Changed my brake fluid today

I used a mityvac to suck out the fluid a little at time and then refill the tank. Next time I time I will buy a pneumatic fluid extractor to speed up the process. Toyotas bleed order is front right, front left, rear right, rear left. If you have TechStream there is also a bleed program in it you can run that will activate the abs module to help bleed the system, I found it helped give me a firmer pedal after running it.

 

Been a decade or more since I’ve used a Mityvac for oil changes on my German cars, but I’m a little lost on how you’d use it to bleed brakes.

Could you share the concept for me so I can justify buying another one for the first time in a long time?

 

Planning on flushing my '19 with 38k for the first time in the near future. Good info here - I'll probably stick with DOT3.

Did my Tacoma at around 75k with a Harbor Freight extractor that leaked and made a huge mess. Threw it away after one use. Did my wife's Pilot, also around 75k, manually with her pumping the brake. She complained so much that I'll never ask her to do it again. Just purchased a Mityvac for the Tundra, and hope it performs better than the one from HF.

 

We might me talking about two different mityvac products. Im talking about this

$90 Mityvac MV8500 Silverline Elite Automotive Test Kit Provides both Vacuum and Pressure to Perform Engine Performance Diagnostics, Brake Bleeding, Fluid Transfer, Evacuation, Windshield Repair Jobs

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002SQYUA. You just put the tube on the nipple and use the catch contain between the gun and tube. Problem is it just takes a long time for a vehicle that holds almost 2 quarts of fluid, especially when your pulling from the rear calipers. I would suggest a much larger fluid extractor option if you dont already have a mityvac. Ive owned the mityvac for many years now so just used what I have but I could have done the job in half the time if I could extract the fluid faster.

 

The problem I have found using a low pressure suction tool to draw the brake fluid from the cracked nipple is you get 95% air leaking around the threads and 5% brake fluid. It works but it does take time.

 

I've always done the old school way with one person. Drain master cylinder and refill, turkey baster or vacuum pump.
Attach clear tube into bottle filled with a little brake fluid. Crack bleeder screw with tube attached, smear grease around bleeder screw to seal air, and pump brakes about 20-30 pumps. Refill master cylinder, empty bottle and repeat for each brake cylinder.
Something like this. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1wwq1Vlk4Wg&t=202s&pp=2AHKAZACAQ==
Just don't let the master cylinder go empty. I refill after 30 pumps. There are other ways but it's cheap and a one person job.

 

The only time I tried using a vacuum to pull fluid through this was my experience as well.

 

Now I use pressure to push the fluid through the system

 

I've been using the Holt pneumatic brake bleeder from harbor freight. I think they sell equivalents on Amazon and some are cheaper, but I wanted to lay hands on one to see if it was built ok and be able to take it back easier if it didn't work. The hoses and connections could be a tad more rubbery and flexible, but so far it works pretty good on brakes. It uses my air compressor to pull from the bleeders instead of pushing through the master cylinder. The build quality of the tank is good and thick and the couplers all fit well. It is a LOT easier than the squeeze-grip ones I've used in the past AND it is not near as messy. In fact, it made no mess at all. The squeeze-grips I used always ended up a slippery mess; maybe because they were cheap knockoffs of mity-vac ones, I don't know.

I got this one because it can double as a fluid extractor with the little wand hose it comes with. I plan to use it here this week to exchange my power-steering fluid and then later to suck the fluid out of my diffs and transfer case. All in all, it sucks...

 

$59 FOUR UNCLES 3L Brake Bleeder Vacuum Pump Kit - Pneumatic Brake Fluid Extractor with 1L Refilling Bottle & Adapters for Automotive Bleeding, One-Person Operation

https://www.amazon.com/FOUR-UNCLES-Extractor-Refilling-Adapters/dp/B0C65G2KQ3/?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

Well this thread inspired me. I was gonna have the dealer do it but I need to remember they cannot be trusted. This is on the way. Truck has 48000 on it. This is long overdue.

 

If you get the chance, let us know what you think of that and if it works good. I almost bought that one myself.

 

I just bought it. It will suck some fluid through for sure. I got it to bleed brakes after a bunch of stainless hose upgrade, caliper painting, cryo rotors, and pads. I like the kit and I think it will be very useful for changing fluid. What I found when it came to air bleed was it sucked air in through the threads of the bleed plug. So…getting air out, meh. Changing fluid, oh yeah.

I am gonna use it one more time to try to bleed. You can set it up and then I will tap on calipers and lines to try to knock air bubbles loose. I like Four Uncles because it is totally one person. I will also try tech stream again. Not as crazy about it because that takes 2 people. The pedal still feels off after all that work.

 

Just curious why you would suck fluid out of the diffs and t case, they all have drain plugs.

 

Just to get the remaining crud and fine metals out that I can. Draining never gets all of it, especially on some diffs. Its probably overkill, and I might not be able to even get the wand past the gears in the diffs anyway.

 

Oh gutcha, i thought you meant you were going to extract the fluid rather than drain it.

 

Interesting, what kit do you need to have for the cap to fit on a Tundra?

 

Hmm. I suppose I could if I could get all the way to the bottom. Would save on crush washers, lol. I've seen where some guys change their oil this way through the dipstick tube without draining through the pan. I guess if you had a Subaru or some other engine with the oil filter on top of the engine that would prevent you from having to jack the car up, draining into a pan and then transferring to another container for disposal. Less mess too. If someone was old or had trouble getting under there, or lived in an apartment complex I could see where that would be convenient. I still like to get under there to inspect everything else while I'm there though.

 

On my 21 there's a slot molded into the master cylinder body, I think two, actually, one rear and one front. This slot is just wide enough to get the paint can opener tool to slip under the screen and pull it up. Seems like the process was designed to use that common tool.

 

What is the advantage of removing the screen? Extract the fluid from the reservoir I assume?

 

That pressure method is interesting that someone posted but cant find any information on there actually being a cap that works on Toyotas from Motive

 

It is the one with the clamp style top. I bought the motiv too and have adapters for my f150, chevy, and tundra. Easiest and cleanest way for 1 person to bleed without screwing up abs, etc... i dont fill up the motiv container either, just pressurize whats in the master cylinder and check the fluid after each wheel.

 

Here's thier page explainig adapters: https://www.motiveproducts.com/pages/application-guide

This is one of the reasons I went with the pressurized "pull" type instead of the "push" type for now. I didn't want to have to mess with adapters. I may find it better down the road, but for now this works for me.

 

I used the speedibleed system to flush my brakes a year ago. Worked well and came with a nice Toyota fitting. https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...5-gen-tundra-today.713/page-2917#post-3379265.

Did you use a

$4 Hyde Paint Can Opener, Chrome

paint key like this? I gave up trying to remove the screen previously.

 

That looks like mine. Notice the loop end opens that reward bottle of your favorite beverage when the job is complete. Thanks for the info on a good bleeder. Mine sucks. Figuratively.

 

Has anyone checked the moisture content of the brake fluid at the 2-3 year / 30K mile mark? I was under the impression even with some change in color that the brake fluid does not need to be changed until moisture content is verified to be over 2-3%.

 

Is this something easily done at home? I bought a new Civic in May of this year and don't like the color of the brake fluid. I'd like to be informed before calling the dealer.

 

yes, you can buy a brake fluid moisture meter on Amazon for $5-$10.

 

Water content has more to do with environment than time. To be on the safe side, I think I'd just change it every 3 years or 30K after what I saw today. It is relatively simple to do. I did mine today for the first time on my Tundra at 60k and 5 years. It tested bad with a conductive tester, multimeter and test strips, but it looked really good; just a tint of green. Not black or grey at all. Really, the only way to get a good, accurate reading as a DIY'er is to get a tester that that tests the boiling point OR to boil a sample yourself to see what temp it boils at. But those testers are fairly expensive.

 

I used the paint can opener on my Tundra today; that worked like a charm!! Thank you!

 

That's the Toyota special tool BR549-OU812.