Dodgy hand and foot brakes....

Hi All,

New to the forum and just picked up my first S3 SWB diesel yesterday. Been driving LRs for years but never owned or maintained one, so here goes!

On drive home two issues came up which need urgent attention:

1. The brake pedal needs to be pumped 3-4 times before decent pressure is gained, then stops well. Previous owner claimed the brakes were bled in the morning, and there was no loss of fluid in the master cylinder over the rather scary 80 mile journey home (car is MoT'd!!). Master cylinder knackered?
2. There is nothing in the handrake at all. Button will not depress and no ratchet or bite. Made hill starts interesting....

Have yet to get the time to buy a Haynes manual, so any help much appreciated! Just before anyone leaps on me for buying such a heap, it was very cheap and has come straight off the road until this is fixed!

Thanks,
Martin

you can get new rachette plate for hand brake sometimes pushing to one side helps ,with foot brake ,all shoes need to be adjusted properly otherwise excess shoe movement will give excess pedal movement enough to give you your symptoms ,often adjusters are seized worn out but new kits can be bought without good adjusters you will never get good brakes,obviously on an old vehicle it is worth checking pipes flexis wheel clyinders and master ,look for splashing in reservoir when pedal pressed ,or leak you may need to pull it bak from servo if fitted

Thanks for that. The hand brake does nothing at all- does this mean a shot linkage somewhere?

look under seat box where it bolts to chassis there is a rachette quadrant alsolook there for pawl sticking

check that the springs that hold the brake shoes in position are correctly fitted as if not they may be pulling the cylinder pistons all the way back, which means every time you want to brake you will have to pump the pedal a couple of times( even if the adjusters are set correctly).

Thanks, guys. Will have a look later as stuck at work.

Handbrake was so stuffed with mud that mechanism was jammed. Serious jet-wash followed by adjustment has sorted the issue. Now for the same with the wheels!

Don't bother with Haynes - get the real thing!
pdf Land Rover Manuals | Landroverweb.com

Yea get a proper manual,dont bother with the hanes book of lies.