dum2lexus

Hello lexus club members. I am some what a backyard mechanic . I have worked on american cars most of my life, never professionally though. I recently bought a 98 es300 and i noticed the brake pedal was going to the floor when i pressed on it. So i started adding brake fluid. As i added it the level kept going down, like it was coming right out. When i looked at the abs actuator it was all wet.under it.So i replaced the actuator with a used one. My question is what is my next step? Can i bleed the system myself? What is the procedure? what about bleeding the actuator? Please any help would be greatful. This is my first lexus, thank you

LeX2K

The bleeding procedure is the same as any other car nothing special. What caused the ABS unit to leak that's an unusual failure.

speedkar9

Here's how to bleed the brakes yourself:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=83m71ftgd08

Procedure is same as ES300.

dum2lexus

hello. im not sur what caused the abs unit to leak.When i removed the unit i didnt see any sign of leaking on it. Would overfilling the master cylinder cause any leakage around that area? When i drove it the first time i added fluid. I dont know if i overfilled it. I do know something is leaking because fluid is being lost and i see fluid in the abs area. Can i start the car to see if i can find some thing leaking? Will starting the car hurt anything? i was just read old posts about synthetic and non synthetic brake fluid. I think i added non synthetic to synthetic. Could that be why im loosing fluid?

dum2lexus

thank you for the video

dum2lexus

hello Lexus200. i just went outside to look at my es300. i looked at my master cylinder cap and i do have the correct fluid in it. i looked at all four of my tires and i seen my front passenger side wet on the inside. When i purchASED THE car i had it towed to a shop because it needed a transmission. I bet the tow truck driver damaged my brake hose. Ok i found my abs unit wasnt leaking. I talked to the person i bought it from and the fluid i seen under the abs unit is power steering fluid. A hose was leaking and was replaced. Now that i already replaced the abs unit is there anything i should do to it for it to function properly?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

When you said you were a backyard mechanic, what did you mean by that? I'm a little worried that you confused brake fluid with PS fluid.

Bleeding the brakes, after you seal all the leaks, will restore your braking feel. I replaced my ABS actuator not too long ago, and that's all I had to do.

dum2lexus

hello mrbooby. A back yard mechanic is a person isnt lucky enough to have a nice garage to work on his cars or not a professional mechanic. And the reason I had the ps fluid and brake fluid con fused is because they are both clear fluid. But i got that situation resolved now. My brakes are bled and work fine.

dum2lexus

when you replaced your actuator did you have to have a shop reset it with a scanner?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

No, I did not. I'm not sure if I need to, though. The reason I replaced it is because I keep getting ABS codes, and replacing the actuator has not made them go away,

310V6

If you don't have VSC, you can bleed the system in a conventional way. Just don't let the master cylinder run dry.

dum2lexus

mrbooby i have read that it is possible to bleed your own brakes but in order to get those warning light off your dash you would have to go to a shop to get them to go off. What lights are staying on in your dash? I will check mine to see if they are the same ones because i replaced my actuator also and i have a couple lights on

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I have nothing that stays on, so I think I'm fine. I've been getting the same ABS codes once in a while, ever since I bought the car in 2011. I know the car was in a minor collision with a deer, so it might be related to that.

The ABS light comes on along with the TC symbol and they'll keep flashing until I restart the engine. It only happens upon brisk acceleration, so it might be an issue with Traction Control logic. I already did a system check of all speed sensors and they're reporting normally.