Bleeding Brakes 99rx-300

[50scadillac]

How do you change the brake fluid and bleed the brakes in a 99 Rx 300 awd ?

[tjmc11]

50's,

You could open the bleeder valves on each wheel and bleed the entire system out, but that would NOT be my reccomendation. Most fluid will function properly without a complete change. My recommendation is to bleed the system.

You can do this simply by replacing your current bleeder valves with speed bleeders (about 3 dollars each) which would allow you to bleed the system one wheel at a time by yourself. You can also bleed them the old fashion way by having someone pump the brakes, then hold the brake down, then loosen the bleeder valve for a short second thus letting out fluid and air. You would do this a few times on each wheel. Just make sure to refill the resevoir after each wheel to prevent air getting back into the system.

This process would cycle enough fluid through the system to replace most of the fluid in the system.

[code58]

50's,

You could open the bleeder valves on each wheel and bleed the entire system out, but that would NOT be my reccomendation. Most fluid will function properly without a complete change. My recommendation is to bleed the system.

You can do this simply by replacing your current bleeder valves with speed bleeders (about 3 dollars each) which would allow you to bleed the system one wheel at a time by yourself. You can also bleed them the old fashion way by having someone pump the brakes, then hold the brake down, then loosen the bleeder valve for a short second thus letting out fluid and air. You would do this a few times on each wheel. Just make sure to refill the resevoir after each wheel to prevent air getting back into the system.

This process would cycle enough fluid through the system to replace most of the fluid in the system.

I always do a bleed or a fluid change as a one man operation. 1st. thing is to KEEP THE FLUID FULL! I use and prefer a hand vacuum pump bleeding system. It comes with everything you need. You just have to make sure you put teflon tape or heavy grease or whatever will hold the vacuum at the bleeder threads so that it doesn't just want to suck air at the threads. It's an easy, one man operation. I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX that way. Might I add, the fluid with 10 yrs. and 130k mi. on it looked new!! No, it's never been changed before.

[artbuc]

I always do a bleed or a fluid change as a one man operation. 1st. thing is to KEEP THE FLUID FULL! I use and prefer a hand vacuum pump bleeding system. It comes with everything you need. You just have to make sure you put teflon tape or heavy grease or whatever will hold the vacuum at the bleeder threads so that it doesn't just want to suck air at the threads. It's an easy, one man operation. I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX that way. Might I add, the fluid with 10 yrs. and 130k mi. on it looked new!! No, it's never been changed before.

Roger, do you think I am wasting my time & money replacing brake fluid every two years with an average of 10k miles per year?

[foothill]

I always do a bleed or a fluid change as a one man operation. 1st. thing is to KEEP THE FLUID FULL! I use and prefer a hand vacuum pump bleeding system. It comes with everything you need. You just have to make sure you put teflon tape or heavy grease or whatever will hold the vacuum at the bleeder threads so that it doesn't just want to suck air at the threads. It's an easy, one man operation. I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX that way. Might I add, the fluid with 10 yrs. and 130k mi. on it looked new!! No, it's never been changed before.

Roger, do you think I am wasting my time & money replacing brake fluid every two years with an average of 10k miles per year?

Brake fluid absorbs moisture and causes calipers and brake lines to rust and corrode inside (unless it is silicone)

[50scadillac]

50's,

You could open the bleeder valves on each wheel and bleed the entire system out, but that would NOT be my reccomendation. Most fluid will function properly without a complete change. My recommendation is to bleed the system.

You can do this simply by replacing your current bleeder valves with speed bleeders (about 3 dollars each) which would allow you to bleed the system one wheel at a time by yourself. You can also bleed them the old fashion way by having someone pump the brakes, then hold the brake down, then loosen the bleeder valve for a short second thus letting out fluid and air. You would do this a few times on each wheel. Just make sure to refill the resevoir after each wheel to prevent air getting back into the system.

This process would cycle enough fluid through the system to replace most of the fluid in the system.

I always do a bleed or a fluid change as a one man operation. 1st. thing is to KEEP THE FLUID FULL! I use and prefer a hand vacuum pump bleeding system. It comes with everything you need. You just have to make sure you put teflon tape or heavy grease or whatever will hold the vacuum at the bleeder threads so that it doesn't just want to suck air at the threads. It's an easy, one man operation. I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX that way. Might I add, the fluid with 10 yrs. and 130k mi. on it looked new!! No, it's never been changed before.

[50scadillac]

Is there an order in which you bleed each wheel? The farthest away from the master cylinder first?

[code58]

Is there an order in which you bleed each wheel? The farthest away from the master cylinder first?

50's Cad- I believe that is correct.

[code58]

I always do a bleed or a fluid change as a one man operation. 1st. thing is to KEEP THE FLUID FULL! I use and prefer a hand vacuum pump bleeding system. It comes with everything you need. You just have to make sure you put teflon tape or heavy grease or whatever will hold the vacuum at the bleeder threads so that it doesn't just want to suck air at the threads. It's an easy, one man operation. I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX that way. Might I add, the fluid with 10 yrs. and 130k mi. on it looked new!! No, it's never been changed before.

Roger, do you think I am wasting my time & money replacing brake fluid every two years with an average of 10k miles per year?

Gooday Artbuc- I am not sure that I know how to answer the question because no matter what i answer there will be those that strongly differ. So what i will give you is simply my experience and opinion. When i did a full brake job including new rear wheel cylinders and rebuilt front calipers on my son's 97 Suburban about 1 1/2 yrs. ago. I emptied the master cylinder, filled with new fluid and proceeded to flush the system by my favorite method, hand vacuum pump bleeding. The fluid was nasty and within a day the fluid in the master cylinder was somewhat dirty again, probably from some breakdown of the rubber components in it. It had never been changed (fluid or master cylinder). When I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX it was simply because I knew it had never been changed, NOT because it was dirty. I never cease to be amazed at the quality of what Toyota builds their vehicles with. When I had sucked through all the fluid in the system I had replaced it with new fluid that looked almost exactly like what I took out. How can a car 10 years old have brake fluid 10 years old that looks like new- don't know. I don't even know if it is silicone or not. All I know is most of the maintenance I do on Toyota products I am taking stuff out that looks (condition wise) like what I am putting. My wife's '02 Camry still has the original brake fluid I am embarrassed to say (I am a very firm believer in preventative maintenance) because it too looks like I just put it in! Make your own conclusions but I am convinced most of Toyota/Lexus recommended maintenance items would go double the recommended miles (or time) without much of any consequences. Flame away, it's only one mans opinion, but one who has spent his life dedicated to making sure the tow truck drivers are as lonely as the Maytag repairman. :D

[artbuc]

I always do a bleed or a fluid change as a one man operation. 1st. thing is to KEEP THE FLUID FULL! I use and prefer a hand vacuum pump bleeding system. It comes with everything you need. You just have to make sure you put teflon tape or heavy grease or whatever will hold the vacuum at the bleeder threads so that it doesn't just want to suck air at the threads. It's an easy, one man operation. I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX that way. Might I add, the fluid with 10 yrs. and 130k mi. on it looked new!! No, it's never been changed before.

Roger, do you think I am wasting my time & money replacing brake fluid every two years with an average of 10k miles per year?

Gooday Artbuc- I am not sure that I know how to answer the question because no matter what i answer there will be those that strongly differ. So what i will give you is simply my experience and opinion. When i did a full brake job including new rear wheel cylinders and rebuilt front calipers on my son's 97 Suburban about 1 1/2 yrs. ago. I emptied the master cylinder, filled with new fluid and proceeded to flush the system by my favorite method, hand vacuum pump bleeding. The fluid was nasty and within a day the fluid in the master cylinder was somewhat dirty again, probably from some breakdown of the rubber components in it. It had never been changed (fluid or master cylinder). When I recently changed the fluid in my DIL's RX it was simply because I knew it had never been changed, NOT because it was dirty. I never cease to be amazed at the quality of what Toyota builds their vehicles with. When I had sucked through all the fluid in the system I had replaced it with new fluid that looked almost exactly like what I took out. How can a car 10 years old have brake fluid 10 years old that looks like new- don't know. I don't even know if it is silicone or not. All I know is most of the maintenance I do on Toyota products I am taking stuff out that looks (condition wise) like what I am putting. My wife's '02 Camry still has the original brake fluid I am embarrassed to say (I am a very firm believer in preventative maintenance) because it too looks like I just put it in! Make your own conclusions but I am convinced most of Toyota/Lexus recommended maintenance items would go double the recommended miles (or time) without much of any consequences. Flame away, it's only one mans opinion, but one who has spent his life dedicated to making sure the tow truck drivers are as lonely as the Maytag repairman. :D

Thanks. I would conclude 1 or more of the following: (1) Toyota brand brake fluid is far superior to aftermarket fluids, (2) Toyota brake systems are made od superior materials which do not contribute to fluid contamination and/or (3) Toyota brake systems are much better sealed preventing moisture from accumulating in the fluid. If it is (1) only, then you would have to change out the aftermarket fluid much more frequently or buy only Toyota brand fluid. Very interesting indeed.

Roger, you should write a book. I know I would buy it!!!

[code58]

Thanks. I would conclude 1 or more of the following: (1) Toyota brand brake fluid is far superior to aftermarket fluids, (2) Toyota brake systems are made od superior materials which do not contribute to fluid contamination and/or (3) Toyota brake systems are much better sealed preventing moisture from accumulating in the fluid. If it is (1) only, then you would have to change out the aftermarket fluid much more frequently or buy only Toyota brand fluid. Very interesting indeed.

Roger, you should write a book. I know I would buy it!!!

Artbuc- I personally believe it's the first two. It amazes me. Since a brake's fluid system is pretty much the same in all vehicles (pretty well sealed except for the necessary air pressure equalization at the M/C cap) I would probably tend to rule the 3rd one out. (condensed version)

[MICKLEX]

Has anybody done manual brake bleeding on RX 330 successfully? Do I still have to put 1" x 4" piece of wood underneath the brake pedal to not let the pedal touch the floor when my assistant hold it down when I open the bleeder valve to avoid damaging the master cylinder? I have read a lot of articles about the need of putting the piece of wood, but some consider this practice unnecessary. Any information will be appreciated. Thanks.

[code58]

Has anybody done manual brake bleeding on RX 330 successfully? Do I still have to put 1" x 4" piece of wood underneath the brake pedal to not let the pedal touch the floor when my assistant hold it down when I open the bleeder valve to avoid damaging the master cylinder? I have read a lot of articles about the need of putting the piece of wood, but some consider this practice unnecessary. Any information will be appreciated. Thanks.

Before I started using the vacuum pump to do one man bleeds I always (or whoever was helping me) pushed the pedal to the floor (not hard, but to the floor) and have never had a problem as a result. That is only my experience though and am not questioning the practice of limiting the travel. I personally would prefer a pressure bleeder and have thought of building one since they have always been too expensive for casual use. I recently saw one (I believe Harbor Freight) that was fairly reasonable but I don't do enough bleeds to justify even that so I'll stick with my trusty vacuum system.

[MICKLEX]

Has anybody done manual brake bleeding on RX 330 successfully? Do I still have to put 1" x 4" piece of wood underneath the brake pedal to not let the pedal touch the floor when my assistant hold it down when I open the bleeder valve to avoid damaging the master cylinder? I have read a lot of articles about the need of putting the piece of wood, but some consider this practice unnecessary. Any information will be appreciated. Thanks.

Before I started using the vacuum pump to do one man bleeds I always (or whoever was helping me) pushed the pedal to the floor (not hard, but to the floor) and have never had a problem as a result. That is only my experience though and am not questioning the practice of limiting the travel. I personally would prefer a pressure bleeder and have thought of building one since they have always been too expensive for casual use. I recently saw one (I believe Harbor Freight) that was fairly reasonable but I don't do enough bleeds to justify even that so I'll stick with my trusty vacuum system.

Code 58,

Thanks for your input. I went ahead and flushed/bled my brakes manually using that 1' x 4' piece of wood spacer underneath the brake pedal. Everything went successfully and my brakes are now firmer. I would very much wanted to have a one man pressure bleeder, like Phoenix Injector or Motive Power Bleeder, but they are so expensive, especially the Phoenix Injector. Also I've read people complaining about difficulty getting a good seal between the car's brake fluid reservoir and the bleeder. And I think it's not worth paying so much for a tool that you will use only once in two years even if you own 2 or 3 cars. Just my opinion. Thank you again.

[code58]

Code 58,

Thanks for your input. I went ahead and flushed/bled my brakes manually using that 1' x 4' piece of wood spacer underneath the brake pedal. Everything went successfully and my brakes are now firmer. I would very much wanted to have a one man pressure bleeder, like Phoenix Injector or Motive Power Bleeder, but they are so expensive, especially the Phoenix Injector. Also I've read people complaining about difficulty getting a good seal between the car's brake fluid reservoir and the bleeder. And I think it's not worth paying so much for a tool that you will use only once in two years even if you own 2 or 3 cars. Just my opinion. Thank you again.

Micklex- Glad it worked out well for you. I agree, even the cheaper pressure bleeders aren't justified for an occasional bleed. I have used the hand vacuum pump for some time because it's a 1 man job that way and no concerns about damaging anything or finding a "pedal buddy". :D

[FZ6 Dude]

Can someone please tell me the correct order for bleeding the brakes? I have seen it mentioned to start at the wheel closest to the master cylinder, but I have always heard to start at the furthest wheel. Can someone please confirm the correct order?

[code58]

Can someone please tell me the correct order for bleeding the brakes? I have seen it mentioned to start at the wheel closest to the master cylinder, but I have always heard to start at the furthest wheel. Can someone please confirm the correct order?

FZ6- Lexus factory manual says bleed REAR 1st. Start at the farthest wheel and work you way to the closest one. Lexus manual says bleed rear 1st or the front can't be bleed. Not my word, Toyota's.

[FZ6 Dude]

Can someone please tell me the correct order for bleeding the brakes? I have seen it mentioned to start at the wheel closest to the master cylinder, but I have always heard to start at the furthest wheel. Can someone please confirm the correct order?

FZ6- Lexus factory manual says bleed REAR 1st. Start at the farthest wheel and work you way to the closest one. Lexus manual says bleed rear 1st or the front can't be bleed. Not my word, Toyota's.

Thanks. I will try it your way this weekend.

[bob2200]

Somebody mentioned DOT 5 Silicone brake fluid. Don't use it! My recollection is that it was designed for DoD Jeeps that were stored in Europe, waiting for WWIII, and is not suitable for normal driving.

I think vacuum brake fluid bleeding is the best way. There is risk in pumping the brakes to remove brake fluid, in that you are using a normally unused portion of the brake master cylinder and any rust of other problems with that section of the surface can cause failure of the seals. This happened to me several times with a previous car in the late 70's and early 80's.