Brakes question

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by Sentry1, Aug 2, 2019.

  1. Quick brakes question. I had my van serviced at a camper and vintage garage quite a few months ago which included a brakes service. On driving home, the brakes seemed safe and solid with very little travel of the pedal.

    I’ve driven it twice since then. First time seemed fine but the second time the brakes were practically non-existent. There was just a little bit of slowing when the pedal was pushed flat. I only just managed to safely get it to the kerbside. Thank goodness nothing bad happened.

    The reservoir is full still. So what could have caused this? What should be looked at first in order to fix? I need to get it roadworthy enough to get to a better mechanic.

    Any thoughts gratefully received.

    (I shouldn’t be too surprised - every other job I asked this place to do was a disaster and they also managed to drop the slider on the floor and ding the bumper).



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  2. Faust

    Faust Supporter

    Could be a burst brake pipe.....keep pumping the brakes and see if the fluid goes on the floor or goes down .
    I know you said fluid is full, but it could be on it's way down ...possible master cylinder seal gone causing bypass of fluid .
     
    Sentry1 likes this.
  3. Thanks Faust. Lightning fast. I pumped the cra* out of it during “the incident” itself to no avail. Will try again when I can get back in.


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  4. One binding somewhere. Builds up heat.
    Boils the brake fluid and gives symptoms you describe.
    When it cools this goes away.
     
  5. Dubs

    Dubs Sponsor supporter extraordinaire

    Could be either of the above really. Get in it again and see if the pedal has returned. If it has, likely an over adjusted brake has got hot and boiled the fluid. If it still goes to the floor, then it’s likely a master cylinder seal gone, or a massive leak somewhere. Pull the boot of the master cylinder and see if it’s wet in there.

    There used to be a map on here somewhere with trusted vw mechanics listed, don’t know if it’s still here?
     
  6. 77 Westy

    77 Westy Supporter

    It could be the master cylinder is leaking internally and not pumping fluid. No fluid loss and no obvious leaks but no brakes. Did the garage fit a new master cylinder when they carried out the brake service?
     
    Dubs and mgbman like this.
  7. Vintage garage? Brakes service? Quite a few months ago? Driven it twice since then? So what was the brakes service exactly?
     
  8. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    If you still have all the brake fluid then the sort of things you can check.

    If it goes down smoothly to the floor and doesnt build any kind of pressure, or if you jab it and you have more pressure but it relaxes, that would be a leak . If fluid is not appearing on any external parts, it would be the master cylinder leaking internally , or initially the rear brake cylinders as it takes a while to come out from the bottom of the drum.

    If it goes down but the pressure on the pedal builds, its most likely air in the pipes, needs bleeding. But it could be a pinhole leak letting out fluid and letting in air.as you left it a while. Look around underneath for darker spots where the fluid has run, it will also smell a bit, after testing the brakes.

    About all you can do with limited resources on the spot is to adjust the handbrake so it works on the 7 clicks, and bleed the brakes.

    With careful engine braking and the handbrake you can get to local places.. my wife used to have an Irish non-MOT'd Mini (recent import back in 1984) where handbrake plus engine braking were how to stop...
     

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