kanyeost 0 Posted June 27, 2008 Greetings... My rear brakes (girling base model drums) are officially rubbish.... but WHY?! I have replaced a slightly weepy rear cylinder, bled it to death, manually wound the auto-adjusters out so far the wheel will barely turn and still I can rotate the wheel by hand (just) with the pedal on the floor.... Bit better on the other side but still poor. Plenty of brake shoe left so i guess i'm going to get new drums but not convinced it'll work, they are just at the edge of the max internal diameter listed in haynes, but still surely they shouldn't be this bad? Any ideas? More bleeding?? Help before I torch it Ta Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
luggy 13 Posted June 27, 2008 Did it fail on brake efficiency or handbrake? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jrod 7 Posted June 27, 2008 Faulty MC? Does to fluid flow freely from the nipples? (not got a crushed or coroded brake line?) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kanyeost 0 Posted June 27, 2008 Efficiency was the failure, the handbreak is weirdly excellent. I presume the MC is ok cos the front brake on the same circuit is fine. The fluid flows ok when bleeding but does take a bit more pressure on the pedal than i expected so i'll definately check the rest of the pipework. thanks... any more...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,629 Posted June 27, 2008 (edited) seized load compensator/s or intenally collapsed flexi pipe would be my guesses if the rest seems ok. is the front brake efficiency ok? Edited June 27, 2008 by welshpug Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kanyeost 0 Posted June 27, 2008 yeah, front brakes are good and it feels like it stops really well, bled it again in the dark and the fluid flows fine so crushed pipe less likely. Don't think the base models have a compensator with the 19mm master cylinder? The wheel pistons seem to have to stick out a long way to reach the shoes so maybe the drums are really worn, but even so i think it should lock the wheels against my feeble hand pressure... all i can possibly think could cause it would be a big air bubble in the rear line that for some reason i can't shift. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony 1,000 Posted June 27, 2008 Don't think the base models have a compensator with the 19mm master cylinder? If memory serves me right, isn't the compensator built into the wheel cylinder on base models? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kanyeost 0 Posted June 28, 2008 You learn something everyday. I have replaced the rear wheel cylinder on the worst offending side so I don't think its that, unless its over compensating somehow? I have recently swapped to vented discs and new pads upfront, by swapping the narrow base model jaw for the wider 1.6 variety, could that be having an effect on the compensator? I don't see how.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamc 0 Posted June 30, 2008 i had the same problem, i found it to be even thou the shoes had lots of life in them and the front brakes worked well, the rear shoes were rubbing on the backplate and thus not moving when the handbrake was applied. Take the drum off and slowly get someone to pull the handbrake, check the shoes more freely! Cooper grease sorted it out for me along with new handbrake cables. Got my reading from 41 to 172 in the test station! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kanyeost 0 Posted July 2, 2008 (edited) thanks, all sorted now........... new cylinder fixed it, I was just being a retard, turns out you should just be able to just about turn the rear wheels by hand with the pedal down because of the compensator..... Edited July 2, 2008 by kanyeost Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
