no brakes.....crash!Master cyl or servo to blame

tootling along yesterday co ming up to a roundabout the brakes on the the ABS 300tdi auto were applied in good time and,with some resistance but not that much,the pedal went to the floor and bang goes one brand new mazda bumper and my no claims.
No fuid leakage at hubs,no sign of cracked pipes(tho the buggers can be well hidden) and no fluid loss.Plenty of vacuum to the servo.
After a few minutes rest and some pedal pumping,back to having brakes.......

...so people,servo repair kit or master cylinder repair kit (which incidentally Paddocks list as costing more than the new master cyl itself!A typo one hopes at a ton and a quarter)

Was there any damage to your disco?

I read about this in last months Landrover International mag or one of the others... Pipe comes out of servo and into a T piece on the bulkhead just to the right of the diesel filter behind the two heater matrix pipes. Aparently the pipes are prone to spliting where they go onto the T. I think they said you can cut about an inch off each pipe and they will still reach the T piece. The chap who it happened to described exactly the same by applying the brakes in plenty of time and then stuck it into a hedge to stop it. Shortly after the brake pedle became firm again. Apparantly if you are applying brakes gently over a sustained period and theres a small leak it runs out of puff and then after you hit somthing to stop it slowly builds up again. Worth a look?? I put my magazine down and checked them straight away as soon as I read it. Cant imagin 2 ton of Landy being much fun with little or no brakes. Was every on ok? and the Landy?

I had this on my 300 tdi and it kept coming back no matter what I tried until I disconnected the wires to the ABS block on the passenger side of engine bay. I have no ABS but always manage to stop - I reckon thats better meeself than having to use other peoples cars as brakes.

i spotted this fault when i took it off the road, luckily it aint happend to me but i would check the servo pipes

Thanks for everyones advice and concern.........no one was hurt in either car,no damage to disco,mazda cracked bumper.

will try the pipe thing cos the master cyl is £130....and the repair kit is 150!!!I checked with paddocks and Riders main stealer,so....has anyone got a source for a cheaper new master cyl?

Don't waste your money as it will fail again. Disconnect and forget. LR added the abs after and it is a bit of a bad job. I know a Disco breaker and the amount of vehicles he has in from this problem you would be amazed! If it goes again then call 4x4 Unlimited in Caldicot, South Wales and he will have the wreck.

Famousfour charge £89 for a brand new master cylinder here is the link.

Famous Four Products Ltd. - New Parts - '300' Series Discovery (1995-98 Models) - Brakes