How do you bleed the front brakes of 2002 Toyota 4 Runner?

Answer 1

I have owened and bled brakes on vehicles from a 58 Chevy pickup to a 92 Toyota 4 runner. They are all the same. So unless Toyota did something I am not aware of on their 2002, this should work there also.

Remove the tire on the side you are going to bleed. Support the vehicle good as you will need someone in it. On the brake mechanism you will find a small #10 fitting with a rubber cap on it. If cap is gone then it will just have a hole in the fitting.

Carefully brake the fitting loose, but don't unscrew yet. Put a hose over the fitting or a collection pan under the wheel, to collect spilled fluid. I like a painters roller pan because its long and the fluid tends to spray out under pressure.

Put someone in the car and have them pump the brakes 3 times. Then hold pressure on the brake until you tell them to release. With them holding pressure turn the fitting open about a half a turn and watch the fluid come out. It should be clear and clean like new fluid. This is where a new clear hose comes in handy because you can see the fluid easily.

Now tighten the fitting and then have them release their foot and repeat the process. If they release before you tighten the fitting then you just pulled more air in the system and made your job longer. You want a clear fluid coming out and you want a good solid quick stream of fluid. Too slow and the air might not come out of the brake reservoir or lines.

Last. If you are cleaning out lines and replacing old fluid then allow the reservoir in the engine compartment to go completely empty. then pour a small amount of new fluid in and empty again. Then fill with new fluid and bleed out the lines, all of them , even the rear. Its a long process but cleans out things nicely. Then watch the fill reservoir closely and don't let it go dry during the bleed process. If you do you get to start over.