Johnhav430

Remember I had the Lexus dealership flush my brakes for $59. The price I believe is lower than a muffler shop's charge. But then, I started questioning if they actually performed the work.

When I drove off, I could have sworn the fluid looked clear, and by the next day, it was golden brown (significantly darker than below).

I had a rental this past week with 700 miles, a Nissan. So I do think this is how fluid looks when new (I think Lexus simply exchanged the reservoir, they did not bleed at each caliper which imho is the only way, so the fluid was visibly darker in just a day of driving).....

Jabberwock

Brake fluid should not be golden brown or worse yet medium brown. Should be very, very light amber colored - almost clear.

nedear1688

I just did my brake fluid flush this past Saturday, this is the 2nd fluid change since I own the LS almost 2 years, the previous owners never change the fluid and it's GREEN! the 1st change was using the vacuum bleed method using Honda branded DOT3...not the best still have air in the system and the fluid gone BLACK, use the LS for a year brake start developed unpredictable stopping distance.

I bought Motive pressure bleed pump and the power probe adapter and the end results are amazing, no more pumping brake to gain stopping distance and this time I use Toyota DOT3 brake fluid, what a difference! I don't have to pump brake, brake pedal feel more firm and pedal travel reduced drastically.

See this photo brake fluid in reservoir after 1 day.

Johnhav430

Totally agree...which is why no matter what Lexus charges, $59, or $159, they are not doing it properly. My hunch? If it is supposed to be done every 2 years, then the owner will never notice any difference, because all they can do is judge by the color. It's to put it bluntly, cheating. It should be bled from each caliper.

btw what adapter fits our cars? I have a motive, but it's for European cars. Once you have the right tools, it's so easy to do the job right!

YODAONE

Inquire if they also bled/ flushed Antilock brake solenoid block.

A likely spot for old fluid to hide out on a routine brake line flush...

This requires a Special Service Tool (SST) that is installed in place of the master cylinder fluid resorvoir cap and with air pressure applied purges the antilock solenoid assembly of air and old fluid through bleeder screw (s) located atop block.

Ask the Service technician to explaim the process employed to "flush" the entire system.

Also ask them to produce the SST...

If umable, and they ate unwilling to procure for redo, then request refund, use those proceeds to buy SST and then go somewhere else.

Here is my post on daid SST;

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-1st-and-2nd-gen-1990-2000/870088-necessary-brake-bleeding-tool.html

I believe there is also a way for the dealer to electronically actuate the Anti-lock brake solenoid bank.

Please share your findings.

Johnhav430

Those are good tools, I have a AST oil cap wrench and thin walled spark plug socket for my BMW. Seems like the Lexus is different in theory. The BMW requires the ABS pump to be bled by the computer, and states that no amount of normal bleeding can evacuate the air bubbles that cling to the component. So one does a normal bleed, a computer bleed, and a second normal bleed....but this is only necessary when a hydraulic component has been removed, like when I removed my ABS pump and sent it out for repair...

Interesting that Lexus can bleed the ABS manually...probably should not be necessary unless the component has been removed and reinstalled...

Bocatrip

Should be clear period. If dirty, change is necessary or take your chances for your next emergency stop. I've had cars for many years with clear brake fluid. It's a safety issue. Be careful.

nedear1688

Hello Johnhav430, the adapter is made by Power Probe, i bought it from Amazon, it's like $45 bucks they still have it and it works on all Toyota/Lexus cars.

Here is the link.
Hope this help.

nedear1688

This is the adapter I used along with the Motive pressure bleeder pump/reservoir. It's the same concept without the shop compress air, I just pump it to 15 PSi to create a pressure to push out the old fluid.

Johnhav430

Thanks for the tip......basically, we're trying to create this....(below is for GM)


So I believe that if I get this

https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-...-Pc-68210.html


then some 1/4" ID tubing,

and add the adapter


everything is there to create the adapter hose. The standard adapter (in my case European), will detach at the center, and the new rig will be tightenend in....sweet!

Why let the dealer do a half a***** job, at full price, when you can do it yourself, for less?

(sigh 2 yrs. goes by quickly, BMW is due again in April or June 2018--I did that job carefully. Why wouldn't our other cars deserve the same??!)

This is the union in the middle of the Motive. I only use it for air pressure, don't put fluid in, otherwise it would have been DOT4 from the BMW....

LS430inDE.

Am I missing something or can't you guys simply place a clear plastic drain tube from the bleeder fitting, push the brake pedal about 15x, ensure the reservoir is always full, then close the bleeder and proceed to the next caliper?

I know there's vanilla and chocolate and strawberry for a reason, but I'm getting tired of tubes, gizmos, and such specific 'tools' cluttering up the garage. Don't get me wrong, I love tools and gadgets, but I've tried buying such specialized 'tools' before, but haven't even used them. For instance, a plastic nozzle to screw onto a jug of oil, etc, and the nozzle has a valve. You can close the valve so nothing drips out when you turn the bottle upside down to pour, then open the valve to pour. It cost maybe $3.99, and I've never used it, lol.

Am I the only one who is happy doing a simple gravity drain with plastic tubing pushed onto the bleeder valve, or better yet, simply pumping the brakes about 10-20x per caliper to eliminate all the old fluid while capturing the old stuff in a large gatorade bottle or something similar? Does that make me a shade-tree mechanic? LOL

YODAONE

The OP brought his car to the dealer....and the dealer should have necessary SSTs, so customer reasonably expects the job be done by the book.

Clearly (no pun intended).old brake fluid remained in the system, because it wasn't fully cleared.

The tool (s) described above are necessary to more fully purge the Anti-lock brake solenoid block of old fluid.

If the dealer can't produce the described SST, then how did they perform fluid replacement??

As an aside...if you really want to determine if your dealer/mechanic is on top of his game, ask him to show you the tool used to remove and install a harmonic balancer on our engines..

So, no this is not a 1969 GTO.

Johnhav430

Everyone remember Neil Young saying, "I have a friend, I've never seen...." Now in the digital world altogether possible (have you met every one of your 15k linkedin followers), but the song was from 1970, so that is rather odd for the time.

I have so many tools that I've never used, My friends and relatives refer to them as the museum collection. 4 Snap On 1/2" ratchets, one being an 80 tooth 2016, never used. 3/8 never used, 3/8 long handle, never used. So if there is anybody who shouldn't get more unneeded tools, it's me....my go to ratchets are a Craftsman 3/8" from 2002, and a Snap on S936 1/2" from about the same time.

When it comes to brakes, I can't see how Lexus is any different than BMW. Both have ABS and traction and stability. With the BMW, the mfg. states that it is not possible to evacuate the air bubbles from the ABS/DSC hydro pump, without using the car's computer aka DME. So that 3 bleeds are needed in this procedure. A regular one, a computer one, and a regular one. It states what bar to set your pump to, in order to pressurize the system (sounds way cooler than telling you in psi).

Some guys on the forum said they don't feel like buying software to do the computer bleed, so they just go out in the rain or on gravel, and slam on the brakes several times, and said it's good enough. BMW doesn't agree, but since when does the mfg know more than guys on a forum? lol

So although yes, I don't need any more tools, the $70 motive is money well spent, imho. But it comes with only 1 adapter, so say you have a German, Japanese, and American car, you're gonna need 3 adapters. I would say if one pushes fluid with it, just me, I would then rather have one for DOT4 and the other for DOT3....it's all good

edit: Let's say you use the foot method....how much time is going to be required of in my case, my wife, and then my 4 y.o. in the car with her....I have also read it's possible (but shouldn't happen) to push the master cyl. further than normal thereby damaging it. I like to be able to do it one-man...point is I don't think a Lexus tech at a dealership treats your car like it's his or her own (I know one haha)...but I really do think that many indies do, because they take pride in their work....

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

Ls430inde, you can't just pump the pedal with an open bleeder as it will pull air into the caliper. Even with a hose filled and submerged in brake fluid the bleeder threads leak air and this process introduces air into the system.

A common process is two man operation where one pushes the pedal down building pressure and the other cracks the bleeder until the pedal bottoms and seals the bleeder. A one man operation is doing this process with speed bleeders.

Other options are:
Speed bleeders.
Pressure bleeding as discussed here.
ABS cycling...

05ls430518

iTrader: (1)

Indies are just as guilty of joyriding as dealerships are. Most mechanics do not care about your car all it is to them, is a giant hunk of **** they have to fix so they can feed there family's. I am being crude right now but that is the truth.