HorseHauler

Hey all,
I just changed both back calipers out on my truck and after bleeding both sides, I still have a soft pedal and not 100% on my brakes. After the first bleed, I took it for a test ride and still noticed soft pedal, then noticed I was leaking fluid out of the brake hose where the ring didn't seat all the way. So I kept bleeding them for what seemed like forever after I tightened it back up and I still have soft pedal. The only thing I can figure is that I sucked in a bunch of air through that leak on the first test drive. Is there a special sequence on these trucks with the abs system that I must bleed all 4 tires by? I've bled all 4 and no luck. So not sure if there is a sequence or not. I appreciate any help in advance!!!

Eric

madhat

Park your truck down hill a little, let it sit for a while, over night if possible, then start bleeding: right rear, left rear, right front, left front.

dezeldog

Yup....that'll get it done withoutany issues. Thanx for sharing there Madhat.

Jim

HorseHauler

Thanks Madhat. I will give that a try today, I appreciate the help!

madhat

No prob.

I'm not trying to insult you... you do have someone to help you, right? Pump the brakes 5-10 times, hold, break the bleeder bolt open, close it up, then let off and repeat?

Man, I'm not try to be a butthole, just gotta ask.

mad

HorseHauler

yep, I had 3 or 4 of us at the firehouse working on it till 1:30 in the morning.

madhat

Ok. Just checking...

HorseHauler

I appreciate it. Another stupid question, should the truck be running or does it matter?

madhat

No, do it with the truck off.

HorseHauler

Ok thats what I thought. Thanks again

Grit Dog

Did each caliper bleed out until it was solid fluid?
If so, then the brakes should be hard again.
madhat, are you saying get the back end up so the air evntually gets nearer the calipers? If so, good idea, never thought of that before.

madhat

Yes. You start with the bleeder the furthest away from the master cylinder, so that's where I would want the air in the lines to go. (if there is any.)

If you still have spongy brakes: Put the truck in gear and hold the brake after the truck is at operating temp... if your pedal sinks, you may have a bad master cylinder...

Grit Dog

I was gonna suggest bad master cyl as that's the only time I had trouble bleeding brakes and getting them to pump up hard, but figgered that they were normal before the calipers.

Mr Jerry

Without running out to my truck and looking how there set up,,,,are you sure you dont have the calipers swaped on the wrong side, if they will fit wrong they will never blead out all the air, never happened to me before but it has happend to some people on other vehicles.

xxwildbillxx

Currently experiencing same soft pedal issue on my 03 2500 5.9L.

Here's what's been done so far....

1) Installed 2 Rear Calipers

2) Bled RR then LR Caliper w/hand vac pump til fluid flowed solid

3) Reservoir kept full/cap off during procedure

4) (Got late so rolled the dice & test drove truck round the block w/out bleeding front calipers)

5) Will bleed front calipers in couple hours when off work and report back...

BTW - Shop Manual shows an ABS Brake Bleed procedure which mentions the use of a DRB SCAN TOOL...

Here's the gist of the procedure...

1) Bleed all 4 calipers

2) Using DRB SCAN TOOL cycle/bleed HCU Pump and solenoids

3) Re-Bleed all 4 calipers one more time to remove any remaining air

Any thoughts would be appreciated... Also, anyone know of an inexpensive aftermarket DRB Scan Tool that features ABS HCU solenoid cycling???