Brake Fluid Change

[richteex]

hi all..... just a quickie; did a pad change on all wheels today nice any easy but decided to change the brake fluid as I wasnt sure if it had been done. anyways, bought the right fluid, and a one man bleeding kit and had it done in an hour or so.

BUT the brakes are definitly a bit spongy and if i apply steady/quite hard pressure on the brake pedal it goes to the floor. Im wandering if i missed something obvious, or do i need to bleed maybe an abs unit or something. seemed to do everything right.

Any suggestions would be greatfully accepted. cars going in to mr t this week for 2nd headgasket failure so worse case they can rebleed but would be nice to know for next time... . Rich

[Druid Boy]

Hi Rich. Its not unusual to doubt your brakes after the first fluid change you do yourself. So I just had a play in my car to see what happens. With the engine off it feels as though the brake pedal goes to the floor. With the engine on its feels as though the pedal goes to the floor. If I deprerss the pedal hard with the engine off then, holding the pressure on the pedal, start the engine, the pedal creeps further to the floor. My car stops like its hit a wall when I stand on the brakes.

My conclusion: the pedal goes a long way down but the ABS will be firing like hell preventing a massive lock up.

If you are unhappy, repeat the bleeding process. No bubbles = no worries.

If you are still unhappy have a professional have a look. After all, what price peace of mind?

Good luck.

[alan333]

I've came across this before on another car. I came to the conclusion that the brake fluid was aireating when pushed thru the system. Try bleeding again.

[richteex]

It did cross my mind that it was in my mind but I sat in the other halfs car and her hered no leakbrake will drop a little but not much and then is rock solid. .when my cars engine is off the brake is rock solid. So guesing theres no leak etc. just doesnt feel right but could be wrong. Will prob bleed again... Maybe didnt quite do it right first time round

[richteex]

Should the wheels be bled in a specific order..... I did front drivers then front passenger and same on back. Mechanic friend says,it doesnt make any difference

[Waterford26]

BLEED MASTER CYLINDER

HINT:

After disassembling the master cylinder or when the reservoir

becomes empty, bleed the air out of the brake master cylinder.

1, avensis without VSC:

Using SST, Disconnect the brake lines from the brake

master cylinder.

SST 09023–00100

2, avensis with VSC:

Using SST, Disconnect the brake lines from the brake

master cylinder.

SST 09023–38400

3, Slowly depress and hold the brake pedal it.

4, Cover off the outer holes with your fingers, and release

the brake pedal.

5, Repeat '2" and '3' 3 or 4 times.

Right way how to bleed the brake lines is, start at the furthest wheel from master cylinder(brake fluid tank).

BLEED BRAKE LINE:

1, Connect the vinyl tube to the brake caliper.

2, Depress the brake pedal several times, then loosen the

bleeder plug with the pedal depressed.

3, At the point when the fluid stops, coming out tighten the

bleeder plug, then release the brake pedal.

4, Repeat '2' and '3' until all the air in the fluid has been bled

out.

5, Repeat the above procedure to bleed the air out of the

brake line for each wheel.

Torque: 10 Nm (102 kgfcm, 7 ft.lbf)

CHECK FLUID LEVEL IN RESERVOIR:

Check the fluid level and add fluid if necessary.

Fluid: SAE J1704 or FMVSS No. 116 DOT4

[Druid Boy]

If you can make your ABS kick in on a good dry road surface then you have full braking power so that should set your mind at rest. Brake pedals don't feel wooden and have a bit of spring in them so its probably that making you think they are spongey. Have another go at bleeding them as a confidence building measure by all means but if the new fluid is running through the calipers it is unlikely that you have an air lock anywhere. The brake lever on my bike will squeeze all the way back to the bars and feels springy when it does but I tell you what, there is no way on God's green earth that I am going to squeeze them that hard without locking up completely - even with race rubber fitted. Genuinely, have a bit of faith in your own ability. I bet ya its all fine.

[Parts-King]

Switch off, pump the pedal several times, then press and hold. Is the pedal solid? No creeping? If so all is fine

This is a phenomenon with a lot of vehicles with VSC and ABS, you feel like the pedal goes to the floor, in reality, you would never push the pedal down this far whilst driving and is not a fault. Toyota and a lot of other manufacturers have issued guidlines to VOSA in the past because some test centres were failing MOT's and it is NOT a failure issue

Having said all that you should do the obvious checks first, just as a sanity check, but if you can press and hold the pedal with the engine OFF and there is no creep, then it should be fine

Kingo

[richteex]

some great advice here thats for sure. Pedal is rock solid when engine off so sure its ok. Will get mr t to check it just in case as theyre probably going to head gasket this week as well