strang things afoot with my 98 colorado

[daverdlc]

managed to make it home engine management light came on once going up a small hill. then going round a corner pressed the brake guess what? no brakes foot right to the floor

 

[JakeM]

Shit.. made it home in one piece yes?

Blue smoke is usually burning oil.
Air getting into your fuel line/supply would cause your symptoms, and quite possibly white smoke.

As you've just done work on your tank/fuel system, might be the first place to look?

As for the brakes giving up?!?? Sheesh, I guess you're under the car right now looking for answers. !

 

[JakeM]

Fuel starvation would probably give the same symptoms too.

 

[Shayne]

Could a brake have been jammed on messing up fueling altogether and boiling brake fluid which i believe from forum reading can result in the pedal dropping to the floor ?

 

[daverdlc]

jake m i was having the same problem before i replaced the tank its just got worse !
i know when i took the handbrake off after being stood for 2 weeks they where stuck shayne so i just drove forwards then reversed then i could here it free up
nearly parked it in the living room of this house that was the other side of this bridge that has a sharp left after it ,i was lucky there was nothing coming the other way .
i managed to drive her home very slowly (still had a bit of braking when the pedal was on the floor)

 

[flint]

If not already changed, it might be worth giving a new main fuel filter a try as it probably picked up a fair bit of stuff if your tank was bad. With the brakes, any signs of leaks anywhere or a drop in the master cylinder fluid level showing ? Does the pedal harden up if pumped ? Are the load sensing valve by the rear axle and its connections in good shape, any chance that something might have got a knock at all when you were doing the tank ?

 

[daverdlc]

car in the garage to have a new brake pipe fitted so thats the brakes almost sorted.

now for the surging and loss of power has anyone had any dealings with a fuel cut off valve?
I've read that these can cause the same symptoms ?

 

[daverdlc]

update guys
new brake pipe fitted and new master cylinder (£138) also fitted as a result of system going dry crap ruins the seals in the master cylinder (so the garage says?)
now the brakes are shite pedal goes all the way down like there is air in the system? i don't get any brakes until the last few inches of travel.
if i pump the pedal with the engine not running the pedal goes firm but as soon as i start the engine the pedal just goes down ,anyone had anything like this ?

on the plus side i have managed to sort the surging out ! it was the inline fuel filter it was blocked with crap ,she runs like a dream now just the brakes to figure out now

 

[Shayne]

Did the garage fit your master cylinder ? if so i would take it back !

 

[daverdlc]

yes shayne
i avnt payed them yet so i will be getting them to sort it or they won't be getting payed
i was wondering if there is any tips i could pass on to them to help them sort it

 

[Shayne]

They shouldn't need tips but i had the same problem when i changed my clutch fluid and eventually cured it by letting the master and the slave leak for a bit before tightening things up and bleeding it properly .

Keep the reservoir topped up while it leaks .

 

[daverdlc]

i read somewhere about there being some valve on the rear axle that need bleeding but a can't be sure

 

[Shayne]

Load sensor valve .

I don't know i had my calipers off for a week and just let the fluid leak but when the calipers went back on i had no trouble bleeding i can't remember but because i'm thinking it now i probably left all the nipples open and let them drip while i topped up several times before i started bleeding .

Maybe i dodged a bullet because my aim was only to wash out whatever was left of the old fluid ?

 

[BobMurphy]

i read somewhere about there being some valve on the rear axle that need bleeding but a can't be sure

Yes - the Load-Sensing Valve (LSV) sits on the N/S chassis rail and is linked to the Transverse Control Arm (Panhard Rod). There is a small bleed nipple at the back. They are usually knackered by road salt (well, they are in Scotland ) - hence my nice new one back in 2010.

There is a single 'output' brake pipe that leads to the flexi hose that links the rigid brake pipe on the body to that on the rear axle. The ABS and LSV therefore act on both rear brakes simultaneously (unlike the front). I have no idea why Toyota fitted both ABS AND an LSV .







I have also had the "sinking pedal" feeling - It just takes a lot of time to bleed all the air out of the system. Always bleed one front and one rear at the same time otherwise the dual circuit system will prevent you getting full pedal travel.

Bob.

 

[Beau]

Glad you got the power issue sorted and it wasn't something expensive. Breaks should be fairly easy to sort out and in no time your truck will be back to 100%...for now...

 

[flint]

I’m glad the new fuel filter sorted it. Did they bench bleed the new master cylinder ? As Bob said, lots of bleeding, brake fluid is cheap. If your load sensing proportioning valve looks past it, a new one might be needed. Roughtrax or Milners do them.

 

[knicko]

When they bled your brakes they should also have made sure they jack up under the rear axle to keep the LSV open. If you jack under the chassis and let the back axle hang, the LSV will close and stop the brakes bleeding. Any garage should be aware of this, but just in case it's been overlooked.

When my MC fluid dropped really low during a recent brake change, I had trouble bleeding the system. I had to bleed the unions around the MC body rather than just at the callipers.

 

[Shayne]

Great comment knicko my rear axle was on stands when i bled an empty system without problems which gives us a definitive answer for the next fella

 

[flint]

Good point about having the axle on stands, or at least with a load on it. If your load sensing valve looks ok and the lever is moving freely, it's worth slipping the rubber boot off just to make sure that the pin that the lever acts on is still moving freely as well.

 

[daverdlc]

all sorted now lads ,just passed her mot test with no advisories result .
next job fit the bull bar