1988 Classic Brakes

Hey all. Having a problem with the brakes on my 1988 3.5 EFI Vogue.

They weren't the best to begin with but a couple of weeks ago I was parking and went to brake but suddenly the pedal went almost all the way to the floor with no real resistance but at the last inch or two it gave me some braking. Luckily I was parking at home so I wasn't going very fast and didn't hit anything. It was late and already dark so I just left it for the night. Checked the brakes the next day and they were working fine again.

Now, last night I was driving and the brakes suddenly went completely to the floor with no braking at all. Late at night so no one else on the road so I managed to safely pull over and stop. Got out to check and my front driver's brake was very hot, hot enough that I could feel it from a couple of inches away. The rest seemed fairly cool. Left it for about 20 minutes, checked them again and I was getting a bit of braking power this time. Was only a couple of minutes from home so very carefully and very slowly limped it home (using engine braking to help).

Checking them again this morning the pedal goes most of the way to the floor with no resistance but I get some braking at the last inch or so of pedal travel. Brake fluid is now also low when before it was fine.


So, my question is, from that what do people think is the most likely cause?

I had assumed that the resistance free travel and low fluid would mean that some of the pistons in the calipers are sticking out, but I'm not an expert so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong.

If it is the calipers, would it be fixable by replacing the pistons and seals or just replace the whole caliper (and obviously the other one on the axle)?

Caliper seized heating up the fluid, maybe boiling it. Fix the calipers, replace the fluid and see what you have then.
Replacement calipers are cheap for the P38, not sure on the Classic.

Thanks. Is it straight forward to fix the calipers or is it bad?

I've been looking for new calipers and so far I've found they vary from around £45ish to £120+ but repair kits with the pistons and seals are £16 per caliper (for the fronts).

Expletive said:

Thanks. Is it straight forward to fix the calipers or is it bad?

I've been looking for new calipers and so far I've found they vary from around £45ish to £120+ but repair kits with the pistons and seals are £16 per caliper (for the fronts).

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depends on state of caliper in they look good fit new seal/piston kit if very corroded fit new calipers ,ive fitted quite a few cheap ones ,they seem to work ok but id think they wont last as long as originals

Fair enough, I'll have to have a look at them tomorrow, wouldn't be surprised if the whole thing needed replacing.

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll let you know how they look tomorrow.

pinch the ones off the 3.9 if they're any good and swap the discs.

To be honest I'd trust those calipers less than these, the 3.9 has been standing still for a couple of years now. And when it did last move the brakes weren't working (but that was a knackered ABS pump).

Side note: Anyone know any shops that are open on a sunday and sell brake fluid?

cost you nowt to have a look, they might be ok.

Won't cost anything but would take more time. At the moment it's being stored at the back of a workshop's yard, surrounded by other cars and such, so would be a pain just to get to it.

Just a thought. You may have the parts to hand is all I was thinking.

Yeah, was a good idea, I hadn't thought of it.

Well, got soaking wet in the small storm today, but got to poke around with my driver's brake caliper.

After some poking found that 3 of the pistons could be pushed back into the caliper without much fuss but the last piston was fairly solid. After topping up the brake fluid and bleeding (both valves) a bit I found that when the brakes are applied only 2 of the pistons were coming out of the caliper (the two outer pistons). Pedal feels much better now though.

Thinking I'll try replacing the pistons and seals, not sure though. With that one piston seized am I likely to be able to get it out? Also not sure if I should also replace the discs when I have the calipers off.

if you remove pad and chock the other 3 pistons so they cant move pedal should push the seized one out

Ah cool. Thanks. I'll probably be ordering the bits tonight.

Sorry mate but if you don't have the mechanical knowledge to remove a piston from a calliper then it sounds like a recipe for disaster. My advice would be to replace the calliper, discs (if you think they are shot) and pads Don't mess about with brakes if you don't know what you are doing

replace calipers..they cheap..no other option in my humble oppion..(is your/others life worth £45??)..i dont repair calipers, makes economic sense too since so cheap..

also check wheel bearing on offending corner..case its not just caliper but wheel wobble causing brakes to bind/rub..

Ok, very late update. Sorry for not replying sooner but I haven't been online since then, various life problems delaying work. ><

Decided to replace the seals and pistons for the front brakes as the cheapest calipers I could find would've cost £80ish whereas pistons and seals cost £35ish.

Well, managed to coax out the pistons with an air compressor, only real problems were getting the new retaining clip in without mauling them. Got it all sorted though eventually and the brakes are now MUCH better. Thanks for input everyone.

NEWSFLASH, Major accident on the M4 after Range Rover fails to stop for standing traffic.