brake fluid bleeding confusion on 2016 200 with 75k miles

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R

RandyCSVT

Joined
Feb 28, 2018
Threads
10
Messages
116
Location
Central Florida
I ordered some new rotors and pads and was going to change my brake fluid while I was at it, but now that I have done some research I am really confused.

Here is what I planned on doing.

1. remove cap from master cylinder and ensure that I keep it filled between min and max with new fluid
2. in the following order (driver front, passenger front, passenger rear, driver rear) attach my vacuum brake fluid bleeder to the caliper bleed screw, loosen bleed screw and use suction to pull the old fluid out while maintaining the master cylinder full so as not to draw in any air. This is the bleeder I use

www.harborfreight.com

Pneumatic Brake Fluid Bleeder with Auto-Refill Kit

Amazing deals on this Pneumatic Brake Fluid Bleeder at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com

3. once I have drawn a decent amount fluid through, close the bleed screw and move to the next wheel.
4. when done with all four wheels top off the master to full with fresh fluid and put the cap back on.


I saw one post where someone used a vacuum bleeder like mine, and I saw others about using speed bleeders, and some stuff regarding pumps and having the ignition on. Would doing it my way mess anything up or not work? if so, please let me know how and why. I am not used to all this new car electronic wizardry and am paranoid about breaking something.
 
The Toyota Service Manual states the order is front passenger, front driver, rear passenger, then rear driver.

From my Toyota tech days, the best bleeds where from one person pressing and holding the pedal while another person worked the valve.

We found that those cheap pumps will never replicate the shear force that the master cylinder can create. Especially when transitioning to the rear because of the ABS modules.
 
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I dont have a 2nd person and would rather not go out and buy speed bleeders. Will my pump work on the 200 and maybe not be ideal or will it not work at all?

I have used the pump with no issues on my other cars, just wasn't sure with the 200. Need to know if I can do it alone with my pump tomorrow or will I have to wait until I have a friend who can pump for me and flush the fluid another time.
 
Worse case scenario, your peddle feel will be squishy. Then grab a neighbor. Best case, works just fine. Just sharing my past, doesn’t mean it’s the only right answer.

Speed bleeders are not expensive at all, and it is a 2016+ 200, so it’s not a bad investment if needed.
 
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I'll give my vacuum pump a try and if the pedal feels spongy I'll grab a neighbor to help me out. Thanks for the help. Let me know if you are ever in Florida and a beer is on me.
 
Update: although my vacuum bleeder has worked effortlessly in many other cars, it didn't work with my cruiser.

I enlisted the help of my wife to do a two person bleed, and brake fluid shot out with more pressure than I have ever seen in any car.

At this point I figured that the mess that would be made and frustration would not be worth the savings. I installed the pads and rotors and topped off the fluid. I will let a shop deal with the brake fluid flush. I am 75k and the fluid in the brake master cylinder still looks clean. Anybody know of a recommended time frame or mileage for replacement. Unlike a sports car I doubt these brakes get hot enough frequently enough to dictate changing the fluid often.
 
I have read everything from every 2 years to 50K miles, to "when it gets dark" (which indicates moisture contamination), all over the place. Is there a recommended interval in the Owner's Manual?

I thought that I had seen a thread here before about how to properly do a pressure bleed flush, using TechStream to run the booster pump, etc.
 
RandyCSVT said:
Anybody know of a recommended time frame or mileage for replacement. Unlike a sports car I doubt these brakes get hot enough frequently enough to dictate changing the fluid often.
Click to expand...

Brake fluid water content testers are cheap on amazon.. I doubt they are the most precise units, but between the fluid looking brand new and my cheap tester saying it is still very very low in water, Good enough for me.
 
RandyCSVT said:
Update: although my vacuum bleeder has worked effortlessly in many other cars, it didn't work with my cruiser.
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Common on Toyota trucks since 2003 with the 4th gen 4Runner. That’s why I mentioned it earlier. Glad you tested it though.

For fluid life, every two years in high humidity areas like Florida.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic, it attracts moisture. It can look clean, but if you analysis it, it rapidly looses its hydraulic properties.
 
Taco2Cruiser said:
Brake fluid is hygroscopic, it attracts moisture. It can look clean, but if you analysis it, it rapidly looses its hydraulic properties.
Click to expand...

Do you trust the brake fluid testers?
 
FWIW the $17 old fashioned one-man bleeder worked fine for me.

Amazon product ASIN B000W7K588
loosen bleeder screw slightly, attach, push brake a couple times, close screw, top off master cylinder, repeat for the wheel until you believe you've pushed out all the old fluid in the line and the fluid has no air bubbles. rinse and repeat for the other 3 wheels.

One of my kids did the brake push for me, but that was just because he wanted to help. It's faster if you have someone to push for you, and even faster if you have a 3rd person to do the MC fill.
 
I was taught that if you released the brake pedal while the bleeder was open (and dont have speed bleeders with a check valve installed) you would introduce air into the system.
 
RandyCSVT said:
Is the land cruisers brake system different that letting go of the pedal with the valve open won't let air in?
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Nope, it’s the same. Valve open without brake peddle depressed, air can go back in the lines.
 
The other reason for the techstream procedure is to bleed the fluid stored under pressure in the ABS system.
 
@RandyCSVT it can but because you're forcing fluid out, when you release the pedal it just sucks a bit of fluid that is in the line back in. You do need the bleeder I sent though - if you just open the bleeder screws but don't have it attached then it will suck air back in for sure.

@bloc from what I read you normally don't need to bleed the ABS unless you did work to the MC, supposedly.
 
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