Brakes don't work!

Just got myself a '93 V8i, nice landy but I encountered a little niggle (as you do) on the way home- complete failure of the braking system

At first the pedal went wooden for a bit then a little later it dropped all the way to the floor with only a tiny morsel of braking power right at the bottom. Pedal wouldn't spring back so I had to pull it back up with my toes.

Fluid is still full (but very old looking)

Am I right in thinking this is probs the master cyl/servo?

Poss a fluid leak calipers or master cylinder also there is a spring to return the brake pedal yours may be broken. Not a good buy if the brakes fail on the way home.

i have a 91 here that the brakes are average on.

they seem to work ok, but only after the pedal has gone halfway down. my project '91 disco has great brakes though, but i have changed the fluid recently, so im going to try to revive the sitch with a fluid change/bleed.

check for leaks and make sure theyre bled properly!

Yes.....or the piston within the servo assembly

Had a similar problem meself, drove 10 miles down dual carriageway, went to slow down for roundabout, pedal hit the floor !, not good in my auto, brown trouser moment for sure, anyway turns out r/h front caliper had 2 pistons siezed on, boiling brake fluid. new caliper & change of fliud now all ok.just glad i didnt have the 'van on the back at the time, and the sliproad off the roundabout was empty!

Did it start pulling to the right with the caliper seized?

I was approaching one of those 50 zones on the M1 when I started looking for an anchor to chuck out the window or a parachute... I might have been plodding along for 20 miles with no brakes! Could have happened in a much worse place, i take it all back, speed cameras save lives!

new parts on this one.

3.5disco said:

Did it start pulling to the right with the caliper seized?

I was approaching one of those 50 zones on the M1 when I started looking for an anchor to chuck out the window or a parachute... I might have been plodding along for 20 miles with no brakes! Could have happened in a much worse place, i take it all back, speed cameras save lives!

new parts on this one.

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No mine was pulling to the left a little under braking for a while before the faliure, as the left brake was working better than the right, pop the pads out & see if any pistons are siezed, new caliper was only £60, so not too expensive to do.
Did you use the speed camera as a brake ?

Just took the disco for a spin up n down the alley and bizarrely they seem to work ok now!

Gonna get a mechanic to have a look, hopefully just need cleaning out, new fluid n discs/pads... maybe a caliper

could the fluid have boiled after the 100mile drive? It looks really really old

3.5disco said:

Just took the disco for a spin up n down the alley and bizarrely they seem to work ok now!

Gonna get a mechanic to have a look, hopefully just need cleaning out, new fluid n discs/pads... maybe a caliper

could the fluid have boiled after the 100mile drive? It looks really really old

Click to expand...

Mine was ok cold, but as you drive the sticking pistons /pads got very hot, boiling the brake fluid leading to no brakes. get your mechanic to pop out the pads & check piston movement.for the price of dot 4 fluid change it !!

Changing the fluid always makes things nicer!

Overhaul the brake system and you'll find something no doubt. Easy to get them up to scratch, and they work very well when on top form.

Pulls up good for a big truck

Oh, and braided lines are amazing, very highly recommended on any car, but especially the 200 with twin front lines (LOTS of stretch)

Cheers