TRAC/Brake Fluid flush with DOT 4 ?
11-27-11, 05:14 PM
#17
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I did a complete bleed today and also bled my trac system. I have a '90 with TRAC and did get this method to work.
Here's what work I did:
-replaced master cylinder
-rebuilt all calipers
-removed and reinstalled the trac pump and nitrogen canister from the car
-bled the brakes and trac 2x
Here's how I did the bleeding once I did all that work (btw, I did the work over the course of a month (car wasn't used)... pretty sure there was close to NO brake fluid in the system).
Basic bleeding (car jacked up)):
-with the car off, had someone pump the brakes as I bled the master cylinder and then each wheel individually (make sure reservoir doesn't drain out)
-once all of the air was out, I then started the car and bled each wheel again via the "pump the brake pedal method"
to bleed the trac unit (after above bleeding--car still jacked up))
1. with the car running, put it in drive. as the rear rotors/hubs begin to turn and the fronts don't turn, the trac system will go crazy. my pump/trac just kept alternating braking each side...
2. I then turned the car off, and put a tube on the nitrogen canister bleed valve and stuck it in a container of brake fluid (normal bleeding technique...). This bleed valve is normally under a red cap. While the car was still off I loosened it a bit.
3. I then turned on the car and with the car still in park, I opened the bleed valve on the nitrogen canister and a small amount of fluid came out.
4. put the car in drive and let the rear wheels turn. this activates the pump as the trac unit goes off. at this moment, air, then foamy brake fluid, then clear brake fluid came out of the bleed valve. it comes out quickly, so make sure to keep the reservoir full.
5. you may need to play around with the order of things (i think i may have also opened the bleed valve once with the car already in drive and the trac already going off).
So, for my car and my set up at least, the "get the rear wheels off the ground and let the wheels spin while in drive" method of activating the TRAC pump did work for me today.
Good luck!
11-27-11, 05:33 PM
#18
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I'm glad it worked for you. I am feeling slightly intimidated, which doesn't happen very often with mechanical work. I am curious if anyone would happen to know what the "Flat rate" manual shows for time to completely flush the brakes and TRAC system?
11-27-11, 05:38 PM
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I'm glad it worked for you. I am feeling slightly intimidated, which doesn't happen very often with mechanical work. I am curious if anyone would happen to know what the "Flat rate" manual shows for time to completely flush the brakes and TRAC system?
It sounds as if it is not too difficult for the Lexus shop to do with the equipment they have.
Does anyone know if there is a high quality shop in the Twin Cities Minnesota area that does the same quality/caliber of work as the Lexus dealer, but not as expensive? The local "Import" shop that the previous owner had been bringing it to for the last few years has aborted and butchered it without his knowledge, after he had always been bringing it to Lexus for all of the work which was done properly by them.
It sounds as if it is not too difficult for the Lexus shop to do with the equipment they have.
Does anyone know if there is a high quality shop in the Twin Cities Minnesota area that does the same quality/caliber of work as the Lexus dealer, but not as expensive? The local "Import" shop that the previous owner had been bringing it to for the last few years has aborted and butchered it without his knowledge, after he had always been bringing it to Lexus for all of the work which was done properly by them.
11-28-11, 10:43 AM
#20
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Hello,
I did a complete bleed today and also bled my trac system. I have a '90 with TRAC and did get this method to work.
Here's what work I did:
-replaced master cylinder
-rebuilt all calipers
-removed and reinstalled the trac pump and nitrogen canister from the car
-bled the brakes and trac 2x
Here's how I did the bleeding once I did all that work (btw, I did the work over the course of a month (car wasn't used)... pretty sure there was close to NO brake fluid in the system).
Basic bleeding (car jacked up)):
-with the car off, had someone pump the brakes as I bled the master cylinder and then each wheel individually (make sure reservoir doesn't drain out)
-once all of the air was out, I then started the car and bled each wheel again via the "pump the brake pedal method"
to bleed the trac unit (after above bleeding--car still jacked up))
1. with the car running, put it in drive. as the rear rotors/hubs begin to turn and the fronts don't turn, the trac system will go crazy. my pump/trac just kept alternating braking each side...
2. I then turned the car off, and put a tube on the nitrogen canister bleed valve and stuck it in a container of brake fluid (normal bleeding technique...). This bleed valve is normally under a red cap. While the car was still off I loosened it a bit.
3. I then turned on the car and with the car still in park, I opened the bleed valve on the nitrogen canister and a small amount of fluid came out.
4. put the car in drive and let the rear wheels turn. this activates the pump as the trac unit goes off. at this moment, air, then foamy brake fluid, then clear brake fluid came out of the bleed valve. it comes out quickly, so make sure to keep the reservoir full.
5. you may need to play around with the order of things (i think i may have also opened the bleed valve once with the car already in drive and the trac already going off).
So, for my car and my set up at least, the "get the rear wheels off the ground and let the wheels spin while in drive" method of activating the TRAC pump did work for me today.
Good luck!
I did a complete bleed today and also bled my trac system. I have a '90 with TRAC and did get this method to work.
Here's what work I did:
-replaced master cylinder
-rebuilt all calipers
-removed and reinstalled the trac pump and nitrogen canister from the car
-bled the brakes and trac 2x
Here's how I did the bleeding once I did all that work (btw, I did the work over the course of a month (car wasn't used)... pretty sure there was close to NO brake fluid in the system).
Basic bleeding (car jacked up)):
-with the car off, had someone pump the brakes as I bled the master cylinder and then each wheel individually (make sure reservoir doesn't drain out)
-once all of the air was out, I then started the car and bled each wheel again via the "pump the brake pedal method"
to bleed the trac unit (after above bleeding--car still jacked up))
1. with the car running, put it in drive. as the rear rotors/hubs begin to turn and the fronts don't turn, the trac system will go crazy. my pump/trac just kept alternating braking each side...
2. I then turned the car off, and put a tube on the nitrogen canister bleed valve and stuck it in a container of brake fluid (normal bleeding technique...). This bleed valve is normally under a red cap. While the car was still off I loosened it a bit.
3. I then turned on the car and with the car still in park, I opened the bleed valve on the nitrogen canister and a small amount of fluid came out.
4. put the car in drive and let the rear wheels turn. this activates the pump as the trac unit goes off. at this moment, air, then foamy brake fluid, then clear brake fluid came out of the bleed valve. it comes out quickly, so make sure to keep the reservoir full.
5. you may need to play around with the order of things (i think i may have also opened the bleed valve once with the car already in drive and the trac already going off).
So, for my car and my set up at least, the "get the rear wheels off the ground and let the wheels spin while in drive" method of activating the TRAC pump did work for me today.
Good luck!
Was your TRAC System working Before you did this?? Also did you just Remove and Re Install the Canister or did you send it out to get Re Gassed?? What was done to the TRAC Pump??
11-28-11, 05:38 PM
#21
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It worked before I did this and works after. I just removed and reinstalled the canister, there was no re-gassing. Nothing was done to the trac pump except for removing it from the vehicle and then putting it back on.
I could not get the master cylinder out without removing these items. Maybe someone else has better wrenches or more flexible fingers.
Pretty simple overall... took me a while to find out how to activate that pump to do the bleeding though. These forums are the only reason I have kept the car... amazing source of information.
11-29-11, 05:22 AM
#22
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Hey-
It worked before I did this and works after. I just removed and reinstalled the canister, there was no re-gassing. Nothing was done to the trac pump except for removing it from the vehicle and then putting it back on.
I could not get the master cylinder out without removing these items. Maybe someone else has better wrenches or more flexible fingers.
Pretty simple overall... took me a while to find out how to activate that pump to do the bleeding though. These forums are the only reason I have kept the car... amazing source of information.
It worked before I did this and works after. I just removed and reinstalled the canister, there was no re-gassing. Nothing was done to the trac pump except for removing it from the vehicle and then putting it back on.
I could not get the master cylinder out without removing these items. Maybe someone else has better wrenches or more flexible fingers.
Pretty simple overall... took me a while to find out how to activate that pump to do the bleeding though. These forums are the only reason I have kept the car... amazing source of information.
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