Stuffed brakes

[Mark]

So... I took the Whale ('94 Safari LWB) in to get a WOF after sitting around with stuffed brakes for a few months and they failed it on the effectiveness of the brakes. They reckon they are only working at 38% and the brake pedal is a bit spongy. It will lock up one of the rear wheels when you jump on the brakes but you have to almost stand up on the pedal.

Have fully bled the lines and the only thing I can think of is that the master cylinder is stuffed. Does anyone have any tips on how to confirm this? Or do you just get a new one anyway?

[vvega]

checked the lines for defects ?

[Pedro]

So... I took the Whale ('94 Safari LWB) in to get a WOF after sitting around with stuffed brakes for a few months and they failed it on the effectiveness of the brakes. They reckon they are only working at 38% and the brake pedal is a bit spongy. It will lock up one of the rear wheels when you jump on the brakes but you have to almost stand up on the pedal.

Have fully bled the lines and the only thing I can think of is that the master cylinder is stuffed. Does anyone have any tips on how to confirm this? Or do you just get a new one anyway?

pull the pads out and check the piston moves when you push the pedal, probably need a helper for this, make sure you do not push the piston right out, you probably have rusted pistons in the calipers, they will need to be stripped, de rusted new dust boots and re assembled. if the pedal goes to floor then maybe master, if you still have pedal then probably caliper problem. i have just rebuilt the calipers on m trials truck, out of 8 pistons two moved!! pedal was crap,

pedro

[PR]

if the pedal goes to floor then maybe master

or maybe vacum pump on back of altinator

[Jerry]

Its a petrol so should be getting the boost from the motor?????????

Have you tried bleeding the booster before doing the brakes?

[coxsy]

as a side issue tend to wash the brakes out after trips then drive around the block heat the brakes up to dry them so they don't get sticky

[curly12]

So... I took the Whale ('94 Safari LWB) in to get a WOF after sitting around with stuffed brakes for a few months and they failed it on the effectiveness of the brakes. They reckon they are only working at 38% and the brake pedal is a bit spongy. It will lock up one of the rear wheels when you jump on the brakes but you have to almost stand up on the pedal.

Have fully bled the lines and the only thing I can think of is that the master cylinder is stuffed. Does anyone have any tips on how to confirm this? Or do you just get a new one anyway?

pull the pads out and check the piston moves when you push the pedal, probably need a helper for this, make sure you do not push the piston right out, you probably have rusted pistons in the calipers, they will need to be stripped, de rusted new dust boots and re assembled. if the pedal goes to floor then maybe master, if you still have pedal then probably caliper problem. i have just rebuilt the calipers on m trials truck, out of 8 pistons two moved!! pedal was crap,

pedro

Had the same problem and it was the same solution

[dazza85]

When my truck was parked up for a while the disks built up a fine layer of rust that caused the same problem ...
Put pulled the pads and wire brushed them.
Then with the back end on axle stands put it in 1st low and with a wire brush in the grinder the disks cleaned up a treat.

[Mark]

Thanks for the comments and ideas guys. I set to and pulled the two front callipers off today and instantly discovered a significant part of the problem. As I pulled the disc pads out half of the pad bit fell off on most of them and they were so shiny smooth that there was no way in hell that they'd create enough friction to actually stop the thing. I hadn't bothered pulling them off beforehand because there was still a decent amount of pad left and the callipers seemed to be doing their job properly.

I seem to remember that I put Bendix Heavy Duty 4wd ones in there, but they were from Repco and they were selling them for $25 as they were no longer selling them and these were the last ones in the warehouse. So maybe there's a reason they stopped selling those!

While I had the callipers off I pulled out the 2 pistons/pots on each one and gave them a light sand with wet 'n dry to remove a small amount of corrosion, probably from water seeping in under the rubber boot seal a few months ago. I have no idea how that would have happened

So I guess I'll go and fork out some decent coin for a good set of disc pads instead of being such a tight-arse like I normally am. Any recommendations on a good brand to look for?

I'm still not convinced about the master cylinder either. I'm sure the brake pedal is spongy and softening as I hold my foot on it. But that might just be that I have to push so much harder to get the shiny brake pads to grip

[mike]

such a tight-arse like I normally am

Mark a tight arse Nnnooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

[Jerry]

If its going in the mud just go for normal ones and change them often, I was only getting 700k out of the front brake pads on my old LJ71, the mud acts like sandpaper on them...

have a chat to Stinky re parts....

[coxsy]

the heavy duty 4wd pads are for towing things, had some in the front of mine pulled them as the truck didn't stop, as it did before, they are cold pads need heat to stop well, put normal front pads back in