E brake and brake fluid flush. (1 Viewer)

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I bought my 1999 LX couple of months ago and I have been driving it with out E brake. The E brake cable that runs across the rear axle is loose, there is no tension in the cable. I have been wanting to fix it but some other maintenance stuff just consumed too much time and not having a garage also delayed it a bit.

I bought a rebuild kit off of ebay (weird springs and stuff), and shoes for it as well. do I need something else? I am asking this question because I borrow my aunts garage for a day or 2 and I want to have all the parts on hand because leaving the car over night is not an option. I found some threads on 80 series parking brakes but could not locate one from 100.

I want to fix this asap esp after reading some threads on master cylinder issue causing brake loss on highways. If I do not have an E brake it can turn ugly.

I also checked my brake fluid and it looks like it has not been flushed in a while, if I flush it now can it lead to mc failure. I am on a very tight budget and a loss of mc is something that I will not be able to replace.


Off topic question: does any body know the size of transmission cross member bolts?

Thank You for your help.
 
When I first test drove my truck, I pulled the park brake and that thing nearly broke my wrist! No brake and lever came all the way to top and that bent my wrist.

I used existing springs etc, but installed aftermarket shoes. Had to adjust the bell cranks according to factory specs, easy job. I got park brake in 7 to 8 clicks now.
 
there is the spring tension spinner on the behind the bottom of the rotor, you can rotate the tire (truck lifted completely) to get access the spinner with only taking the wheel off via the 1/2" thru hole on the rear rotor. 3-5 clicks UP and go inside and see how it feel. Check the FAQs page for the FSM and look up the brake section.
 
This will be kind of a lame answer—but the last time I was in for an oil change at the dealership (yeah, I know), I just asked them to adjust the brake. They adjusted it back to spec for free.
 
I actually asked a Toyota certified mechanic about this, doing a brake flush on a high mileage vehicle with very dirty fluid, and he said not to flush it, meaning use no pressure, just drain and refill. He said any good shop will know not to do a flush on high mileage vehicle with unknown history or lacking maintenance, because of the potential for damage. Essentially a flush cleans out all the dirty particles that have been clogging the worn areas and could easily cause leaks, etc.
 
This will be kind of a lame answer—but the last time I was in for an oil change at the dealership (yeah, I know), I just asked them to adjust the brake. They adjusted it back to spec for free.
I wish we had dealership like that over here. They charge for everything.
 
I actually asked a Toyota certified mechanic about this, doing a brake flush on a high mileage vehicle with very dirty fluid, and he said not to flush it, meaning use no pressure, just drain and refill. He said any good shop will know not to do a flush on high mileage vehicle with unknown history or lacking maintenance, because of the potential for damage. Essentially a flush cleans out all the dirty particles that have been clogging the worn areas and could easily cause leaks, etc.
Would that also include bleeding brakes and getting new fluid in the line? I think I am going to just refill the MC with new fluid only.
 
I would check to see if your bell cranks are seized, you can pull on the parking brake cable on the axle to see if they'll move. if their seized youll need new bell cranks, pins, c-clips and springs depending on how bad they are. when you reassemble antiseize will be your friend

who would have thought that putting a steel pin in an aluminum block would have been a bag idea


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1898304
 
When I first test drove my truck, I pulled the park brake and that thing nearly broke my wrist! No brake and lever came all the way to top and that bent my wrist.

I used existing springs etc, but installed aftermarket shoes. Had to adjust the bell cranks according to factory specs, easy job. I got park brake in 7 to 8 clicks now.

I hoping that I just need shoes as well, and that will fix my problem.

there is the spring tension spinner on the behind the bottom of the rotor, you can rotate the tire (truck lifted completely) to get access the spinner with only taking the wheel off via the 1/2" thru hole on the rear rotor. 3-5 clicks UP and go inside and see how it feel. Check the FAQs page for the FSM and look up the brake section.

I did that couple of weeks ago but could not find it :), I am going to read the threads again.
 
those are for a 99 lc but its the same as the lx
Thank You the images help a lot, I bough the springs and all the other goodies just in case, but I cannot find the bell cranks. Are these universal or only Toyota/Lexus item?
 
the biggest killer of calipers is water in the brake fluid - brake fluid draws water from the air (hydroscopic?) Moisture drawn into the fluid collects at the lowest points in the system which are the calipers. At a minimum, draw the old fluid out of the master cylinder and replace with fresh, then bleed a cup or so out of each of the 4 calipers (refilling the master cylinder as you bleed of course).

This will get the worst of the moisture out of the system, and over a couple of rounds of bleeding over several years, a majority of the fluid will be changed.
 
they will be a Toyota/lexus item. any parts guy that's been at a dealership will know what they are. keep the old ones after you change them out you may be able to heat them up and drive the pins out, clean them up and put them on the shelf for next time
 
they will be a Toyota/lexus item. any parts guy that's been at a dealership will know what they are. keep the old ones after you change them out you may be able to heat them up and drive the pins out, clean them up and put them on the shelf for next time

Would you happen to know the part numbers for them, I just opened up both sides and both the bell cranks were completely stuck/rusted.
 
I also did a brake fluid change in the MC and the fluid was green, I changed it with DOT 3 and after a couple of hours it turned green again. I am not sure what is happening. Any ideas. Google search results show some kind of break components braking down and that is changing the fluid to green. I hope it is nothing big.
 
Go to partsouq and enter vin to get the parts catalog to find the part numbers.

I use prestone dot 3 fluid and mine stayed clear. I flushed all 4 brake lines and calipers.
 
Go to partsouq and enter vin to get the parts catalog to find the part numbers.

I use prestone dot 3 fluid and mine stayed clear. I flushed all 4 brake lines and calipers.

I did not touch the calipers because all my calipers bleed screws did not have the rubber cap on them and I did not want to take any chance of breaking them. I just wish I could take out all the fluid from MC, it took me a long time to suck fluid out with a syringe, the design is so different compared to other cars.
 
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You can't just suck out the brake fluid in the resivoir and then refill. There's air and moisture in the brake fluid that is still in your lines and the MC will compress that, still leaving you with spongy and subpar brakes. You need to bleed brake fluid.
 
If you only have a couple days in the garage you'll want to make sure the cable adjustment on the axle (near the pumpkin) is not seized. I just broke mine trying to adjust it and I'm not the only one with this problem. See this thread. I got the nut loose but turning the long part just torqued the steel, threaded part causing it to break. I had been hitting it with penetrating oil the two days prior as well.

The part I'm going to buy is "cable assy, parking brake - 46420-60011" > It's $51 on TPD and note that model year 1998 is not included in the description for the part.

Please note that, while pulling the brake discs, if they don't want to come off, don't force them. You might need to loosen the adjustment, "star" wheel located at the 6 o'clock position behind the rubber grommet. Here's a how to done by "PowerModz" (thanks PowerModz!).

Cheers,

Derek-
 
Would you happen to know the part numbers for them, I just opened up both sides and both the bell cranks were completely stuck/rusted.

o dont happen to know the p/n off hand but easy to look up online. if you plan on flushing use either dot3 or 4 fluid
 

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