10 replies to this topic

[waynie]

If the brakes pump and go rock hard is that a good or bad thing? does it mean there is air in them or not? or is that what is supposed to happen?

Cheers

[The Matt]

On yours (non-servo assisted) it either means that they are out of adjustment, or they have a bit of air in them really.

[Big_Adam]

It is a pain getting the feel right. Needs adjustment probably.

[dklawson]

If you pump the pedal and the brakes work but feel "spongy" there is air in the system and you need to bleed it.

If you pump the pedal and the pedal slowly drifts to the floor, this generally indicates failed master cylinder seals.

If you pump the pedal and on the second pump the pedal is "higher" and firm, this generally indicates the drum brakes are out of adjustment.
(by the way, when you adjust the drums, you want to be able to spin a wheel, hear some minor rubbing, and see the wheel stop in a little over a single revolution. If the wheel keeps spinning and spinning, the adjustment is too loose. )

[waynie]

Cheers all.

Ill get dad to help me re-adjust them, so the drum should spin one full spin and then stop? and then thats abotu adjusted correctly? we keep bleeding and bleeding but it doesnt seem to make any difference any more. Whats the rule on MOT? is it aloud any travel in the pedal at all? they work and will stop very fast if you emergancy stop, but theres still like 2" of travel before the brakes come on :S

Edited by waynie, 01 July 2007 - 09:43 AM.

[Dan]

The MOT brake regulations are a bit vague. Ultimately they have to be balanced and stop the car effectively, there is no specific measurement of braking force or pedal effort. Everything else is at the tester's discresion. If he decides that the excessive pedal travel is interfering with efficient brake function then he can fail it.

When adjusting, wind the adjuster in until the wheel is locked solid (with the handbrake fully off) and then slowly back it off until the wheel turns. As above it should not spin freely, the shoes should be heard dragging on it lightly while it turns and bring it to a stop in one to two turns. Only once both sides are adjusted properly should the handbrake be adjusted by turning the cable adjuster (behind the handbrake lever itself) until it locks on at three to five clicks of the ratchet. If the guides, quadrants and balance bar aren't well greased then it won't pull evenly. If the handbrake system is out of whack it can make the drum adjustment go out after you've applied and released it once because it can hang up on one side or the other.

[Jordie]

Are the shoes fitted properly? Theres a diagram on minifinity which shows the shoes have a leading edge which is fitted in a certain way. Then adjust up like above.

[dklawson]

Thanks for posting that Jordie. Do check the Minifinity site and compare your car's shoe positions against the photos there. I have two acquaintances who couldn't get their brakes to feel right until they checked and corrected their drum components to match the picture at Minifinity. Apparently the cars' previous owners had put the shoes on in the wrong position and their pedals remained squishy no mater how many times they bled the brakes.

[waynie]

well the breaks work fine now but there still seems to be travel, do you think there on the wrong way? Think this will still fail the mot even though the brakes do work?

Thanks for the helpful tips though

Any chance you could link me to that drawing please?

Edited by waynie, 01 July 2007 - 07:26 PM.

[dklawson]

If there is a lot of pedal travel but the pedal is firm, adjust your drum brakes again. Remember that you want to turn the adjusting screw until the wheel locks up, then loosen just enough for the wheel to have audible drag. When the elevated free wheel is spun by hand it should only be able to rotate 1 or 2 turns before stopping. If the wheel cruises without stopping, it's too loose and you'll have excessive pedal travel.

[waynie]

Well we tightened them up to what you said earlier :s just enough to hear the shoes dragging? they are ferm but not untill youve pressed like 2". Genuinly dont no what else to do :S they work and im more than happy that they work, i did an emergancy stop at 40mph and stopped as fast as my new car does! so i think there working, the onl thign that bothers me is the amoutn of travel, it may not be as bad as i think it is but i was going to take it back in for the MOT tommorrow just dont want it to fail again