BatKing

Hi,

I brought my 98 GS400 to Big O Tire to do a brake flushing and bleeding. after it was done, the guy told me the front is all normal, but the back don't have a lot of brake fluid coming out. he cliam there was not a lot a pressure when he tried to pump the rear brakes. Noramlly the back should be same as the front with lots of brake fluid coming out, but on my car, only few brake fluid coming out at the beginning then no matter how hard he tried, no more brake fluid coming out. he tell me to check in a real brake shop or the dealer to see if this is normal because base on his experience this is not.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks.

nsf0607

Bleeding your brakes is a very easy DIY and you may have air in your system if brake fluid is not coming out. Your braking system is one of the most important systems of your car, make sure it is functioning properly. Your system may now be sealed properly and letting air in somewhere. Here is a DIY for bleeding brakes it is for the LS 400 but it applies to all cars.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/brake/bleeding.html

Follow the steps and if you are still having problems you need to have the brakes checked by a professional.

Good Luck

BatKing

Thanks.

I know how to bleed the brake. the reason I let Big O tire to do it because I don't have a "pumper" and spending $60 for someone to do this job is Ok for me.

My question is actually if the rear brake won't have lots of brake fluid coming out like the front? there was a little brake fluid coming out but compare to the front it was like night and day.

nsf0607

Once all the air is out the line you should get the same pressure in both front and rear. You may want to check the rear lines to make sure you don't have a leak anywhere. Are you loosing brake fluid?

frsh2death

to answer your question, big 0 tires is not doing it correctly. your car has ABS brake system which requires a different bleeding procedure than a car without ABS. you would bleed the front brakes normally like any other car without ABS but here is the procedure to bleed the rears with ABS:

- bleed the fronts before the rear
- have the car in the on position (not started)
- have the person inside the car step and hold on the brake pedal on your call
- the person bleeding the rears have to be quick while opening the valve to bleed the brakes because the brake fluid will come shooting out like a water fountain. this is normal. one thing to note is that bleeding rears w/ ABS do not require the procedure of pumping the brakes. all it takes is holding down the brake pedal because the ABS acutator does all the pumping for you.

make sure not to let too much fluid out cause the reservoir can run out quick. once there is clear fluid and no air your all good to go. next time its worth the money to just bring it to a lexus dealer cause they know what they're doing. hopefully this answers your question.

BatKing

Thanks, this is exactly what I need to know.

capnfred

Frsh, that was a pretty detailed post, I found a easier way, disable the abs, then bleed like normal, re-enable the ABS, letting the ABS do the work can be realllly messy... I have done it both ways, and do not see any difference except for mess..... I substitue my GF for the ABS pump, if have more control over it... BTW I figured this out by accident when my abs was disabled due to a defective wheel sensor. Tell me what you think, thanks

CAPN

tranft

How do you disable the ABS?

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

Take the fuse out?

Trav7414

OK, I'm planning on bleeding my brake fluid sometime soon and would like to know if disabling the ABS fuse really the workaround for DIY? I have an 04 gs430.
My question is:
1. If disabling ABS fuse is the workaround for DYI.(where's the ABS fuse located? and all I do it pull it?)
2. Can I use a vacuum pump they sell in store to do it(assuming disabling ABS fuse is ok)

Any respond are greatly appreciated.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

ermm the rears.. all u do is put the key in ON but do not crank.. loosen the nipple and hold the brake down... let the pump do all the work.

Trav7414

That doesn't my question. The pump you're talking about is that the vacuum pump?? Does this after disabling the fuse??

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

the actuator pump or watever.

Trust me on this one =p

Do this and you'll be happy

1). remove wheel/tire,
2). locate the drain nipple, remove rubber cover, and break it loose but do not loosen all the way
3). put some drain hose on the nipple or some type of draining device.. (i used a 1 man bleeder that had a 1 way valve not bad for $3).
4). have someone in the car, put key on "ON" but do not crank over.
5). have that same person press and hold on the brake
6). loosen the bleed/nipple nut 3/4 turn or so till you see fluid rushing out
7). bleed as much as u can but fill before the fluid gets to low.

done =p

try it. i was a lil hesitant at first when i was bleeding the brakes but hey it works.


THIS IS FOR THE REAR BRAKES..

Trav7414

I'm trying to do this by myself, so your 2 person dyi doesn't work for me . That's the reason I bought the vacuum pump so I can do it on my own.

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

u can do it with one person if needed. I used the same one way valve bleeder on my SC400 and did the whole brake bleed in about 20 mins by myself.