speaking of brakes

[ddmcse]

i've developed a brake fluid leak on the passenger side , it seems to start by the downpipe area and goes all the way back to the right rear tire . i see in the manual there are reservoirs back by the rear tires both sides , anyone dealt with this ? i think the leak starts up on the firewall . i have ABS and see zero signs of a leak there or on the firewall .

[mrnickleye]

There are NO resevoirs. Maybe you mean the brake calipers. If you can't find the leak, you should go to a 'recommended' honest brake repais shop and have them look at it.

A car can run perfect, or like shit, but if it does not stop, that won't matter.

[ddmcse]

well i found the leak . sort of
after putting a cup under the leak in front of the right REAR tire and allowing some of the fliud to collect, i find that it's not brake fluid ,, it's radiator fluid .. sob.
i by-passed the heater core and the leak has stopped . from what i've read it looks like a bit of a project .
btw the manual does show 4 resevoirs. hell if i've ever seen them and maybe they mean the abs block . course they do have a asection just for the abs brick .
oh well i don't know if i'd rather have a cracked brake line in the body/frame or a leaking heater core . i guess the heater core is the winner , cause by-passing brakes isn't really an option hot or cold climate

[mrnickleye]

quote....
btw the manual does show 4 resevoirs. hell if i've ever seen them and maybe they mean the abs block . course they do have a asection just for the abs brick .

You got me curious...so...

I just re-read the TSRM brake section, and could not find any resevoirs except the main one on the master cyl. Is the manual you are refering to the TSRM? or a Haynes, or Chilton??

Also...the TSRM proceedure on pad replacement is a bit out-dated. The latest knowledge is this....

On any vehicle with ABS, you should crack open the bleeder screw at the calpier to allow the pressure (fluid) to release when pressing the piston back into the caliper. If you just press it in (the old way per TSRM), you run the risk of pushing contaminates back into the ABS control block. This can cause the ABS to fail, creating a costly repair.

[ddmcse]

TSRM
page BR-48
http://www.cygnusx1.net/supra/librar.../br/BR_48.html


i could swear i saw another diagram like the one you see on page BR-46 showing the res but i can't find it today .

[mrnickleye]

OK...I see.....those are inside the ABS controller block. You can imagine how small they are. You can't (shouldn't) mess with the controller. I've attempted to teardown and rebuild a couple years ago while at Toyota. Not a joy ! Ended up getting a new ones. (safety for the customer)

I've overhauled (rebuilt) 100's of calipers and wheel cylinders (in the old days when that's what repair shops did). Now a days, buy a reman or new, and slap it on.