster? There is no fluid dripping anywhere and I'm not loosing it out of the reservoir. Can an internal seal be shot in the M/C allowing the pressure to blow by but not leaking any fluid?

Yes. Have you tried bleeding the M/C?