Mushy brakes

[Ozone]

As we make our way through the reincarnation process on our barn find, we have replaced all the brakes. New front rotors, calipers and pads, new rear drums, shoes, springs and cylinders. We then of course bled all lines.

The problem is I'm not getting good pedal pressure on my first pump or 2. After I pump them 2 or 3 times the pressure builds and everything is great.
What should I check?

As a side note: the removal of the old springs, shocks and suspension parts was a BEAR!! I didn't know you swing a sledge hammer under an LC, but you can. The new OME installation was a breeze and is SWEET.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Is the master cylinder original?

Sounds like there is air in the lines. What is your bleeding process, step by step?

 

[Biche]

When I changed my front brake, I replaced my flexible hoses too, that made a difference on my spongy pedal. But I'll re-bleed my brake first, in that order:

Rear Driver side
Rear passenger side
Front driver side
Front passenger side

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

x2 an sounds like air in the lines. Did you bleed the brakes reverse order of distance from the master cylinder? Passenger rear, driver's rear, passenger front, driver's front?
Butt

 

[2mbb]

x2 an sounds like air in the lines. Did you bleed the brakes reverse order of distance from the master cylinder? Passenger rear, driver's rear, passenger front, driver's front?
Butt

It's the longest hydraulic line to the shortest, then the LSPV, if you have one, last.

The longest hydraulic line is the drivers side rear, then passenger side rear, then drivers side front, passenger side front. The hydraulic line from the master cylinder drops down on the passenger side frame rail, to the axle, then across to each wheel cylinder.

 

[TEXASYETI]

I think I am finally getting out of this mess myself.

My LX450 sat for 7 years and after changing the MC, blowing out all the lines, and rebuilding the calipers, I was getting no fluid to the rear calipers and poor pressure.

turned out my LSPV was stuck and a little off roading got it unstuck.

Still a little soft in the pedal though.

If you search, you will see that these are notoriously hard to bleed well. I am having luck with my mightyvac but plan to do the two person method very soon.

I hope you bench bled the master before you put it on. I got a little kit at the autoparts store with plastic fittings and hoses so you could bleed it in the truck. IT was made by "Help!" and cost about 4 bucks. Well worth it!

Just keep bleeding and follow the sequence discussed above. Every time I do about 4 rounds of bleeding with my mighty vac it gets a little better. I go drive it and do it again.

Almost there!

 

[Ozone]

Sounds like I need to recruit my son to help with another bleed job. He helped me last Friday eve when we did the original bleed. We started in the rear but I honestly don't remember which side we did first as he was at the brake and I was pumping. And if I remember correctly we were on our second "Friday Afternoon Happy Hour "Yeti.
I think I will take her for a little spin this afternoon then yank the wheels so it is ready. I will follow the sequence recommended.
My son had better be willing to help as I assisted him yesterday for about 5 hours putting a new shifter kit in his 71 Chevelle. That job went easier than I thought - for a change!
Thanks for your recommendations.

 

[2mbb]

you shouldn't have to remove the wheels to bleed the brakes. Just crawl under, and use a piece of rubber hose on the end of the bleeder nipple. Also, just to be sure, are the rear brakes adjusted properly. These may need to be manually adjusted after replacing shoes, etc. especially if the auto adjuster is not working.

It's hard to tell what you are experiencing. "Mushy" suggests they don't really ever get hard, but you say after two or three pumps, "everything is great". To me, "mushy" could mean air in the lines, but pumping the pedal, could also mean that your rear brakes are not tight enough requiring more than one pedal throw to make contact.

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

It's the longest hydraulic line to the shortest, then the LSPV, if you have one, last.

The longest hydraulic line is the drivers side rear, then passenger side rear, then drivers side front, passenger side front. The hydraulic line from the master cylinder drops down on the passenger side frame rail, to the axle, then across to each wheel cylinder.

Thanks! I've been doing it wrong!
Butt

 

[Ozone]

We replaced the auto adjusters on the rear because the old ones were not working properly. I believe we have done this correctly ( same as on other older vehicles we have worked on - however I'm not proud to say I could be wrong).
I drove it out around the hill this afternoon and I'm not getting much pedal pressure at all.
We will bleed them again tonight and give it another try.

The exhaust was rotting away so we chopped it off just behind the cats. Thing sounds like a tank coming around the hill. Going to have to fab up a new exhaust with a high flow muffler.

I must say it looks great with the OME lift, new BFG AT 31x10.5 and original steelies.

 

[Ozone]

Does the 88 FJ62 have an LSVP? I'm sure I can trace the brake lines to determine the location, but if it does have one and you know where it is located I would appreciate that info.

 

[ca62cruzr]

The LSVP is above the rear axle, just beneath the bottom of the vehicle. If you have already bled the 4 corners, bleed that really well see if it improves things. Im betting your air is stuck in that line. Then do a quick bleed in the order they posted and you should be golden.
Other thing to watch is air getting into the lines from the Master Cylinder. I just had to replace mine because of this. BTW an MC from a 91-92 80 series gives a little extra pressue to the system and helps stopping. Bolts right up no problems.

 

[Ozone]

In the words of Rosanna Rosanna Dana "NEVER MIND".

30 seconds under the vehicle and I found the LSPV. We were wondering what that thing was. And we DID NOT bled it the first time around. Didn't even see the bleed value until I went looking for it.
It looks to me that the proper order to bleed would be left rear, right rear, LPSV, left front, right front. YES???

 

[2mbb]

In the words of Rosanna Rosanna Dana "NEVER MIND".

30 seconds under the vehicle and I found the LSPV. We were wondering what that thing was. And we DID NOT bled it the first time around. Didn't even see the bleed value until I went looking for it.
It looks to me that the proper order to bleed would be left rear, right rear, LPSV, left front, right front. YES???

the Factory Service manual says to bleed the LSPV last.

 

[Ozone]

We have bled the brake lines 2 more times including the LPSV, in the order recommended. My brakes still feel like mush with little or no pressure. The MC and booster look to be original. Is there any test I perform to determine if either of those 2 components are the culprit?

 

[The BurgerMeister]

Rosanna Rosanna Danna. Awesome!

Well, the same type of thing was happening to me recently... Went to the mechanic and they checked everything out. They ended up putting in a new master cylinder and now the brakes work beautifully.

By the way, if you keep the pedal lightly depressed but without actually braking... Do you have to lift your foot off before pushing on the pedal to actually brake? Kind of like having to "recharge" the brakes? Hard to explain, but that's what was happening to me. Until one day, when the pedal would just go all the way to the floor unless I slammed on it, and even then it would stop slowly if I was at the bottom of a hill. Had to use lots of jake braking on the way to the mechanic's that day!