Brakes Locking up

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Griffdowg

Griffdowg

New Member
Posts
7,194
Location
Somewhere in Bristol
Evening guys,

Took my 2a lightweight for a spin tonight to see if it actually all works prior to its MOT, pleased to report that it drives straight and true and the brakes a sharp... to sharp! :eek:

If I proper slam on, emergency stop style the rears lock up. Not having driven a series before, is this normal? :rolleyes: I would have thought not, but you never know! If its not, how do I go about adjusting it? is there something to adjust the front/rear bias? couldnt find anything searching. Its on standard drums all around on standard suspension with no load. brakes have had new flexi's and master cylinder, all adjusted correctly (I think) and bled. pedal feels a little spongy but otherwise fine.

hopeing to get it in the week after next for the MOT. Fingers crossed.

Cheers,

G
 
locking the rears in an emergency stop situation is normal, especially with no weight in the back. the suspension is pretty stiff and all the weight gets transferred to the front under heavy braking, so the rears lock very easily.
so long as it pulls up straight, it's fine.
if the pedal is still spongy, you may have a bit of air in there still.
 
have you got quite a long travel on the peddle before you feel the brakes working ? .
My old 2a used to do this a lot , adjusting the brakes up to get a fine balance between them dragging and free wheeling was the only way to overcome it because the leading shoe grabs on as there is too much gap ( less gap = less of a grab when the shoe touches the drum :) .

worth a try with yours as brake grab is an MOT failure....
 
ai, I pressure bled them Tre but its the best i could get em. not bothered by the slight sponge. pedal travel is normal, was just worried about the lock up. Will try it for the MOT. thanks fella's :)

G
 
Has it you got the correct hydraulic wheel cylinders on the back axle? There are a few Landies around with LWB rear (SWB front) cylinders on the back axle. They have a larger diameter than standard so will give an equal front rear brake bias - not ideal.
 
I think someone put LWB set-up all around on mine (on account of the V8?) not sure on this though. should have gotten the tape measure out really. doh!

No problem though, booked in for monday now :) sorted the front headlights out, was a funny connection. sourced a raised 9 digit for the rear number plate, cant spot anything else now apart from leaky gearbox. will change the inspection plate gasket over the weekend and drop the axle fluids to. will prob drain swivels while im at it and then I know everything has been done.

Apart from stuff I have not looked at the only thing i think it may fail on is swivel gaitors. they look cack, but i think their in 1 piece. will pull the cracked gaitors off the props to. thats about it. cant see any welding needed but they may pick up on something.

fingers crossed. lanes next weekend if it goes through :D

G
 
cracked swivel Gators wont fail if there split and look crap . but if the swivel seals are leaking badly then it will fail . as for the prop gators it doesnt matter with them either as long as the prop ujs are good and its not gonna fall off then its fine :D .

the only reason swivel seals fail the MOT is that VOSA think that oil leaking so close to the brake disk will get on the disc and impair braking .
 
Griffdowg said:
Thanks for that Sypher, eases my mind a lot. still being pesamistic, but then i wont be disapointed! unless the MOT man suggests a chassis swap :O

G
Click to expand...

No probs mate :) , the joys of being an pt MOT tester myself helps :) .

But give your old girl a fighting chance before u go to test , you wont beleave the amount of people that just take there car/van etc to test without even looking at it and it fails on stupid things that could of been done befor the test .

Do the obviouse things like
check all your lights and not forgetting the fog light warning light all work .

top your washers up and make sure they work and your wipers clear the screen without them smearing etc .

Seatbelts , make sure they not frayed or holed ( shut in the door is a classic ) and the mounts are solid and work like they should .

ball joints , swivel pins have no play ( + leaking badly ) ( you are alowed a small amount ) , wheel bearings must not rumble when spun and excessive play is a no-no .

chassis wise is make sure theres no holes where there shouldnt be and spring mounts/bushes are good .

one other thing is warm your brakes up a bit to reduce your grab ( left foot braking on a clear road ) but not so muchaas there smoke pooring out of them when you pull up at the station lol .
 
Re Pony brakes.
I don't want to teach anyone to suck the old eggs so please forgive me if I am stating the obvious.
If your brakes are difficault to adjust check the anchor boss on the bottom of the back plate ( where the two shose sit on). If its moving, you'll be adjusting for ever. I had that problem so blobbed some weld on the back to fix them and since then brakes are tip top. ( for a 2A that is.)
 
Thanks stacked it. Having had a chat with my indi this morning I think I have a LWB MC on standard brakes. This pushes more fluid around than it should giving jabby/jumpy brakes... Like Fenby said.

so do I get LWB set-up up front? or change the MC back to a SWB?

hmmmmm... to late now anyway, MOT monday, lets see what they think.

G
 
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