Series III brakes. New drums & shoes but still no good.

Yes they're all 10in drums. Adjustment has been up to the wheel is stiff to turn by hand and then back two clicks, as per the worshop manual.

Peter

I'd say you've got air in the system still. Have you changed the master cylinder seals?

Alex

I have thoroughly bled the system.

I've done nothing with the master cylinder but as the pedal is solid when the hoses are clamped, I'm pretty sure the problem is not at the top end.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

Peter

Did the same thing with the clamps and all, but still there was some air in the system.

Then i did the old trick by setting a piece of wood between the seet and breakepedal. One night under presure and the breaks works perfect.

Some say you have to shift the breakfluid after that, i did not and it still breaks perfect.

Lars Series III 77 stw petrol

Jon, I like your suggestion of the G-clamps. If I do this for all 4 cylinders simultaneously and the pedal is solid, this will prove the integrity of the full hydraulic system and mean the problem lies in the adjustment/fit of the shoes/drums.

Where do you buy your shoes from? Could it be that the Paddocks shoes are not an accurate copy of the originals?

Peter

go to google and do a newsgroup search for landrover brakes or something similar,

theres hundreds of posts on this issue as i think everyone with a series goes thru it,

master cylinder rod length is critical (ish)

what happens if you pump it twice and then keep the pressure on for say 10 mins, ( apart from getting a tired leg ) ?

sounds suspiciously like a master cylinder problem, maybe its not bad enough to visualy show,

but im probably talking ballo**s

Andy

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If you do as you suggest and do all four wheels at the same time your brakes will put you through the windscreen! Series brakes should be very good indeed, and this is the best way to do it - it works a treat! It seems that with only a realitively small amount of wear, or perhaps shoes/drums that are not quite up to the dimensions Our Lord Wilkes intended, then the master cylinder is not able to displace quite all of the air from the system - clamping in the wheel cylinders (those 12in orange clamps from tool merchants mean you can even leave the shoes on) appears to remedy this.

Richard

Are they all 10" drums? Can you adjust them so that the wheel can be turned by hand? Jon

Try this: Jack up an axle, and remove the wheels and drums. Fit a g-clamp across the cyliner on each side - squashing in the pistons. You don't have to remove the shoes for this - you can move them aside. It only needs to push in the pistons. Bleed the brakes - pump loads of fluid through - is the fluid comming through clear or cloudy - should be clear. The bleed them normally - use a one man bleeder i.e. a one way valve thingie (£5) I've got a vacuum bleader and a gunsons bleeder, but this is the only method that works for me. It takes more time to perpare, but the bleeding process (once jacked up) only takes about 10 min per axle working alone with the one way valve thingie. Repeat on the other axle. Jon Owner of SIII SWB x 2 with rock hard brakes!

I got mine form paddocks. I replaced the cylinders and shoes after I had a cylinder fail. I went for OE (Girling) cylinders x 2 and OE shoes x 4. Are your drums heavily scored or cracked? Have you positioned the springs correctly on the shoes? I had quite a job adjusting the brakes to get the balance right, so you might find that backing off by 2 clicks is too much for your brakes. If you do the clamping method, remember to top up the fluid after you press the pedal as it will drop about 0.5". Jon

Check the rear shoes are fitted correctly, as there is a leading and trailing shoe on each side at the back. If you put both trailing or both leading shoes on one side you can get this happen.

HTH

Tim

Peter, just a thought, but make sure the rear flexible hoses aren't ballooning under pressure, and that the pipe connections to the cylinders are the correct way round.

Had a similar thing happen on an MG where the pipes had been fitted to the upper hole and the bleed screw to the lower.the only way to bleed these was to clamp the pistons fully in.

HTH

John

The master cylinder may be introducing air into the system, which subsequently collects at the slave cylinders. Don't rule the master cylinder out altogether, it might still be the source of the problem!

Alex

Thanks for all the replies. I've tried the overnight pedal wedge but this made no difference. I've checked the master cylinder push rod clearance. No problem. I've put approx 1/2 a litre of new brake fluid thru with an eezi-bleed. No difference. I've found a slight weep (into the dustcap) on one front cylinder. Hope to replace it Wednesday night. Will report back on results as things progress. Thanks again.

Peter Meed snipped-for-privacy@bt.com