Brake fluid flush and system bleed (1 Viewer)

[Malleus]

I was told by a service advisor (who seemed as honest as any other) at the local Lexus dealership recently that I shouldn't try to flush my brake system. He told me that I probably wouldn't be able to bleed the rears and that I shouldn't use a pressure bleeder at all, because I might damage the brake system accumulator.

Full disclosure: I have not (yet) obtained all five volumes of the 130-lb FSM, nor have I taken the time (yet) to download the entire brake system section form TIS.

So, here's the question: has anyone flushed and bled their 200? Any problems?

And, for the really knowledgeable among us, is there any reason to expect that some voodoo is involved in bleeding the rear calipers and is there a brake system accumulator which a pressure bleeder can damage?

I wanted to throw a bullsh*t flag on his comment, but not having all the facts in hand, I kept quiet. I really doubt the dealerships don't use a pressure bleeder. I can't even get my 80s bled without one.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I tried a pressure bleeder once on an FJ and it didn’t work for the brakes, maybe it’s the same.

That said, I returned to what I prefer, pumping brakes till it’s exchanged! I do it once a year and with the help of Speed bleeders, makes it a little nicer. Pumping can never hurt a brake system as your pushing fluid the way it was designed. I’ve bleed almost every Toyota model since the 40 series that way and never had an issue, that includes 3 times on my 200.

 

[linuxgod]

Brake Bleeding Instructions. I omitted part 2 on bleeding the brake system (master cylinder and ABS modules) since you don't need to do that for a normal flush unless you let the fluid level in the MC get too low and introduce air into the system.

 

[Malleus]

Brake Bleeding Instructions. I omitted part 2 on bleeding the brake system (master cylinder and ABS modules) since you don't need to do that for a normal flush unless you let the fluid level in the MC get too low and introduce air into the system.

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Many thanks!

 

[Malleus]

I tried a pressure bleeder once on an FJ and it didn’t work for the brakes, maybe it’s the same.

That said, I returned to what I prefer, pumping brakes till it’s exchanged! I do it once a year and with the help of Speed bleeders, makes it a little nicer. Pumping can never hurt a brake system as your pushing fluid the way it was designed. I’ve bleed almost every Toyota model since the 40 series that way and never had an issue, that includes 3 times on my 200.

I use speed bleeders on all my L/Cs. I don't know how I lived without them. I have never been able to clear the air in an 80, without a pressure bleeder. As I said, I haven't tried the LX570 yet.

 

[TonyP]

Anyone using any special fluid beside Toyota brand?

 

[linuxgod]

I used Prestone synthetic DOT-3. There might be better fluids out there, but I needed something quick and didn't have time to wait for Amsoil or whatever. Plus any new DOT-3 fluid is probably better than 3 year old factory fluid.

The one-man brake bleeder worked fine. In the end I let me 9 year old help pump the brakes because he was excited, but I could've done it myself

 

[mcgaskins]

I had the dealership do it on my last service and I believe it was only about $99. For that price it's a no brainer to have someone else do it and do it right. The quality, inexpensive dealer service is one of the reasons I like driving a Toyota, but they know what they're doing at this shop and the lead tech is the only one who works on my truck apparently (not all Toyota dealers are going to see enough Land Cruisers to be as knowledgeable IMO).

 

[NLScooby]

I followed the FSM procedure above and it worked like a charm....

 

[linuxgod]

I had the dealership do it on my last service and I believe it was only about $99. For that price it's a no brainer to have someone else do it and do it right. The quality, inexpensive dealer service is one of the reasons I like driving a Toyota, but they know what they're doing at this shop and the lead tech is the only one who works on my truck apparently (not all Toyota dealers are going to see enough Land Cruisers to be as knowledgeable IMO).

FWIW it took me about 20-30 minutes and 2 quarts of brake fluid to bleed them. Brake fluid and the bleeder was maybe $20-25. Really simple so long as you don't mind laying on your back under the vehicle. No need to jack it up, and no other tools required except for a wrench to open the bleeder screw. Just remove the rubber cap and loosen the bleeder screw, attach the brake bleeder hose, then go into the truck and with the vehicle in the ON position pump the brakes several times. Stop, open the brake reservoir, top off the fluid, and repeat until the brake bleeder bottle gets full. Tighten the bleeder screw, then remove the bleeder hose, then repeat for the next wheel. The order to bleed them is LF, RF, RR, LR. When you're done you can clear the hidden codes if you have a laptop with techstream, or you can just leave it since IIRC there's no check engine code.

To be fair I often will pay someone to do maintenance work like fluid exchanges though. Even with tire rotations, it's often worth the $20 to have someone with a lift do it in 5-10 minutes where I would spend 30-45 minutes jacking up various wheels to swap tires around when cross-rotating.

 

[mcgaskins]

FWIW it took me about 20-30 minutes and 2 quarts of brake fluid to bleed them. Brake fluid and the bleeder was maybe $20-25. Really simple so long as you don't mind laying on your back under the vehicle. No need to jack it up, and no other tools required except for a wrench to open the bleeder screw. Just remove the rubber cap and loosen the bleeder screw, attach the brake bleeder hose, then go into the truck and with the vehicle in the ON position pump the brakes several times. Stop, open the brake reservoir, top off the fluid, and repeat until the brake bleeder bottle gets full. Tighten the bleeder screw, then remove the bleeder hose, then repeat for the next wheel. The order to bleed them is LF, RF, RR, LR. When you're done you can clear the hidden codes if you have a laptop with techstream, or you can just leave it since IIRC there's no check engine code.

To be fair I often will pay someone to do maintenance work like fluid exchanges though. Even with tire rotations, it's often worth the $20 to have someone with a lift do it in 5-10 minutes where I would spend 30-45 minutes jacking up various wheels to swap tires around when cross-rotating.

I used to love doing stuff like this at home, but living in a high ride with s shared garage makes it a challenge to do anything with fluids. Also there was that one time when I flushed the brake fluid on my CJ5, and I happened to leave the leaky container of fluid on the drivers fender and had a nice circle shaped lack of paint from then on That hurt on a $3k beater - it would hurt more on my 200!

 

[slicky rick]

Linux... a bit confusing but your describing a one man operation or a two man operation? Would not pumping the brakes with the bleeder screw open drag air into the system via the bleeder screw? Are there any new techniques here? Read through and there is a bit of a conflict on my mind if a pressure bleeder will indeed work or not with our lc 200’s.. by the way the reservoir on the 2018 state street dot 3 or dot4 can be used...

 

[JtFSU]

@linuxgod
Are you using speed bleeders?
I have never done a one man bleed, but speed bleeders sure do look handy. From what I can tell you replace the factory bleeder screw with the speed bleeders?
Or is there another device that has a check valve and connect directly to the existing bleeder screws?

These are what I found Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

TIA

 

[bloc]

A check valve on the existing bleeders will usually let air around the threads for the suction part of the cycle. Speed bleeders have a thread compound on them that keeps this from happening.

I guess you could put Teflon tape or similar on there but speed bleeders work so well I’d just invest in them.

 

[coleAK]

I’ve done my own twice on my ‘13 LX 570. I use the procedure Linux posted but did it one man with a vacuum bleeder instead of pumping the breaks. My local dealer wants $300 and it takes me 30 min. I used valvoline synthetic DOT 3 last time as it was easily available.

 

[linuxgod]

@linuxgod
Are you using speed bleeders?
I have never done a one man bleed, but speed bleeders sure do look handy. From what I can tell you replace the factory bleeder screw with the speed bleeders?
Or is there another device that has a check valve and connect directly to the existing bleeder screws?

These are what I found Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

TIA

Nope I just used a cheap brake bleeder off Amazon. Technically it's a one-man bleeder but I had my son pump the brakes so I could watch the fluid more easily. It was a ~30 minute job.

 

[slicky rick]

Ok what we are saying here is there is a pressure bleeder connected to the master. You open one of the bleeder screws and besides the pressure pushing out the brake fluid you also pump the brakes while the bleeder is open? Sorry for the confusion. On my other cars I simply pressure bleed without any need for pumping the brake pedal. 30 min one man job.. but I’m not certain with the lc because of the pressure pump for the brakes that need to be activated..
I read somewhere that there is a control on the techstream to use the pump to bleed the brakes.. is this true? The tech stream can activate the pump per line being bled?

 

[slicky rick]

ladies and gents, we only need the speed bleeders on the front? for the rear we just need to have someone press the brake pedal and another person to crack open the rear bleeder screw and fluid will continuously flow... is this correct?

 

[LBridges]

ladies and gents, we only need the speed bleeders on the front? for the rear we just need to have someone press the brake pedal and another person to crack open the rear bleeder screw and fluid will continuously flow... is this correct?

Assuming you follow the FSM procedure posted by linuxgod above (ignition on, etc.), then yes.

Somebody may correct me, but my reading of the FSM suggests that this will not flush out the fluid in the ABS system. Think that's been true since at least my 2000 LX. The FSM for 2016-2020 has two sets of bleeding instructions: 1) bleeding lines, and 2) bleeding system. Per the FSM, the second method requires the use of Techstream to actuate the ABS pump. However, various members in the 100 section suggested driving on wet grass or loose gravel and jamming on their brakes to make fluid move through the ABS unit to help with a full flush when Techstream wasn't available. A search would be advised before trying this method - I used Techstream when I did a brake overhaul on my LX.

 

[linuxgod]

Assuming you follow the FSM procedure posted by linuxgod above (ignition on, etc.), then yes.

Somebody may correct me, but my reading of the FSM suggests that this will not flush out the fluid in the ABS system. Think that's been true since at least my 2000 LX. The FSM for 2016-2020 has two sets of bleeding instructions: 1) bleeding lines, and 2) bleeding system. Per the FSM, the second method requires the use of Techstream to actuate the ABS pump. However, various members in the 100 section suggested driving on wet grass or loose gravel and jamming on their brakes to make fluid move through the ABS unit to help with a full flush when Techstream wasn't available. A search would be advised before trying this method - I used Techstream when I did a brake overhaul on my LX.

I think that's generally correct. The FSM says however you shouldn't need to do #2 unless you've done ABS maintenance or replaced the master cylinder and need to bleed the air from it. For a regular flush they only advise doing #1. I assume the amount of fluid involved in #2 is negligible and there's no need to do it unless you think you have air in the system