Caught a raised kerb making a left turn in Beaumaris and had to gas it to get round . Made a funny scraping noise but got to car park and couldn't see anything obvious. On journey back to camp site. noticed brake pedal getting spongy and long travel on handbrake . On site, fluid level well down and clear signs of rear cylinder leaking. All cylinders, shoes and flexibles changed at start of the season. How could catching kerb have caused this !
Sure it wasn't the kerb smacking a brake pipe ?? First thing to do is Jack up the van and have a look . OR .. If it's losing fluid you'll see the evidence when it's parked up . Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
It's definitely the brake cylinder and the shoes will be contaminated. Sods law standard jack won't lift high enough, even with a breeze block ! Something else to rethink on my return. Not sure, probably JK.....however if the handbrake cable had snagged and pulled the shoe too much, then the cylinder may have popped.
I guess you caught and snapped the handbrake cable, bending something inside the rear brake drum like a brake shoe as you pulled the handbrake lever extremely hard with the kerb, so that the brake cylinder piston could pop out, or be twisted sideways so it leaks.. It would be interesting to see a picture of what happened in the rear drum. Sounds more like off roading on a rocky road than a kerb... At a guess.. handbrake cable, handbrake lever, spacer bar , brake shoes and slave cylinder all need doing, although if you were in the middle of nowhere with a big enough hammer and some tools you could probably get it driving and stopping again, even if it needs a rock or a bit of wood to stop it rolling away
This is what I found when I removed the wheel and drum. To all of you with OCD I can only apologise for the mess! Comments as to what's happened/caused linings to detach welcome. Sent from my SM-J330FN using Tapatalk
I would say that one part of the cylinder has seized which has moved the other one out too far and them leaked fluid, fluid has contaminated the linings and the glue holding them on has dissolved and they have them fallen off. new shoes and new cylinder and you'll be fine.
Had no symptoms of a fluid leak, and was still under bus trying to get them as good as possible as late as this May. Whilst not in the same league as @paradox , I keep things clean/ painted so I can spot issues more easily. I'm going to change shoes on both sides in case it was a bad ( worse ) batch along with a new cylinder, but that was only a couple of years old.
Did you change the shoes when you changed the cylinder ? Also check the horseshoe clip is still on the handbrake lever as something might have started it all off by falling off, or a stone going in.. which caused the worn shoes to start breaking up letting the piston pop out one side. Or something pushed the shoes across suddenly - stub axle flexing whie you braked as you were hitting the kerb, letting it pop the piston and start the destruction of the shoes. Check the wheel bearing for wobble too.
My guess is the linings were worn (look how far the adjusters are out) and one side became detached, rotated and jammed against the other forcing the piston out of the cylinder. I doubt if the piston is damaged and if the seal is serviceable the cylinder could be rebuilt and reused - but they’re cheap to replace.
Maybe it was the other way then, lining detached which meant that the cylinder travelled too far causing the cylinder to leak. Either way you've had a leak
New shoes fitted back end of last year along with flexibles cylinders and all fittings like horseshoes etc. Detached linings are just about the same thick as new replacement ones. Did take forever to adjust brakes, just presumed there was less "meat" on replacement shoes ( well they are from J K ,! )
