How to test rear brakes?

[PG01]

I agree on old rules don’t always apply and i know all to well the woes of being in the salt belt....im in NY.... the minute an automobile crosses the state line into NY, no matter the season, rust starts... and not to beat a dead horse but






Some require diff order, diff splits, etc... just sayin.

I still believe your master may have went dry or you may have inadvertently blew out a seal or, and the one I really believe is your issue, is the abs pump needs to be bled.

Years ago my 01 hoe needed 2 rear calipers and one was bad out if the box, threads for the bleeder were stripped or the line threads were not right.... can’t remember exactly, but not matter what it wouldn’t seal tight letting air in...

 

[Fless]

What, except a little time and effort, is to be lost by attempting a different, if typical, method? Seems like it *might* gain something.

 

[iamdub]

It's physics, so there is only one answer: You start with the caliper that is farthest from the reservoir.

"Farthest" doesn't mean a direct distance from the reservoir to the caliper. It's in reference to the total distance the fluid must travel. Ignoring the heights of the components, you can have a caliper butted up next to the reservoir, but if there's 40' of brake line coiled up between them, it should be bled first cuz it's the farthest from the reservoir.

For the models that have Stabilitrak, I don't see how doing the left rear or right rear makes any distinguishable difference. You can do the right rear first out of habit or be a rebel and start with the left rear and be just fine either way.

 

[Scottydoggs]

if you had both rear lines off the truck with open ends that leaked fluid, that master went bone dry. its called gravity. it all comes out.

you will never get a solid pedal till the master is bled of air.
i crack the line nuts free, then snug em back up, now wrap a rag around the wrench and nut to keep fluid from flying all over the place, have a helper pump and hold the brakes, then you crack the line nut, you will hear it spit air, repeat till its just fluid. then do the other line. now go back and bleed the calipers in any order to feel like. it really dont matter when you have a separate line off the abs pump to each caliper.

 

[yargnits]

My Motive unit arrives this week. I won’t be able to mess with it until the weekend. I’ll put some PB blaster on the MC connections every day in hopes they will back out. I’ll see if air comes out.

One guy wrote the ABS cycles at startup as a system check. If true, I’ll be able to get further on the rear lines. If it doesn’t work I’ll try the gravel/dirt road lockup technique to cycle the ABS unit.

I’ll update with the results.

 

[yargnits]

For the models that have Stabilitrak, I don't see how doing the left rear or right rear makes any distinguishable difference. You can do the right rear first out of habit or be a rebel and start with the left rear and be just fine either way.

Exactly

 

[iamdub]

One guy wrote the ABS cycles at startup as a system check. If true, I’ll be able to get further on the rear lines. If it doesn’t work I’ll try the gravel/dirt road lockup technique to cycle the ABS unit.

This is how I've done it for years on many makes and models with great success. No two-way scan tool needed. I used to do the gravel road or grassy field trick, but that's a lot of work. I learned about tearing the seal(s) in the master cylinder a few years ago with my Tahoe. It's a wonder I never experienced it before with as many brake jobs as I've done. I use a water bottle with a clear plastic hose in it with a few ounces of fluid in the bottom and pump the pedal/cycle the key. I do it by myself cuz I've never had the communication thing with a pedal pumper go very smoothly. I go until the fluid in the bottle is all new fluid so I know the system from front to back is flushed. If I'm having a problem with a particular corner staying soft, I set the GoPro on it and watch the bubbles in the hose in real time on my phone as I pump the pedal (not recording, just using phone as viewfinder via wireless connection).