ive never been happy with my brakes , last year I gave them a full overhaul , new callipers and pads and rear shoes, it’s had a new master cylinder and some new pipes, new fluid and adjusted correctly . But the brakes are still rubbish , it doesn’t have a servo so I expect to put more effort into braking but I think they should be better . The pedal has never felt solid , it’s always been spongy - I’m thinking maybe braided hoses will help - any thoughts on the hoses or other tips ?
I’ve considered it and would do but I have had it said that even a non servo should stop efficiently but with more effort required ( I’ve 19 stone to put on the brake pedal)
Stick a new set of shoes on with new drums so they bed in together ...made one hell of a difference with mine . They might not get the contact new shoes on to old drums as the old shoes would have worn the drums in a certain way . Well you have done everything else .
How many miles have you done since overhaul ? Assume you’ve readjusted and rebled ? Could just need to bedding in ?
I haven’t re- adjusted Barn, I’m going to do that next along with a bleed session as a starting point - had to put them to the test yesterday on the way home from DubFreeze - I wasn’t impressed - if I had to do an emergency stop - I don’t think I could .. quite worrying , I normally drive cautiously and with anticipation whilst in the camper and slow down though the gears and manage just fine - but I don’t have the confidence they’ll do what they should in an emergency situation, never been an issue at MOT time though
Might do um good to have a couple of slams or ride um a bit . It is good to keep your distance n use gears anyway . I found mine worked fine when and if needed but they defo need ta be readjusted and bedded in etc , especially after renewing . Prob be ok once redone and jumped on a few times , errrm don’t do this with new Ferrari in front of ya thou good luck
Have you changed the brake fluid, when I did mine the fluid was rather brown, I understand it is hygroscopic and should be changed every couple of years Just reread and you have done the fluid, what state are the flexis?
As said, my mgb has no brake servo and the brakes are excellent just using pedal pressure. You did a partial overhaul but I assume the flexis were not replaced and the rear wheel cylinders also not replaced. So you don't need a servo which is an expensive item, you could spend the money instead on new drums, flexis and wheel cylinders.
Brake pad and shoe linning choice can have a noticeable affect some are harder than others, JP seem to be particulary bad, I always fit ATE or TRW pad/shoes
Mine is non servo and stopped fine until I changed the master cylinder, and flushed the system through. It's taken quite a few bleeds to get it back to normal, though I'm fitting Goodrich hoses at some point.
Your say it’s still spongy then it’s probably air in the system or the master cylinder or possibly the rubber hoses And make sure the rears are adjusted properly
Next time you are under the van, have a butcher's at the master cylinder, behind the rubber boot that the pushrod goes through. I have had two brand new ones leak in the space of 6 months...
Sponginess can be down to not slackening off the handbrake cables when doing the rear brake adjustment. You end up over slackening the adjusters to compensate for the handbrake being slightly on, the shoes only touch at the top and not really with any pressure at the bottom, and then you have to provide more pressure with the pedal when you hit the brake.
Thanks for all the replies folks - I think I’ll replace the flexis , flush the fluid through and readjust and go from there , sounds like they should be better than they are currently though