'98 Tacoma Soft Brake

[stoshzack]

Hi All -

Thanks for all the great posts. I had a question on my '98 Tacoma 4WD. I know that Tacos are notorious for soft brakes, but I continue to have major soft brake issues (after a bad master cyclinder) even after replacing the following:

1) Master Cylinder
2) Brake Booster
3) Front calipers and pads
4) Front soft flexible lines
5) Changing to synthetic Dot 3
6) Bleeding by pressing pedal w/ABS engaged (i.e. ignition half on)
7) Pulling brake fluid thru via vaccum

I did bleed in correct order including proportioning valve and there are no leaks

Any thoughts at this point?

Thanks for any help,
Stoshzack

 

[stoshzack]

Ha, ha...I am glad to see that I am not the only one completely baffled by this. My only thoughts were: 1) pull the master cylinder and recheck the brake booster plunger protruding length (my first guess as the culprit), 2) can the proportioning valve go bad?, and 3) replace drum components (cylinders, pads, springs, etc.) on rear brakes.

Any one have any experience with this?

Thanks,
Stoshzack

 

[jynx]

How soft are they? Is it a press once and get a sponge and then the second time it firms up, or is is soft all the time?

If it is the first then there is still some air hiding in the system somewhere. I have had similar trouble with my 80 after replacing all the brake calipers. I jsut can't seem to get all the air out of the lines.

If it is soft all the time, I would suspect a bad seal or a bad MC. I know it is new, but it could be a bad O-ring or similar within the unit.

Aside from that, there isn't much else that could be wrong. Check to make sure all your connections are tight and no visible leaks, aside from that I am, as you said, stumped.

 

[stoshzack]

Jynx - thanks so much for the reply and making me rethink the master cylinder (as the brakes are constantly soft). I think I have the answer, albeit somewhat embarrassing. I hope others may benefit from my mistake.

I actually ordered the part off Amazon using the vehicle description and part finder for: 1998 Toyota Tacoma, 2.7L, 4 Cylinder, 4WD (which has ABS), etc. Amazon poplulated the page with master cylinders, one of which I bought (and it wasn't simply the cheapest on the list). Thanks to Amazon history, I went back and looked at the master cylinder which was a "Beck Arnley". As it turns out, I think the master cylinder was non-ABS (the cryptic notes saying "EXC ABS" which I image means "Except ABS"). Shame on Amazon for not doing a better job of filtering parts and shame on me for not paying better attention. I think I had better stick to looking for replacement parts by part number. Is there a website for part numbers and schematics?

I am fairly certain there is air still trapped in the line from the ABS actuator not be activated during bleeding. I ordered the correct ABS master cylinder from Autozone. I will install and let you guys know how it goes.

Lesson learned: remember KISS rule (keep it simple stupid) and watch out if you are ordering parts off Amazon. If anyone has a Toyota parts website they recommend for parts, please let me know.

Many thanks to you Jynx,
Stoshzack

 

[jynx]

Cool, I hope that solves it for you. I had a similar run in with Amazon last week. I ordered a set of round LEDs and their main page said it was sold by one vendor, but they ended up coming from another. They credited me 50% back since it was not a manufacturer licensed vendor. For half off it was worth the shot.

As for a source for parts, I always start with a call or email to Sam at LOWE (I think Beno has assumed the MUD orders now, they have a thread over in the vendor forum general section) and talk to him about the particulars and get pricing. If it is something that I am not looking for OEM replacements then I hit up NAPA.

A note on LOWE, they will give you the best price they can and be far on shipping. I have spent WAY too much with them over the last couple of years and I will spend ALOT more in the future. Sam and Onur (Beno) are both avid wheelers and you will see them on the trail at events beating there junk with the rest of us (in the southeast mostly). There are other great vendors too for OEM parts, they just happen to be my personal preference and the ones that I plug shamelessly when given the opportunity.

 

[Arctic Taco]

Toyota of Dallas is pretty reasonable, and pretty easy to work with.