Poor braking 1990 Disco:

Sorry i posted this in the wrong place first time around:

Hi everyone from a newcomer to the site.

I have recently aquired a 1990 disco1 and am currently getting it back to as it should be.One of my biggest bugbears thus far is the braking system which is very very poor at low revs but fine when at higher rev's.I have replaced the front brake pads as a matter of course {they were badly worn} and released the previously near solid pistons on the front calipers as they were quite far extended and had a little corrosion.That done i had hoped for better performance from the braking system.It was not to be..... so thinking logically i moved onto the vacuum pump.I have inspected the rotor blades within the pump and to be honest i can see very little difference between the "old" ones and the replacement set i pre-emptively bought.I did however change the "o" ring as it was well flat. I have also gone around the hoses with warm soapy water to rule out any leakage.Should i now assume that the servo is the culprit.

I would really grateful for any pointers guys and gals.One is about to reach the end of ones rope.

Thx in anticipation and keep up the good work Ö¿Ö

A couple of easy checks to test if the servo is working.

1 With the engine turned off, pump the footbrake 4 or 5 times, then hold your foot on the pedal and start the engine, if the pedal travels a short distance the servo is working.

2 Disconnect the pipe from the vacuum pump where it goes into the servo, start the engine and put your finger on the end of the hose, and check for suction.

No 1 will check if the pump and the servo are working and No 2 will check the pump itself.

Roye

Thanks very much for the advice and sorry for the delay getting back. I tried both the tips u gave me and it seems that the vacuum pump is sucking ok and as far as the tip on the servo is concerned it seems as though that is also working,however i still have the same initial problem in that the effort of the brakes is very poor at low revs.This is going to get me in trouble one day and i am keen to resolve the issue.Is it feasible that the servo maybe has a minute hole in the diaphragm which is causing this problem?? As i understand it i cannot repair or replace the diaphragm.

Thanks again in advance Ö¿Ö

It is very possible that there could be a small hole in the diaphragm, and of course that would mean a replacement, as a servo is unserviceable.

Another test you could try, is to run the engine for a short time, turn it off and let the vehicle sit for about 5 min. Try then removing the hose from the servo and see if there is any vacuum left in the servo ( you will hear the hiss) . The reason for it holding vacuum, is that the pipe has a non return valve fitted.

If there is vacuum there, then the diaphragm is ok, if not then the diaphragm probably has a pinhole in it

Roye

Hi Roye.Well i tried what you suggested and i can find no vacuum whatsoever!! I guess this means the servo is kaput and as you said i will have to bite the bullet and go get a new one.Just out of curiosity do you happen to know of a reliable supplier on mail order.I dont fany paying nearly £300 to the landrover dealer.



Thanks again. Ö¿Ö

Why not try a breakers or ebay.

If you have no luck there, get hold of any Landrover magazine and you will find suppliers adverts such as Craddock that may be able to supply one.

Roye