brake problems -_-

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PopaDom

PopaDom

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78
Location
oxfordshire
Afternoon Guys and Girls

I got a problem. The brakes on my landy are a bit spongy, I have bled the system and that seemed to help. but thing are still not as tight as I would have liked. I have done a bit of digging and think I need to replace my master cylinder and maybe the rubber hoses.

Do I need to replace the brake servo as well or just the master cylinder? and if I am going to replace the hoses should I go braided steel? will it make that much of a difference? also is there anything that I have missed that is worth checking/ replacing?

Ta.
 
PopaDom said:
Afternoon Guys and Girls

I got a problem. The brakes on my landy are a bit spongy, I have bled the system and that seemed to help. but thing are still not as tight as I would have liked. I have done a bit of digging and think I need to replace my master cylinder and maybe the rubber hoses.

Do I need to replace the brake servo as well or just the master cylinder? and if I am going to replace the hoses should I go braided steel? will it make that much of a difference? also is there anything that I have missed that is worth checking/ replacing?

Ta.
Click to expand...
Probably just air in the system, might be worth a search, been covered a hundred times before! ;)
 
Before you start throwing parts at it replace the brake fluid. It's amazing what new fluid can do for a system. Seccondly, adjust your brakes if you have drums in the back - that can help as well. How worn are your pads and rotors?

Diagnose the problem before you start heaving parts at it. That gets pricy and frustrating.
 
thanks for the quick responses.

I did do a quick search, but in a rush so admittedly didn't give the time i should have done.
I have bled the brakes and replaced the fluid. All round disks, the pads and disks should be fine, had her MOT'd just over a month ago and had no advisories on them...
I was really hoping to avoid new parts as well but landy is 1997 and ex military so I figured some stuff might just need replacing at some point.
 
PopaDom said:
thanks for the quick responses.

I did do a quick search, but in a rush so admittedly didn't give the time i should have done.
I have bled the brakes and replaced the fluid. All round disks, the pads and disks should be fine, had her MOT'd just over a month ago and had no advisories on them...
I was really hoping to avoid new parts as well but landy is 1997 and ex military so I figured some stuff might just need replacing at some point.
Click to expand...
Brakes are notoriously difficult to bleed properly.
 
PopaDom said:
I used this to do it,
Amazon product
and just pushed the new fluid through the system, bleeding each wheel in RL, RR, FR, FL order, as per Haynes manual.

i will give it another go, but i am sure i have done it right.
thanks for the help :)
Click to expand...

Most don't get good results with those. I use a vaccum extractor on the nipples while pouring from the top as required. Gravity fill, followed by a few pumps as normal works well too.
 
OK, that being said I'd clamp off the flexies one at a time to see what's getting lost where. This way you can isolate the potential fault to a corner/end before continuing the repair diagnosis.

As far as your questions, the booster should not need replacing if iit's working at all - and it seems to be. Way to test is foot on brake and start truck - if foot drops booster is working. Flexes - I'd just get good quality rubber ones unless you like the look of the braided ones and/oor plan on driving through thorn bush fields. :)
 
okay so just tested the booster as you suggested with foot on brake, foot didn't move. so looks like that could be the problem... can that effect be caused by anything else? do I need to replace the whole thing or can I repair it?
 
mrchurchill109 said:
OK, that being said I'd clamp off the flexies one at a time to see what's getting lost where. This way you can isolate the potential fault to a corner/end before continuing the repair diagnosis.

As far as your questions, the booster should not need replacing if iit's working at all - and it seems to be. Way to test is foot on brake and start truck - if foot drops booster is working. Flexes - I'd just get good quality rubber ones unless you like the look of the braided ones and/oor plan on driving through thorn bush fields. :)
Click to expand...
+1 for the above. Carefull clamping the hoses though if you use something like molegrips, use the proper hose clamping tool or put something non damaging between the jaws of the grips. Your not looking to squash the life out of them, moderate pressure will stop the fluid flowing. If the pedal goes nice and hard, the problem lies with that wheel or in the case of the back brakes, it could be either or both cos there is only one flexi feeding both.
 
PopaDom said:
okay so just tested the booster as you suggested with foot on brake, foot didn't move. so looks like that could be the problem... can that effect be caused by anything else? do I need to replace the whole thing or can I repair it?
Click to expand...

OK - try that again but pump the brake pedal a dozen times or so to exhaust any vacuum it might have. Might just be you have a good tight set of seals in the vacuum.

Also, check the vacuum line between the manifold/pump (what the hell's this got for an engine?) to make sure it's not collapsed. Check the cheap and simple stuff before replacing stuff. :

No, i am not cheap - I just hate replacing perfectly serviceable parts. :)
 
okay, did the check again this time pumping and same thing happened. no drop.

but I also clamped the hoses and with the rear disks isolated the peddle got harder. re bled the rear callipers and that seems to have made peddle harder . just concerned about the brake booster now.

vacuum lines are all good. engine is 300tdi, sorry should have mentioned that that :D

and no, I don't think you are cheap, I am with you on not spending for no reason. :)
 
PopaDom said:
okay, did the check again this time pumping and same thing happened. no drop.

but I also clamped the hoses and with the rear disks isolated the peddle got harder. re bled the rear callipers and that seems to have made peddle harder . just concerned about the brake booster now.

vacuum lines are all good. engine is 300tdi, sorry should have mentioned that that :D

and no, I don't think you are cheap, I am with you on not spending for no reason. :)
Click to expand...
Servo not working doesn't cause sponginess. If you have changed all the shoes and pads it will take a while for them to settle in.
 
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