Welcome to TN!

If you pump the brakes does it become harder? Or does it stay soft?

 

if I pump the brakes with the ign off (no vacuum assist) the pedal does get harder and firmer, as soon as I start the engine, the pedal goes soft and goes to the floor.

 

Maybe you have too much vacuum? (Just trying to think out side the box)
But you may want to check your vacuum pressure.

If you drive your truck does it actually still have brakes? Just soft pedal?

 

I can check, but never encountered such a problem

 

I'll PM you a link. It has the repair manual!:thumbup:

 

Would that be for the WHOLE truck? If so I'm interested in this link...:naughty:

 

Adjust the rear brakes!!!!

 

+++1

 

thanks for the link! I will check the rear drums, that is one we didnt look at.

 

is the noise on the abs module normal....its like a purging sound.

 

I got squishy pedals too, and had the abs kick in a few times, i replaced the rubber lines with SS ones and the squishiness is gone, and pumping the pedal while running makes it rock hard now after the first pump. Just remember to bleed the brakes, after the switch. It's also a nice improvement

 

Nope, on our trucks the rear brake auto-adjuster works when you brake in reverse.

 

Also, when you say "the pedal goes to the floor", how hard are you pressing? With normal pressure, my pedal depresses about half way, but if I stand on it hard, I can make it go to the floor. I think the "hiss" sound when you push the pedal is normal too, if that's the noise you're referring to. Like another post said, the rubber brake lines seem to be the main culprit for the squishy pedal.

 

I have also had a VERY soft pedal. I can't believe this is "normal" for this vehicle. If I push hard enough it will go to the floor but even under "normal" braking it is WAY to soft. The first time I brought this issue up to my Toyota dealership the guy said it was normal so I didn't do anything about it. That was 4 months ago. Today I took my truck back in for an oil change and the same guy that helped me before said he almost ran into the bay door trying to stop. He had another person look at the brakes and now they say it needs a new master cylinder (to the tune of $500 parts/labor). It deffinately isn't right being that soft.

BTW, I would also like the link for the manual if it is still available. Thanks!

 

what was the culprit?

 

QUESTION ALONG THIS LINE:

I've actually had my pedal go completely 'squishy' on my once while coming down a long hill to a stop. It almost didn't stop me at the stop sign. I am a strong advocate for 'pumping' brakes and not riding them, however it still squished out and BARELY stopped me. It has only happened once altogether but I don't want it to happen again. Could this be possibly due to the rubber lines as well?

 

that sounds like brake fade, overheated pads and rotors by holding them too long, even with pumping you can heat them too much. What I do in a tractor trailer or dump truck is, hold the brakes long enough to drop to safe speed, then allow truck to accelerate again down hill with your foot completely off the brake to let them cool, then repeat. a cycle of about around 5 mph is good. do the same with your taco and you shouldnt have a problem.

 

Okay maybe I should rephrase it. Pumping may not be the term here. What you described is what I do. ( I used to drive trucks as well, and its where I developed the habit. )

 

I've experienced the same thing and actually had it occur on my way to work this AM. I was no more than 2 minutes from my house and came to a stop sign. I push the brake and the truck slowed down a bit but made me wonder if I was going to stop in time.

 

Yeah, wasn't there somewhere (or maybe I heard it offline) that someone put a vacuum canister from a Honda in-line with the stock vacuum system? I was told it fixed the brake surge problem, I'm sure it could only help this case?

 

I know this thread has been dead for a while but I'm interested in the link for the 2WD taco. My brakes on my '04' are a accident waiting to happen. My pedal now goes to the floor and the truck is hard to stop but it does. There's no fluid loss anywhere and it has 80000 miles on it. Just replaced the front pads and rear shoes look ok. In fact the rear looks really good for the miles and the drums came off really easy. I'm thinking that maybe the rear is the problem causing the pedal to go soft on me and to the floor. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

The rear brakes should still be adjusted manually periodically. Defenitely brings back the firm pedal feel. Yes, there is a mechanism that is supposed to auto adjust the rear shoes, but they do not seem to keep up with the wear of the rear shoes. I have been doing this at least every 30K miles.

 

What needamog said. Not sure if this is the case with the 1st Gen, but the rears on the 2nd Gen adjust with the e-brake. People that don't use the e-brake every time they park will find them out of adjustment anyway.

 

I don't know what gen it is but how does the adjustment with the e brake work.

 

A soft pedal after a long downhill with light brake pressure could be a master cylinder bypassing. This condition would require a replacement of the master cylinder. This can be diagnosed without moving by applying light pressure and abserving any pedal drop.
As far as rear brake adjustment. I do not know whether activation of the E brake or backing up and applying brakes activates the self adjust. Does not matter, all this system does is very SLIGHTLY tighten the adjuster. This alone is not enough. They need to be adjusted manually by lifting the wheel being adjusted and manually tightening the adjuster until slight resistance is felt in turning the wheel by hand. This is basic drum brake service and needs to be done periodically.

 

The self-adjuster works while braking firmly in reverse.

 

You guys are driving me nuts! Do they adjust under both conditions? (e-brake or driving in reverse)

Reading up on it, it does seem like newer vehicles use the e-brake. So which is it, or is it both?

Just FYI, this discussion goes back a long way:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/61-2nd-generation-2005/144793-tacoma-rear-brakes.html

EDIT:
Never mind. Found a good explanation on TTORA. E-brake just as I remembered:
http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2167140&postcount=5

 

Went through this a couple of weeks ago. Auto-adjust is linked to the E-brake just as Moose pointed out. Mine didn't seem to adjust either way. Checked Chilton's and spec for parking brake is 8-10 clicks to full actuation. I counted 15 on mine. I figure that my E-brake cable had stretched to the point that under normal use I was never actually activating the self-adjust mechanism. Removed the center console to access the cable adjuster and began taking up some of the slack. After each adjustment I pumped the E-brake pedal several times and then checked the feel of the brake pedal. Eventually it came to the point that the adjuster kicked in and the pedal firmed up and the initial sponginess was gone. Checked the E-brake travel and I was within the range specified in the manual. It's been 2 weeks since I did this and the pedal has remained high and tight. The brakes feel better now than when I first picked up the truck from the dealer back in '07.