sticking brakes 71 saloon

Post by **malminor** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:02 pm

I guess this has been asked before but following a long restoration I thought I was just about finished, I fitted a set of polo discs / ford calipers etc.
new master cylinder ( I removed the seal from the end ) that causes pressure build up.
new remote servo and fluid reservoir with a tee to rear brakes.
I fitted everything about 4 months ago it all bled up ok, the car has been pushed into a garage nearly everyday during the restoration, and left with hand brake on. recently driven in (got a bit heavy pushing) however last night the front brakes stuck on, I cracked a bleed nipple off and all was well, drove the car back in tonight brakes stuck again.
have I missed something

Post by **MoggyTech** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:32 am

Sounds like you fitted the thin dished washer between the master cylinder main cup seal and the piston flange the wrong way round. It blocks the two small holes in the piston if fitted incorrectly and causes pressure build up. It should be convex side against the piston. Also worth checking, is servo check valve fitted the correct way round.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:29 pm

Certainly try taking the servo vacuum pipe off - to stop it working - and see if it's the problem or not. If servo valve was wrong way round - the servo would do nothing! But the discs will drag a bit - especially if not being used. Maybe just needs running in.

Post by **malminor** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:11 pm

well.I made a right hash of the brake set up. when I stipped out the master cylinder originally the push rod was bent, when straightened it snapped .so I fabricated a new one and got carried away when setting the ajustment so the piston couldn't return far enough.
However after all that hassle the brakes weren't brilliant with the polo / fiesta calipers home made bracket etc, after all the effort the mod only suited non std wheels,though I got round it with machined hubs and spacers but wasn't comletely happy with the alignment.
So I pulled the whole lot off this afternoon fitted the front drums, new cyllinders etc and retained the servo and all now fine, BMCECOSSE's point about the merits of using standard drums suits me, I hadn't driven a minor prior to the restoration as it was a basket case, but the brakes will do for now it's only got the 1098, and I can live with the little extra maintenance.
not sure if I can say this but thanks to the MM dealer in North Yorkshire, not only does he stock all the parts required his patience and advice in helping me through this problem has been very much appreciated, in the world of online shopping , talking face to face and with the parts on the bench with clear instructions takes some beating.

Post by **MoggyTech** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:35 pm

Had my Traveller not come with disc brakes already fitted, it is a mod I would not do. It's a proper mod with Marina Hubs redrilled to 4 inch PCD, but sourcing bits is a nightmare. Front wheel bearing kit special Marina to Minor stub axle. Pads Ford Sierra/Escort/Orion, Rotors Marina. AKA front brakes by Heinz, and the rotors are getting hard to come by.

Yes the car stops great, and has nice brake balance, but I'll go back to drums when I collect all the bits needed. At the moment it isn't broken, so I'm not gonna fix it

Post by **Welung666** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:40 pm

MT if you can get parts numbers off all the bits for your current setup I'll price up replacement parts for you. I have a contact at a big Midlands parts centre ;)

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:45 pm

And remember - you will need to modify the master cylinder back to standard again too!

Post by **MoggyTech** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:27 pm

Welung666 wrote:MT if you can get parts numbers off all the bits for your current setup I'll price up replacement parts for you. I have a contact at a big Midlands parts centre ;)

Thanks for that, but I should be OK with the disc setup for a while. I have a spare set of rotors, and the ones on the car have done 25,000 miles, and are only worn from 9.5mm (new) to 9MM with 8.5 mm being the minimum thickness. The wheel bearings are the tapered type, which in my experiance tend to last for ages if serviced regularly.

Appreciatte the offer though

Post by **MoggyTech** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:27 pm

bmcecosse wrote:And remember - you will need to modify the master cylinder back to standard again too!

Aye, the wee rubber hat is tucked away somewhere safe just incase.