Archived Help no rear brakes.

[EEland]

I have 2004 3500 dwr 4wheel drive. My problem started when I replaced my rear brakes. I installed new rear rotors, pads, and new factory rebuilt calipers. I bleed the brakes and am sure there is no air in the system. After that my pedal is low and doesn't offer much. The rear brakes do not work at all. I replaced the calibers because the rear passenger one was leaking. I have no lights on in the dash indicating that the ABS or the brakes need serviced. This leads me to beleive that it is a mechanical issue and not an electronic issue. I look for a proportion valve to reset but could not locate any. I was told by someone else that it was internal and part of the ABS system. I am totally at a loss as to what to do next please help. Thank-you.

 

[p-Bar]

Keep bleeding the rear , you must have some air in the lines , keep checking the resevoir and keep top offed

 

[EEland]

Thanks will try again, but I cann't believe that there could be any air in the lines. I have bled them and bled them. I keep thinking along the lines of some type of proportioning valve must be stuck. Also when I bleed the brakes I noticed it had volume at the bleeder, but no pressure as I was able to hold my finger over the bleeder while it was coming out and stop the flow.

 

[CJNielson]

So the calipers are good, the brake fluid is clean no water issues, and nice thick new pads. Was the bleeder weak on both sides? Can you build up any kind of pedal? How was the pedal prior to the brake job? Have the calipers closed at all?

 

[kenny61]

sounds like you still have air in the system. try bleeding the master cylinder. also if there are any fittings near a "U" shape in the line try bleeding it there . The air will get stuck in any higher spots on the line

 

[EEland]

CJNielson to answer your questions the bleeder was weak in pressure on both sides, but has ample volume of fluid. I can get a little bit of pedal but it will go all the way to the floor with the last 20% giving the resistance. The pedal was low (about 1/2 way down) before the brake job but had good feel to it. The calipers have not closed at all. That is why I don't think that it is air in the system because the front brakes do work. The front brakes don't feel all that strong, suggesting to me that there could be air in the system that would make the pedal soft; however being that the rear brakes will not grab enough to stop me from turning the wheels by hand when it is jacked up off the ground with the brakes applied has me confused. Kenny61 I will look for a bleeder on the master cylinder wasn't aware there was one there. Thanks guys for your efforts. I am going to go out in the morning and crack open the passenger side rear bleeder and let it slowly drip for a while and see if that will get me any where as well.

 

[kenny61]

There is no bleeder on the Master cylinder you just have to crack the lines going into it. The ABS may have one I dont remember but any where you have a loop or high spot in the lines you can try cracking the closest fitting and see if any thing comes out. On a rare occasion the master cylinder can go bad when you take the first step on the brake to bleed it as the seal is hiting a spot on the piston it never saw before and it may be rusted or dirty you can take the master cylinder off and see if it is leaking fluid out the back

 

[PBrauer]

If you are getting lots of volume at the rear bleeders but no pressure then you probably have air that's not in the path to the rear, i. e. , you probably have air in the front lines. Try bleeding/flushing all four corners.



I flushed mine by myself with relative ease by simply running a longer line "up" high enough that I didn't have to worry about air returning to the caliper... just kept going around and around until I'd pumped about 4 quarts through (probably 5-6 cycles). If you put a piece of tubing and a bottle on all four bleeders at the same time, you can cycle through/around all four corners several times, by yourself, in 20-30 minutes. Having the tubing on all four bleeders at once also makes it easier to see which one still has the dirtiest fluid left in it.



Don't open more than one at a time, just have them all ready. Don't bother with any bleed kits either. Just make sure the tubing goes UP. Put the bottles in the engine bay and the bed (easiest)... but as long as the tubing goes from the bleeder straight to the top of the tire, you won't get air back in. I did 10-15 pumps per corner then moved to the next corner. It's so easy this way that you have to remind yourself often to check the master cylinder. Probably a good idea to top off between each corner.



Don't worry too much about the fronts seeming to work better than the rears either. That's just the nature of brakes. Between the weight of the engine and brake "dive" it is reasonable to get that feeling if you have air ANYWHERE in the system. Have AT LEAST 3-4 quarts of fluid ready too... it's cheap and it sucks to run out when you're all set up and one line is still dirtier than the rest. Return what you don't use or better yet, just run it all though for the heck of it. Just remeber to leave some in the last bottle for the very last top off of the Master Cylinder when you're (almost) done... it's easy to forget that last step.



Good Luck.

 

[EEland]

Thanks guys for all your help. I finally got the brakes working by bleeding them. I have never had so much trouble bleeding brakes before. There was air up by the master cylinder causing the problem. Thanks again.

 

[EEland]

Hi guys, sorry I didn't have time to elaborate on my last post. So let me enlighten everyone on the proper procedure to bleed your brakes. First let me be clear there are different methods depending on the year of your truck as well as if your truck has 4 wheel ABS or 2 wheel ABS. My truck is an 04. 5with 4 wheel ABS. Please note the ABS has a lot to do with this than the old school way of bleeding brakes. For 1998-2005 1500-3500 series Pickups w/ 4 wheel ABS: start with the right rear bleeder, Next the left rear bleeder, followed by the right front, then the left front. After that bleed the hydraulic control unit. Well some of you might think that your done now; you would be wrong. After you have completed the base brake system, then connect a Scan tool to the DLC. Access the brake bleeding function of the Scan tool and follow the instructions on screen. After you have completed the above task disconnect the Scan tool and bleed the base brakes all over again (right rear, left rear, right front, and finally the left front). Note: you only have to do the hydraulic control unit once. Hope this helps someone who is experiencing a similar situation. If someone would like me to post a different year with or without ABS just let me know. Also, keep in mind you do not have to go through all of this if you are just replacing pads and or rotors. You should only have to do this if you replace calipers or a brake line.