advice re brakes

[surfchilled]

I've had problems with the geep brakes and today it has been on a rolling road...
the brakes are nuts....
first time the rear brakes worked, then next time a 23%
the front brakes work wierd. One will come on before the other. Normally its the left. But sometimes not. The steering invariably pulls slightly right then a full turn left. I noticed this a few months ago and it has got worse and worse..
then last week the fairly responsive brakes went fairly soft!!
The pads, shoes, discs and drums appear ok, maybe slightly glazed.
The hoses are fairly new and dont leak.
There is no apparent air or water in the fluid.
The master cylinder is ok.
The callipers appear ok and have been cleaned and refitted.

Any ideas???

Also my mechanic friend has got the other half worried saying it's not safe, cant put the kids in it and wont pass the mot etc. She is talking about getting rid!!!

Re the mot.. he is a very good mechanic but i get the feeling it helps if you know Geeps. He is stating that the wipers will fail as they dont park, they finish where you switch them off.

With all the plans and some of the money already spent and the fun i'm having i don't want it to go....so please advice anyone!!!!

desperately

Gary

[drseg]

soft = air getting in
or self adjusters arnt
rear cylinders will often let in air before they show signs of weeping - pull back dust covers and check for any wetness
when you "cleaned calipers" did you retract and expel the pistons to make sure they arnt seized?
if all else is ok then has fluid gone down in master cyl? brakes are wonderful on the geep as long as they are right
front calipers i'd say are either seized or have air in
them
remove pads move pistons in and out to check if not replace pads and dont forget to pump pistons to pads or youll have no brakes first time you try to stop
if all is well there bleed them if theres air there the question is how????

[swizz...club sec]

Another vague possibility at the front is a well worn wheel bearing.

I had this on a vehicle at work the other week.

The play in the bearing rocks the brake disk - pushing the pads apart. The result is that the next press of the pedal requires a couple of pumps to take up the gaps in the pads again.

Worth a quick check if your pulling your hair out!

Swizz...

[swizz...club sec]

P.S:- i'll also bang your link on my website when i get chance - nice pictures

[aquasigns]

Gary

Wipers - if you need to get a wiper parking switch and have the Mini system, look at

www.s-v-c.co.uk/

These guys seem to have all the bits and some useful information too.

Pete

[surfchilled]

Thanks guys.
I'm putting it thro the dreaded MOT two months early today so i'll let you know how it goes.
Everything drseg said has been checked and still none the wiser but i'll check the wheel bearings next.

AAAHHHHH!!!

thats a bit better

whats your website address swizz?? i'll do likewise if you want

Gary

[swizz...club sec]

Its here:-

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/swizzjnr/index/

By the way, does AAAHHHH mean you've fixed the brakes???

Swizz...

[surfchilled]

no ahh means nuts
its failed the mot... on quite a few things...many minor.....i think the last mot may have been a bit on the dodgy side.
Most of the repairs i can handle...just the brakes are causing a nightmare.

Looks like shes off the road for a while and its time to buy another car for a bit!!!!

Is there an easy way of telling where the wipers are originally from as i need them to park

thanks

Gary

[drseg]

have a look under dash - are there moving rods operating a kind of pedal type crank or steel tubes conecting wheel boxes and the wiper motor with a kinda spring type thing inside steel tubes?
if its the latter thats leyland type easiet and smallest to use - mine has modified escort rods and pedal crank type
i seem to remember that the "obvious" way to connect them is wrong - live all the time with interupted earth so that when it gets to park position it cuts the earth - but been a long time since i hAd leyland type ones apart
theres a side cover on the triAnge shaped motor casing that when you remove it exposes the large sprocket/cog like thing that drives the spring - the park mechanisms there too relies on the position of the cog to park wipers - hard to explain in words but take cover off and its not too difficult
if its never parked since you had it may be wired wrongly
hmmm brakes is a bit puzzling
does brake pedal pump up hard and stay there with hand brake on?
and then go significantly spongier when you take hand brake off?
how many notches does hand brake lever come up?
[did handbrake pass mot?]
generally disc brakes seize up but that makes pedal harder - its rare they leak [although not unheard of] rear brakes are usually much more hassle the hand brake pivot rivet seizes or partially seizes making self adjusters not function the rear cyls are more of a pain than calipers but if all is good at the rear then it points to the master cyl
when master cyls are buggered if you apply gentle constant pressuree you feel the pedal slowly go down as fluid passes the piston seal - if you press hard it tends to open seal and not let fluid pass
if master cyl was in this state i'd expect a little fluid loss from where the pedal rod enters the dust seal - grovel under dash and see if you can pull dust cover off if thats dry too i'm down to clutching at straws pinhole in brake pipe? loose pipe fitting letting air in but not fluid out? bleed nipple not tight enough or leaking air because of dirt ingress?
when you solve it would love to hear what it was
only other really weird one i experienced was the boss on the back of a wheel cyl cracking so ws leaking air through crack. good luck!!

[surfchilled]

i have a look at all that - thanks
the handbrake failed. It gets adjusted then after a few pulls its back to near vertical. It is on a cable mechanism. Is there a fixed rod conversion available or is it a loaclly manufactured thing??

thanks again

Gary

[swizz...club sec]

If the handbrake is lost after a few applications then the back brake adjusters may be releasing. I've not stripped mine down yet so am unfamiliar with the type of adjuster - but if the ratchet/cam type as with later fords, worn teeth would cause the adjuster to slip back of during use.
Swizz...

[drseg]

are you adjusting the handbrake on the cable only?
needs cable backed off rear brakes stripped to make sure everything is free then manual adjustment of the self adjusters before putting drum back on when it will just fit
helps to file away rusty rim on inside of drum a bit
if its just adjusted on cable it will give a crap pedal feel because foot brake will have to move rear shoes a long way
good luck