Bledding Brakes

[trademarked67]

2x4 94 ranger 2.3L w/manual transmission, front disc brakes & rear drum

About 2 weeks ago the brake peddle became soft, going to the floor when stopped. I knew the pads and rotors needed to be replaced on the front, so I replaced them along with the calipers. I went to bleed the brakes starting with the right rear. Connected a hose, etc opened the bleeder screw and got nothing. Closed the screw, removed the hose and tried to clean the screw thinking dirt was trapped inside. Reconnected the hose and opened the screw and still got nothing. Decided to try the left rear and could not bleed any fluid from that wheel either. Fluid flows from the front freely when opened.

I can't find any evidence that the lines have a kink or have been crushed. Any ideas what is not allowing fluid to flow?

Thanks

 

[Jspafford]

The ABS valve on the frame rail has been known to clog and not let any brake fluid flow to the rear.

I would pull the line coming out of the valve and check for fluid flow.

 

[MAKG]

Yup. Had the EXACT same thing happen.

To confirm, crack open the fitting on the OUTPUT side of the RABS valve (under the driver's left foot inside the frame rail), and try to bleed from there. You will STILL get nothing. Then crack the INPUT side and you'll get fluid.

If you're by yourself, you can wedge a 2x4 against the brake pedal to put some pressure in the lines.

That valve is quite expensive, but you'll be amazed how much better your brakes work when you use all four of them.

FYI, what causes this is factory-original brake fluid.

I had some issues sealing up the input side fitting with the new valve, and had to replace the line back to the master cylinder.

 

[paulnola]

So what do you do?

If the factory brake fluid is the culprit, what is the best bet to replace it with?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Also pull the rear bleeder screws right out of the wheel cylinders and check to see if the holes in them are plugged with rust, clean them out with a small drill bit.

 

[Quiksurf]

factory brake flui is fine, in fact it is better than most other brake fluids out there. i hope what MAKG was saying was original brake fluid installed from the factory and never changed. you should change it when it gets real dark, just put a bottle upside down in the master cyl and gravity bleed it