brakes wont bleed right

[Joey Stacks]

I just put a new wheel cylinder in and new rear steel brake lines ( the kind you got to bend yourself) and I bled the brakes... 3 times starting and the passenger side rear and moving toward the drivers front caliper. Pumping brake 3 times than cracking the screw and bleeding them through a hose into a bottle with fluid.
AND as soon as I start the truck the pedal goes to the floor and dont seem right. Also Its locking up the rear brakes when you push too hard... Why dont the pedal seem right it dosent seem firm... Im gonna go back and triple check for a leak but I dont think there is one... any thoughts?
92 Rwd 4cyl ranger

 

[Joey Stacks]

could the rear shoes be out of wack?

 

[Joey Stacks]

yeah Im completely stumped I tried adjusting the rear brakes by backing up and pumping the brakes... I guess tommarow I will try to bleed it again and mess with the adjusters... THIS REALLY SUCKS

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

more details. did you remove the rear shoes to replace the wheel cylinders or did you pry them apart? you could have knocked the self adjusters off... or put the shoes back on backwards.

if you are SURE the brakes are totally bled then the rear being too loose could cause the pedal to go to the floor.

try pumping the pedal slowly to see if it will get hard.

also to adjust the rear brakes you adjust them until you can JUST start to hear them rubbing, they should not drag.

 

[Joey Stacks]

Yeah I can pump the brakes and they get hard but not while the engine is running... I could have put them in backwards I guess I need to check that

 

[james98ranger]

hey if u have anti lock brakes u have to have a special tool to bleed the hydraulic control unit. can look up on internet to read up on. hope this helps i had the same problem and looked up in repair manual that any air in the hcu is not bleedable with out that tool

 

[hondaxr650]

Hey Joey. The rear ABS valve on those trucks are a commom problem. If the dump valve is stuck open or leaking, it will bleed off rear brake pressure into the accumulator as if it was in an ABS stop. If you've bled it completely and the pedal still drops, it could be your problem. You may want to try clamping off the rubber line to the rear axle and if the pedal still drops, that is most likely it.

 

[Joey Stacks]

Well I have yet to have the antilock brakes in the rear actually work but the Rear antilock light used to come on from time to time
The adjusters were froze up and in the next week im gonna do a full brake job so hopefully I can see what happens next.
I have been driving it with the sloppier brake pedal without issue it stops good just the pedal feel is off.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

frozen adjusters would naturally allow too much clearance in the rear brake shoes

 

[chazzone]

Not to hijack the thread, but mine is the same way.

Soft pedal, but stops fine.

I always give plenty of room between me and the next vehicle, but I'm planning on eliminating the ABS unit once I'm done with my next job and have a few bucks to run new brake lines.

Anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with the inevitable ABS light?