Luckydog

Man yesterday was a day! I was towing a loaded 14' dump trailer home after work....it was close to dark and dumping rain....I went to slow down a bit and my foot hit the floor, the truck and trailer kept on rolling...Yikes. Luckily I was on a stretch of road with not too much traffic at the time and no one ahead of me....I dodged a bullet

Well long story short...the truck is in my shop in pieces and I have a few questions. I found the blown brake line on the drivers side rear, where it connects to the rubber line to feed the rear distribution block...after doing some research on this site I find this is a fairly common issue.

So the truck sat overnight and pretty much bled out completely-Argh. I started by pulling the tank so I could access the line along the frame and thats about as far as I got this eve.

So it looks like the rubber line thats connected to the distribution block is in need of replacement....so I assume I have to replace the block with the line? Since the rubber line appears to be crimped onto the block. How is the distribution block attached to the axle? Is it threaded in? I believe it doubles as the vent for the axle as well.

Now that my entire system is empty....when I bleed the system is there any thing special I need to consider? Or just start filling the master, unscrew the bleeders, wait for fluid to run out at the calipers, close bleeders and proceed to bleed at each wheel?

Because the whole system is dry will I have to bleed the master, abs, proportioning valve independently?

Many thanks in advance...this site has been an invaluable resource for me.

02 Long bed, quad cab, 4WD, 6sp

patdaly

Don't overthink it, get your rear brake hose, bolt it in, since you have the fuel tank out, closely inspect the hard line for corrosion, they are noted for rotting behind the tank, if it looks bad at all, replace all the way to the front, I think the ext. cab takes a 60" and an 18" with a connector to go from front to back.

I have never done anything other than do a gravity bleed and a manual bleed once I had fluid out the back.

Luckydog

Ok...thanks for the info....was at the parts store this morn....the guy behind the counter has informed me I HAVE to bench bleed the master or I will forever have soft brakes...I guess I will try the gravity first and then bench bleed if necessary....I hope he is wrong!

patdaly

If you are not replacing the master, I have NEVER had to bench bleed one.

If you have a new master, then yes, protocol is to bench bleed it before installation.

Try it and let us know, gravity can take some time to get it to the rears.

Luckydog

Ok...so I finally got the new rear hoses inn from Napa....got all of the brake components assembled and on....I am trying to gravity bleed. I removed the bleeder valve's from each rear caliper, filled up the empty master cylinder and....nothing....I mean in 3 hours the level in the master has not moved. I decided to fill the master to the brim so it would be easy to tell if the fluid was moving. Nothing, nada, zip.

So apparently the gravity method is not working...I have heard that its slow, but after 3 hours I would think some fluid should have moved? Right?

Ok...so whats next...try and bleed the master while its in the truck?

Any help would be great! Thanks

torquefan

You may have to bleed the master cylinder first to get the ball rolling. If the reservoir went completely empty, there may well be air in there. There's no reason to remove it and bleed it on the bench though. Just have a helper stand on the brake pedal while you momentarily crack the line fitting on the master that feeds the rear brakes. You'll hear the air bubble escape, then tighten up the fitting. Maybe get the helper to step on the pedal once more while you crack the line again to be sure the air's all gone, and you should be good to start the bleeding at the rear calipers. It shouldn't be too big a deal.

Just get your helper to step on the brake pedal while you crack a bleeder at the rear. Do that a couple times on each side at the rear, then you can decide to continue that way, or gravity bleed them from that point.

dsldan

might want to try disconnecting and tie the rear brake valve up some so it opens the lines to the rear brakes

Luckydog

Well I got the gravity bleed to work....finally...everything back to normal again. Thanks for the tips and advice!