7 replies to this topic

[monkey]

Couple of questions, firstly, the next thing for me to to look at on my mini are the brakes, is there anything that i need to change as a matter of course, and is there much i can do (on the cheapish ) to try and make them a bit better?

Secondly, when i had it running the other day, i noticed water is coming out of the pipe that goes into the heater near the drivers foot, im guessing the pipe needs tightening up, but the water coming out was a very cruddy brown color, how easy is it to get the heater/radiator out to clean them?

Cheers for any help

[pikey7]

an age old question for you...... disks or drums?

[monkey]

lol, sorry, i mean to put that in the original post, discs at fornt, drums at the rear, thats all i know (its a '87 advantage?! if that helps!)

Another quiqck quesiton , rather than start another thread, gonna buy some axle stands tomorrow, anything in particular to look for, or jus the cheapest ones i can find?

[pikey7]

generally, make sure the calipers are clean, make sure there's no obvious sign of rust on the outside of the pistons, and ensure that where the pads sit are smooth and free of grit and rust. Check the condition of the flexible hoses and replace where necessary, and ensure you have no leaks on the hard pipes or joints. If you're unsure of the condition of the brake fluid, or you havent changed it in a year, bleed the complete system (brake fluid is hydroscopic - it attracts water, and water in the brake system is not good!)
Ensure too that the brake discs are thick enough (the spec on minimum thickness is in the haynes manual). For the rears, check the hydraulic lines in the same way. take off the drums, and ensure that there's adequate life left in the shoes, and that the cylinder isn't leaking. make sure that the drums aren't worn past their maximum diameter ( again, spec is in the haynes). check the backplate where the shoe rests on it (at 3 and 9 o'clock) and make sure there's no rust, and maybe a spot of copper grease.

Then there's the master cylinder. Bascially, if it isn't leaking, then it *should* be OK! (simplest check yet! )

And you thought i'd missed out pads!? Nope. You also asked about making the brakes better. The simple way is to replace the pads with some "better" ones. A lot of people will have a lot of opinions on this, but my preference is Pagids. I have no first hand experience of these on a Mini (mine hasn't turned a wheel yet!) but they are fantastic on my Porsche. Quite a few on here will reccomend EBC greens. when you put the pads in, use a new clip set, and put a light smear of copper grease on the pads where it contacts the piston the top and bottom of the pad where it slides in the caliper, and where the clip contacts the back of the pad. NEVER on the face of the pad (pretty obvious, but you never know!)

Axle stands: well the mini weighs ca 1700lbs, so anything that'll cope with that really!

Coolant: A haynes manual explains the bleeding process. Basically empty the water in the car by taking off the bottom rad hose and draining it (into a bucket and recycle it of course ). reconnect it, and fill the system with a proper coolant/water mix. Switch on the heater, open the heater valve (put the heater on hot!) and run the car so that it warms up. The water level will drop as the car takes water into the areas it's just run out of, and will drop a bit more when the thermostat opens. just keep it topped up as it runs. doing that 2 or 3 times in the next few months will flush the rust out of the system adequately. If you use a coolant, it'll also prevent it from coming back.

[monkey]

WOW lots of info and all my questions answered!! Cheers for all the info, fantsatic!! Got the nxt two days off so gonna start to attack it all

Thanks again

[monkey]

hmmmmm, right so i have got a load of the C**p out of the cooling system, and i think i have solved my leaky hose situation (tighted the jubilee clip up ) next was the brakes, i gave them a go on wednesday, the adjuster nut just wouldnt budge, so i sprayed loads of wd40 on, still no joy, sprayed a load more wd on, and left it till this morning, still no joy! The damn thing wont budge an inch, so much so, belive it or not, i bent my spanner!! (was a pretty cheapo spanner, got a brake adjuster spanner on the way through the post) so... any ideas how to get it to budge?! Cheers

[pikey7]

WD40 sucks! Plus gas is the stuff you want. spray it on, Leave it overnight (but you never know, WD40 might actually work on something by tomorrow.... )

Other than that, a big pair of mole grips on the adjuster and a new one in the post! Put some anti-sieze (copper grease basically, but not quite!) on it before you reassemble

[monkey]

lol will get sum plus gas then need new back plates anyway (there are big holes in both mine, dnt think it iwll pass the dreaded MOT!!!) so im not bothered bout messing it up, will hatta wait till sunday now, working saturday n tomro cheers for advice again!