Discussion
J4CKS said:
Hi all,
Can anyone give any info on where I can source a brake servo? Having read past threads I can see that it may be from Fiesta xr2i era car.
What sort of price should I be paying?
Car is in for MOT and has failed on the brakes. They seem pretty sure it's the servo...
Cheers,
Jack
Did you experience any braking problems before the mot?Can anyone give any info on where I can source a brake servo? Having read past threads I can see that it may be from Fiesta xr2i era car.
What sort of price should I be paying?
Car is in for MOT and has failed on the brakes. They seem pretty sure it's the servo...
Cheers,
Jack
Typical servo problem/failure is a great deal of pressure is required at the pedal, and then even this is not enough to apply the brakes properely.
If the servo is knackered you would definetly have noticed at the brake pedal.
I thought my servo was on the way out, as intermttently the servo would not work and quite scarily
i had very little brakes if non at all.As this was an intermittent problem, first place i checked was the vacuum hose from the plenum, and more importantly the NON RETURN valve in the servo.
I replaced both for less than a £10 and the servo works perfect now every time.If the non return valve is failing you cannot achieve a vacuum in the servo hence no assisted brakes.
If you do need a new one be prepared to pay way over £300 just for the servo.[If you can find one. I tried everywhere, inc europe and no joy. There was one french company but they do not ship outside of France.]
They should not cost this much, but alas as they are no longer manufactured, the price can be anything!
The location of the servo in the inner wing means it does not usually suffer from any corrosion, but the main fault can be brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder into the sevo and rotting from the inside out.
If your servo is knackered then its odds on you have a master cylinder problem also.
If a garage is doing the work its false economy not to replace the master cylinder as the labour charge involved to remove all the pedal box etc is quite expensive.
Let us know how you get on.
Edited by TJC46 on Wednesday 8th January 14:48
Great. Thanks for the advice.
The garage has said that Racing Green TVR have started making the servos as no one can get them anywhere else.
I have always thought the brakes were a bit rubbish since I got the car this time last year. I did have a close call in the summer when the brakes failed under hard braking - a car pull out onto my side of the road and I lost about 90% braking power. Fortunately there was a dropped curb for some evasive action and I wasn't going very fast. The garage at the time checked the brakes and said they seemed fine.
The garage has said that Racing Green TVR have started making the servos as no one can get them anywhere else.
I have always thought the brakes were a bit rubbish since I got the car this time last year. I did have a close call in the summer when the brakes failed under hard braking - a car pull out onto my side of the road and I lost about 90% braking power. Fortunately there was a dropped curb for some evasive action and I wasn't going very fast. The garage at the time checked the brakes and said they seemed fine.
The plot thickens...
The chap at the garage is conscious that the servo may be rather expensive, and the labour will be too - I understand it's a pain to fit this part. Basically he, and I, want to explore other options before blowing hundreds, only to find that it's not fixed!
He says he thinks it actually might not be the servo as the usual symptoms would be that the pedal goes rock hard when this is the case (a bit like when you press the brake pedal on a car when the ignition isn't on).
He has tried a vacum test, as suggested above, and it's fine, so he is wondering whether it does just need bleeding - he says he did try this first but the bleed nipples are rock solid.
The rear brakes on the mot test were fine, it's just the front ones that have the problem.
I took the car home tonight and the brake pedal feels super spongy now and can be pressed to the bottom.
It's going back in tomorrow.
What is anyone elses thoughts?
The chap at the garage is conscious that the servo may be rather expensive, and the labour will be too - I understand it's a pain to fit this part. Basically he, and I, want to explore other options before blowing hundreds, only to find that it's not fixed!
He says he thinks it actually might not be the servo as the usual symptoms would be that the pedal goes rock hard when this is the case (a bit like when you press the brake pedal on a car when the ignition isn't on).
He has tried a vacum test, as suggested above, and it's fine, so he is wondering whether it does just need bleeding - he says he did try this first but the bleed nipples are rock solid.
The rear brakes on the mot test were fine, it's just the front ones that have the problem.
I took the car home tonight and the brake pedal feels super spongy now and can be pressed to the bottom.
It's going back in tomorrow.
What is anyone elses thoughts?
J4CKS said:
The plot thickens...
The chap at the garage is conscious that the servo may be rather expensive, and the labour will be too - I understand it's a pain to fit this part. Basically he, and I, want to explore other options before blowing hundreds, only to find that it's not fixed!
He says he thinks it actually might not be the servo as the usual symptoms would be that the pedal goes rock hard when this is the case (a bit like when you press the brake pedal on a car when the ignition isn't on).
He has tried a vacum test, as suggested above, and it's fine, so he is wondering whether it does just need bleeding - he says he did try this first but the bleed nipples are rock solid.
The rear brakes on the mot test were fine, it's just the front ones that have the problem.
I took the car home tonight and the brake pedal feels super spongy now and can be pressed to the bottom.
It's going back in tomorrow.
What is anyone elses thoughts?
If he has done a vacuum test and its ok then its not the servo.The chap at the garage is conscious that the servo may be rather expensive, and the labour will be too - I understand it's a pain to fit this part. Basically he, and I, want to explore other options before blowing hundreds, only to find that it's not fixed!
He says he thinks it actually might not be the servo as the usual symptoms would be that the pedal goes rock hard when this is the case (a bit like when you press the brake pedal on a car when the ignition isn't on).
He has tried a vacum test, as suggested above, and it's fine, so he is wondering whether it does just need bleeding - he says he did try this first but the bleed nipples are rock solid.
The rear brakes on the mot test were fine, it's just the front ones that have the problem.
I took the car home tonight and the brake pedal feels super spongy now and can be pressed to the bottom.
It's going back in tomorrow.
What is anyone elses thoughts?
A servo problem would as you say, leave you with no brake assistance, and the pedal would feel rock hard and almost impossible to press down enough to apply the brakes.
If yours feels spongy and travels almost to the floor then its either a leak, or air in the system, or the seal/seals in the master cylinder that have failed.
First thing the garage should do if they havent already is to check the fluid level, and check everywhere for leaks.
They should then check all the pads are intact, not contaminated with fluid,and have a reasonable amount of material left on them.
2nd thing to do is free off all the bleed nipples[replace with new if necessary] and bleed the brakes. Repeat this proceedure a few times, until all the air is removed, and all new fluid is in the system.
If all the above has been done, you should have a good brake pedal.
If you have no leaks, no air in the system, and the pedal is still spongy and the front brakes are not very good, then i would suspect seal failure within the master cylinder.
Final point as this does happen on rare occasions.
If you still have the original rubber brake flexi-hoses, these can perish over time internally.
Result is every time you press the brake pedal, they simply "balloon" out so the calipers hardly move.
Good luck hope you get it sorted.
So, I collected my Chim today...
It turns out there's nothing wrong with the servo after all. Following a flush of the system the brakes are as they should be ie. they stop the car! There was a lot of air and crud in the system.
I can't believe I didn't get them looked at before. The difference is night and day.
My car has always had brakes that weren't great - I just thought they were all like that. I suspect my enjoyment of the car this summer will increase somewhat!
Thanks for all the tips guys.
It turns out there's nothing wrong with the servo after all. Following a flush of the system the brakes are as they should be ie. they stop the car! There was a lot of air and crud in the system.
I can't believe I didn't get them looked at before. The difference is night and day.
My car has always had brakes that weren't great - I just thought they were all like that. I suspect my enjoyment of the car this summer will increase somewhat!
Thanks for all the tips guys.
J4CKS said:
So, I collected my Chim today...
It turns out there's nothing wrong with the servo after all. Following a flush of the system the brakes are as they should be ie. they stop the car! There was a lot of air and crud in the system.
Am I right in assuming 'a flush of the system' is the system being bled through with new fluid? It turns out there's nothing wrong with the servo after all. Following a flush of the system the brakes are as they should be ie. they stop the car! There was a lot of air and crud in the system.
I have one more problem with my Chim that needs fixing before the MOT, and it's spongy brakes. Pedal goes to the floor and there's not a lot of braking force at all.
I did overhaul the front calipers. Clean, mask, spray and renew all the seals. Rears were just cleaned and put back in. But I noticed the rear retaining clips weren't in good nick..
Any ideas gentlemen?
Cheers
Cad
Aussie John said:
No chance you put the front calipers back on the wrong side? [The bleed nipples should be at the top] I have helped 3 guys with different cars that were unable to bleed their brakes after a rebuild, all had the calipers reversed.
Lol, no. They're at the top. Rears too.On closer inspection I have found a crack in the brake fluid reservoir
I've slapped a load of dirko-s sealant over it and left it to set overnight. But something tells me it's not going to hold.So looks like I'll be ordering one on Monday. There goes the MOT for another few days
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