No Fluid out of Brake Bleeders and No Brake Power

Was bleeding brakes yesterday on my 2000 Toyota Tundra w/ ABS because the fluid was black and braking was getting spongey. Im now not getting any brake power or any fluid coming out of the bleeders. Truck doesn’t even have the strength to brake now

Before loosing brake power, I started bleeding the fluid from the passenger rear. It took a few good pumps before I started getting pressure from the brakes and fluid was coming out of the nipple. I pumped from there until all the bad fluid was gone and sealed it up. I moved into the next rear and got no fluid out of it, and when I went up to the passenger front and cracked the nipple I got slight fluid loss, and that’s when I noticed I had no more brake power.

I’ve tried just cracking the bleeder on the rear again and using the gravity method, but no fluid and when I press the brake it doesn’t even let fluid out anymore.

Im thinking it might be a master cylinder issue, since all four bleeders are not draining fluid. Or it could be a blockage or ABS issue. Any ideas of how I can tackle this?

running a little short on time since I have to go back up to school Sunday, so I might have to bring it to a shop for this one, but it might take longer than I’d like.

 

Hold on if I read that right, you just used your brakes to pump out the old fluid?

did you ever, refill the MC during this process? If not, my guess is you just fucked your MC.

Ain't supposed to run'em dry. Supposed to keep fluid in the MC at all times while also pumping small amounts out. It's called a "brake fluid flush" and is covered by multiple YouTubers.


Edit: there also may just be too much air to get anymore fluid out if you did just use the brake pedal to push fluid out w/o refilling/keeping the MC filled

Unless I read your post wrong.

 

Did you bleed the LSPV? Located on the frame above the driver's rear tire and rear axle.

Try bleeding again in this order and see if it makes a difference. Pass Rear, LSPV, Driver Rear, Pass front, Driver front.

 

Out of which bleeders, specifically. And do you have ABS? (look for square metal box in front of passenger firewall with brake lines in/out)

 

Yes, I refilled it periodically during that process so no air got through.

 

Id try again but I mean the bleeders are bone dry, I’m not getting any fluid out of the nipples now using two people and gravity.

 

Vacuum bleeding, pressure bleeding, or push-pedal-to-floor bleeding? (you should never push the pedal all the way to the floor btw, lest you risk blowing out a seal in the MC and fuck yourself)

 

All of the bleeders except the LSPV. I did not bleed that one yet

 

Did you touch the bleeder on the LSPV? It is paramount that this is bled to ensure proper braking.

The LSPV has three lines to it. Two are an in/out line from the front of the truck, then there is a third out line that goes from the LSPV to the rear drums. If you do not bleed the LSPV, a lot of air can get stuck in the two in/out lines from the LSPV to the front of the truck.

 

You know, this has been sitting on my brain for a while.

I see everyone on here recommending PR, LSPV, DR, PF, DF on the order, but why isn't it wiser to hit the LSPV first (to get clean fluid to the rear and ensure no air bubbles), do then passenger rear, then driver rear, then passenger front, then driver front?

This is what I've always done on my previous trucks with a rear-mounted PV and it worked fine. Seems it would cut a lot of the guesswork out.

 

Did not. I just cracked it open just to see if I’d release fluid for a moment and it is also bone dry.

Would it be worth getting a vaccum kit and trying it that way? I don’t see how I introduced air into the system since I followed the right methods of topping off the fluid and quarter turn the nipples to not introduce air

 

Look, I know it's possible to push-pedal bleed these trucks, but it would seem people treat the process like you would older non-ABS trucks, and that shit just doesn't work well with modern trucks. You don't/shouldn't press the pedal to the floor on our trucks.

You'll have a much better time vacuum bleeding, or better yet, pressure bleeding. Vacuum bleed kit is readily available at Harbor Frieght and removes a lot of risk. Kit is cheap.

It's entirely possible you've got a clot somewhere upstream, or an air bubble, causing your grief. Vacuum may help. As would reverse-bleeding.

 

Grabbing a coffee and running to Harbor Freight now

It makes logical sense that it’s either the ABS, MC, or Upstream air bubble is the problem since all nipples are dry. Ruling things out I have a hard time believing I fucked the master cylinder since I was doing things relatively correct, and I think a vacuum kit will help me out with air in the system. I know nothing about the ABS

 

You can try the vacuum bleeder, but if your helper mashed the pedal all the way to the floor several times, they may've blown out the seal(s) in the MC.

I cannot recommend pedal method on any modern vehicle with ABS.

 

If it's bone dry when you crack any bleeders, I'd say there's a clot or a lot of air in the system. I'm a fan of vacuum bleeding too.

Lastly, when you're pumping the brakes to bleed them, are you doing it with the engine on or off?

Shifty also brings a great point about the MC seals. If you're trying to pedal bleed, put a 2x4 under the pedal to limit it's travel.

 

How would I be able to check the seal?

 

Engine is off

 

Try the vacuum bleed, and see if you can forcibly pull fluid down the lines, I'd start with the LSPV but that's just me.

 

I’m thinking trash in the fluid if it was really nasty is blocking the flow. What happens if you spin the bleeder all the way off?

 

When I do a pedal-pump method myself, I find the rears bleed better with the engine running.

 

Having the booster engaged from engine vacuum, that makes logical sense for sure.

 

Looking back on it the only stupid thing I did was let this go through the entire system…

 

Ehhhh mine looked like that

 

Alright, so I’m using the vacuum bleeder and I’m getting some fluid but not a lot from the rear and lspv

 

After a good hour I’ve only got a small amount of fluid out of the Rear and LSPV with the truck on and no fluid out of the front calipers with the vacuum tool. The tool very quickly looses pressure. Pedal goes straight to the floor.

Any other ideas?

 

New MC. Unfortunately it sounds like you might have fooked it up with the previous attempts.

 

So I took out the MC along with the Brake Booster and I’m pretty sure the MC is the issue. When I first took the MC, the piston was stuck in its depressed state. When I pulled it out, brake fluid was only coming out of the closest porthole out of the two. It was a relatively steady stream, but the other farthest porthole was not releasing liquid. I’m assuming that one porthole is intake other is outtake so I’d assume that’s normal.

There was no leaks but the piston was stuck, so I’ll get another MC. I’m debating on whether or not to replace the booster as well since I have it out


I also might have to replace a brake line since one of the bolts that holds it in place is stripped pretty bad, but I’m just going to keep track of it for now since it’s still on and see if it leaks when I finish up.

 

Sounds like you just learned the hard way what we're always warning people about with 2-man brake bleeding: Don't mash the pedal to the floor.

Slap your helper, then let them slap you, and move on.

 

Any idea where I can buy good replacement parts for the MC and Brake booster? Saw the OEM parts are discontinued now.

Looking at these on RockAuto
Brake Booster:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=504050&cc=1357938&pt=1884&jsn=2496

MC:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1625116&cc=1357938&pt=1836&jsn=14332

 

If it were me I’d prefer to get a rebuild kit and rebuild it. But not sure where to start on that.