2010 Ford Fusion brakes will not bleed.

[tgferg67]

Hi,
I have a 2010 Ford Fusion that had very long travel before brakes engaged. I replace the abs hcu with a junkyard one and the brakes had the same behavior- so I assumed now it was the master cylinder. I replaced the master cylinder(bench bleed) and when I try to bleed the rear brakes nothing comes out. I rechecked the master cylinder bleed - also had my brother try to stop the fluid from coming out during the bench bleed by kinking bleed hoses and the pressure from the master cylinder overcame the kinked hose. Not sure why brake fluid does not come out the rear bleeder. When I open the bleeder up a few inches of fluid is shown in the clear hose but no more will come out - bleeding with bottle method or gravity bleed.

 

[The Critic]

Refer to page 19-20 of the doc:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2019/RCMN-19V904-5799.pdf

Need to use a pressure bleeder and set to 30-50 psi to bleed the system.

Also, was this one not covered by the recall?

 

[tgferg67]

Refer to page 19-20 of the doc:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2019/RCMN-19V904-5799.pdf

Need to use a pressure bleeder and set to 30-50 psi to bleed the system.

Also, was this one not covered by the recall?

I missed the recall date by 4 days. I probably have the same part as the recalled cars. With the junkyard hcu(2011) the brakes exhibited the exact same behavior - I am assuming the hcu would not fail in the exact same manner. I forgot to add after the master cylinder replacement there are no brakes - the pedal just goes to the floor. When I opened up the system by the hcu for replacement and I still had braking.

 

[vwmaniaman]

On some Fords the motor has to be running to bleed. I have two Madras and you need an Ancel 610P. You probably didn't need abs or master cylinder. My Mazda 5 did this when I dropped off at some road construction. I changed the master and same problem. I used the Ancel after pumping up the pedal and then activated the ABS pump with the Ancel and holding the pedal after pumping. The pedal went down a little and then came right up with the pump running. I could not believe I could bleed brakes with a tester but it did just that. No more issues since.

 

[tgferg67]

On some Fords the motor has to be running to bleed. I have two Madras and you need an Ancel 610P. You probably didn't need abs or master cylinder. My Mazda 5 did this when I dropped off at some road construction. I changed the master and same problem. I used the Ancel after pumping up the pedal and then activated the ABS pump with the Ancel and holding the pedal after pumping. The pedal went down a little and then came right up with the pump running. I could not believe I could bleed brakes with a tester but it did just that. No more issues since.

Yes I have seen this fix the problem on a youtube video by a mechanic on a Fusion. My friend has a foxwell scanner that has an abs function. I followed the exact steps from this video - actuating the abs motor unfortunately it did not fix the problem. When I say I can't bleed the brakes - I mean nothing is coming out of the bleeder. There is an inch segment of brake fluid in the line when breaking opening the bleeder - there is no movement of anything in the line when I pump the brake pedal to bleed rear brakes.

 

[Cujet]

You may need to bleed from the caliper up, and through the master cylinder. These Ford systems are known for trapping air, (my Jaguar X-Type is functionally similar) and the only way I've ever been able to get both sides of the master cylinder to work properly is to use a BluePoint oil can with DOT4 in it, and bleed from the bottom up. I've tried all sorts of crazy methods, including following the manual.

Pressure from the caliper up, works well. Make sure to have a way to vacuum out the overflowing brake fluid reservoir

I used a mason jar with two thin hoses on it. One to my shop vac, and the other as suction to pull excess fluid out.

The oil can I use has good fluid capacity and the pump is submersed in the fluid, so it does not introduce air. Harbor freight has low quality oil squirt cans, but I've never used one of their products for bleeding

 

[The Critic]

Yes I have seen this fix the problem on a youtube video by a mechanic on a Fusion. My friend has a foxwell scanner that has an abs function. I followed the exact steps from this video - actuating the abs motor unfortunately it did not fix the problem. When I say I can't bleed the brakes - I mean nothing is coming out of the bleeder. There is an inch segment of brake fluid in the line when breaking opening the bleeder - there is no movement of anything in the line when I pump the brake pedal to bleed rear brakes.

As per the posted instructions, you may need to use a pressure bleeder at the specified psi.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Could the bleeder screw be gummed up ?
How old is the current brake fluid ?
I'd remove the bleeder screw and see if any fluid comes out the caliper. .... (just using the process of elimination)

 

[tgferg67]

I tried to pressure bleed at 30psi and maybe a couple ml's of fluid came out and then nothing after. Bleeder screw is clear.
According to perplexity ai - I need to get a scan tool with abs bleeding options to continue.

"When no fluid comes out of the rear bleeders after replacing the Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) and master cylinder on a 2010 Ford Fusion 2.5L—even with pressure bleeding—it’s almost always due to trapped air or closed valves inside the ABS/HCU assembly itself, not a blockage in the rear lines or bleeders.

Root Cause​

The Fusion’s brake hydraulics route both rear circuits through the ABS/HCU before they reach the rear calipers. When the HCU or master cylinder is replaced, large air pockets form inside the HCU’s complex valve chambers. These cannot be cleared by gravity, vacuum, or pressure bleeding alone because the internal solenoid valves remain closed until they are electronically cycled with a scan tool."

 

[tgferg67]

This problem was resolved, it looks like the whole problem was blocked/swollen brake lines that caused the low pedal and then difficult bleeding. I bet my master cylinder and original hcu that i replaced were fine. I've always driven old cars, I have never seen brake lines go bad like this.

 

[brages]

I dealt with bad brake lines in a 2010 Fusion once myself

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I've dealt with plenty of bad brake hoses here in the Salt Belt of NY. I don't trust them after 10 years, so I replace them. They get brittle and some dry rot, and no fluid comes out of them. Better safe than sorry in my case.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Wow. Not sure I want to mess with an ABS system equipped car when it comes to master cylinder work.

 

[CleanSump]

Alice Cooper says only women bleed.