Solved Still NO brakes!

[BKennedy]

Glad you got it sorted out. I did that when I was doing the SAS on my Explorer. Good old school trick I learned from my Dad to help get air out of the lines. If your brake lights activate without the key on, pull the brake light fuse. take a piece of wood or whatever and prop it on the front of the seat or the steering wheel so it puts a little pressure on the brake pedal. Leave over night. The constant pedal pressure will push air up into the master cylinder reservoir. I do that whenever I mess with the Explorer brakes and it firms up the pedal.

Oh, and I am not a fan of the old ABS system on the Explorer. I remember bombing down a steep hill out at Truckhaven where the ABS wouldn't allow me to stop.

 

[swshawaii]

I switched the calipers, and also installed speed bleeders on them. So once they were switched, all I did was attach a rubber hose with one end on the bleeder, the other in an empty bottle, opened the bleeder valve, and then pressed the brake pedal a few times to get that air out. After closing the bleeder and pressing the pedal, it actually built up pressure FINALLY. (for ppl reading this thread with similar issues)

Just be aware the Russell, Dorman, and other speed bleeders (one man bleeders) tend to suck air around the threads when the hard sealant wears off. Russell sells a 1/2 ounce bottle of sealant to reapply to leaking threads. After reading found that teflon tape around brake fluid is not a good idea. Coating the threads with brake lube where they contact the caliper ports worked for me. I had another issue with the the pointed tips on the speed bleeders requiring over tightening to seal. I used a flat file to match the flat stock bleeder tips. YMMV.

Speed Bleeder Installation

Stock (top) vs. Dorman 12701 (3/8-24)

 

[CDW6212R]

Just be aware the Russell, Dorman, and other speed bleeders (one man bleeders) tend to suck air round the threads when the hard sealant wears off. Russell sells a 1/2 ounce bottle of sealant to reapply to leaking threads. After reading found that teflon tape around brake fluid is not a good idea. Coating the threads with brake lube where they contact the caliper ports worked for me. I had another issue with the the pointed tips on the speed bleeders requiring over tightening to seal. I used a flat file to match the flat stock bleeder tips. YMMV.

Speed Bleeder Installation

Stock (top) vs. Dorman 12701 (3/8-24)

Thanks for posting that. I thought of them leaking past the threads long ago, which is why I suggested bleeding them again with another person. I have a pair from long ago that I haven't tried yet.

 

[koda2000]

I've always had good luck gravity bleeding when installing new calipers. Suction bleeding also works, but as said you have to be careful of the bleeder valves sucking air around their threads.

 

[swshawaii]

^ Agree Phil. Sometimes hard to beat the time proven "old school" methods like gravity bleeding. I guess people are so anxious to test their "new" brakes the drip method isn't used much anymore. Hope you're all having a nice holiday season.

 

[koda2000]

^ Agree Phil. Sometimes hard to beat the time proven "old school" methods like gravity bleeding. I guess people are so anxious to test their "new" brakes the drip method isn't used much anymore. Hope you're all having a nice holiday season.

Yes, thanks Steven. You too.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I swear by the gravity feed, it's how I bleed brakes, never had a problem. Speaking of brakes, my 2000 finally has a firm pedal, it's had a code for the ABS pump forever, and a softer pedal but it'd stop if you wanted it to no problem. It firmed up today and the code went away. No idea what that was about but hey it worked.

 

[CDW6212R]

I swear by the gravity feed, it's how I bleed brakes, never had a problem. Speaking of brakes, my 2000 finally has a firm pedal, it's had a code for the ABS pump forever, and a softer pedal but it'd stop if you wanted it to no problem. It firmed up today and the code went away. No idea what that was about but hey it worked.

The air has likely worked out of the ABS module for the most part. Now's the time to bleed it one more time to get the last bit of air out. My 95 Crown Vic I installed ABS into, took about six months of mild driving to firm up the pedal like my other untouched CV was. I bled it then but didn't really see any air. I don't think it takes much air inside the ABS module to affect braking.

 

[IronCurtain]

The ABS light actually came on for a bit for the first time, during this entire process, the day after I switched the calipers and got a firm pedal. It stayed on, I drove it maybe 100 ft, shut it off then turned it back on and the light went out. Like you guys say, probably air just working its way through the system.

Brakes are still working splendidly though

 

[Macgiobuin]

Still spongy? Do us a favor, show a pic of one of the rear calipers.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Still spongy? Do us a favor, show a pic of one of the rear calipers.

The issue has been solved...

 

[Macgiobuin]

The issue has been solved...

Mbrooks420: Lemme see, on the first page (message #23, the 12th post from advisers [non-complainant]), the solution was offered. Finally after 4 more pages of posts, and chasing a solution down a rat hole, after 80 other posts, he posts a picture showing the obvious mistake that he made. He declares it is solved!!! But he still complains of a spongy pedal. At least his car stops now. All the symptoms points to ALL 4 calipers being installed upside down, making air bleeding impossible. So now the front calipers have been properly positioned and bled. But still the spongy pedal. Which points to the stronger brakes (the fronts) working (of course they work now). But still that spongy pedal. Hmmm. It's only the guy's safety and his passengers' safety that are at stake. IronCurtain: please, humor me: just look at the rear calipers. A failing front steel brake line in a 23 year old vehicle would leave you with worse braking than before, if your rear calipers are installed upside down. Cuz then you wouldn't even have compressed air bubbles contributing to the front braking. The braking system is comprised of 2 circuits, separated hydraulically so that if one fails, you at least have the other 2 wheels braking. Please accept the possibility that you are compromising the redundant safety design. Or not. SMH

 

[Mbrooks420]

I’d bet there’s still just a small amount of trapped air that needs bled out.

 

[James W Moore]

So does the e brake work? yes I am a spoiler. Too many people over look this. If your Emergency brake (aka Parking brake) does not work fix it soon. You never know when you might need that, but in your case you may have already been using it.
Some times it is as easy as a little lube and working it

 

[Spudhut]

not to be all 'Newbie' on this thread, but I had no idea on the position of the bleeder valve on the calipers. I rebuilt all 4 of mine (a first for me, 2 Rear Explorer and 2 Front Jeep Calipers - Im used to the old drum brakes )....and had no idea they could be mounted upside down. I flipped the front and the rear...got pressure right away. Thanks for the info, it surely helped me!!! Wish I could get rid of my ABS light... ...