Disc brake kit (master cylinder rubber seal)

[chrisd87]

Fair enough - I live in a very flat area (near the fens), so haven't tried driving down the side of any mountains, but my general impression of minor brakes is that as long as you are sensible they really are ok.

Interesting what you say about the brake servo inducing brake fade - I hadn't thought of that before.

[Onne]

The problem is where to get those. I wouldn't mind spending a tad more for improved brakes. If you really wanted those, you could have your shoes done by a specialist.

[shaunb]

This seal that needs removing from the master cylinder, could someone please tell me exactly which one it is as I've got the workshop diagram in front of me and I'd love to join the knowledgable throng who posses this mechanical jem of information. Cheers m'dears.

[Onne]

You could ask Cam, he also lives in Stoke, if you can't work it out

[simmitc]

The description of the seal is the give-away: "top-hat". It's the one almost furthest in the cylinder towards the rear of the car. If you're looking at the diagram in the Haynes manual then the seal is labelled "valve cap" and it sits between the "valve washer" and "valve cap". Probably the same diagram in the Leyland book. Welcome to the knowledgeable throng.

[shaunb]

Welcome to the knowledgeable throng.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, my workshop manual calls it a "cup-valve assembly" and it sits between the body-valve assembly and the washer-valve assembly. It reminds me of some of the army stores descriptions, "chest-steel tool" was a tool box !
night night.

[Cam]

Shaun,

Yes, it's the valve cup that sits in-between the valve body and the valve washer. It sounds like you have it!

[IslipMinor]

I forgot to remove the valve and had hot running front pads as a result. Definitely remove it.

The additional fluid reservoir is also essential for safety reasons - in normal wear without checking the fluid regularly, it WILL run out during the life of the pads. Who checks, or wants to check the fluid that often??

Just look at any standard disc braked car, they ALL have large capacity master cylinder reservoirs.

[yellowpinky]

Thankyou for all your kind messages. I have now removed the peice of rubber and it the system works much better. My mechanic (alan) also repaired the back brakes by putting on new shoes and brake drums. The brakes now are better than they have ever been, so i'd recommend this kit.
It turns out the brakes were sticking slightly at the front enough to make the van feel slugish and heavy. Now they are sharp and even. I have considered putting a servo on but am wary about making the van feel too modern, but a the same time interested in modern improvements....any opinions welcome on servos as i really don't know?
Another thing which is worth mentioning which can be a + or - is that the disc kit does make the wheels sit out further than standard....about an inch each side. I was concerned with this because at the same time of fitting the disc brake kit i had just purchased some rather tasty 4.5J wheels for the front end, so was worried about having wheels that looked like they were out on stalks. But it is not too bad....i managed to widen the wings a little by bending the metal but i understand that may not be everybodies cup of tea.
So the lesson is..Do what the instructions say.. in this case it is important to do little things that seem like too much effort.
Good old Bull Motif and the Bull Nose Ole Morris and hats off to whoever designed the kit as it is a very good example of blended new and old design.

[bmcecosse]

Right at the beginning you siad there was no problem with the brakes - now you say they have been sticking - so obviously it WAS indeed necessary to remove the top hat seal, which has been the rule for many many years.
Skeggy - I have perfectly good brakes on all my cars - no fear of my brakes failing ! But thanks for your concern.
Ianselva - Indeed I have said before that I am sure the 'non-asbestos' linings now sold for the 1098 are the reason why the standard brakes seem much less effective these days than I remember from the past - can you recommend a source of upgraded linings?

[Matt]

I think that most of the high performace pad manufacturers can do them... there was talk about greenstuff uprated linings on the spridget forums not so long ago

[bmcecosse]

Ahh - Many suppliers of fancy disc pads - but not seen any linings. Used to use VG 95 linings on my rally Minor. I will have a search about!