remote servo

[tony22]

hello can any onetell me if a remote sevo ?? is worh fitting and what is involved thanks

[alex_holden]

Depends how strong your right leg is. It won't improve the car's braking ability but will reduce the amount of force you need to apply to the brake pedal.

[Willie]

In other words it will make the car easier to drive since the pedal effort to
achieve maximum braking effort is considerably lessened.

[tony22]

thank you for that i have been ofered one just wondered what others though

[jonathon]

There are many different ratios for servos. Even the Lockheed units have six differing ratios so be sure that you have the correct one. Too much assistance can be as dangerous as too little.
What has the remote servo come from or is it a Lockheed unit as sold by the trade.

[bigginger]

Cor - that had never occured to me before (duh..). Learn something new every etc

[tony22]

dont no yet will have to find out

[bmcecosse]

A small car like a Minor doesn't need a servo - unless you have a disability. It's also particularly difficult to pipe it into the Minor system because of the master cylinder layout - one pipe runs forward and the other goes back, from just under your left foot! Some just pipe it to the front brakes - this is likely to cause a considerable imbalance of the braking forces - leading to front wheel locking in the wet! The most undesirable kind of skid!! So unless you have leg problem - it's really too much bother !

[bigginger]

Unless you want one and don't have a problem plumbing in another T piece, in which case it's well worth the bother. Can't say I'm a great fan of them either with drums, but not a big fan of dogmatism either.

[bmcecosse]

The poster asked for opinions - I gave mine. I'm sure others will have their own views. It's a lot more than a T piece to plumb it in to both front and rear brakes!

[jonathon]

BM, you must really try and understand that different people have differing preferances. I'm neither disabled nor weak and I prefer the feel of servo assisted discs. We have many customers who feel likewise, we also have customers with forms of disability or weakness of limb who rely on the benefits of assisted braking.
To plumb in a servo takes longer as you need to re do some of the brake pipes, this is by no means a 'difficult 'job. if you have the correct equipment. We always recommend assisting both front and rear, even when we fit 9" rear drums on the Escort axle.
I believe that you ought to preface your comments with 'in my opinion' because they are clearly made from lack of experience with this particular set up, and as such are unhelpfull to poeple requiering a balanced answer.

[bmcecosse]

The poster asked for opinions - I gave mine ! I did mention disablity as a possible reason why this could be necessary. The original poster has not said anything about 'discs'. Clearly some disc brakes do need higher pressures than can easily be applied with the right foot - in which case there is an alternative !! But I agree - if some one really wants a servo by all means go ahead - but you have to admit it's a whole lot more difficult to pipe one into a Minor's braking system than it is to most classic cars !!

[d_harris]

can we all pick up our toys and put them back in the pram?

[bigginger]

Mine never left it. The definition of dogmatic, BTW - "Dogmatic - inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true" which I'd say means it was a pretty welll justified use of the word. Obviously you were giving an opinion, but whether knowingly or unknowingly you were stating some very debatable things as being absolutely true.
"It's a lot more than a T piece to plumb it in to both front and rear brakes!" - Sorry, of course it's either a new brake pipe to the rear or an extension to the old one as well. plus a blanking plug for the rear of the MC .

[jonathon]

Well said Andrew.
Dan the issue is rather more important than you seem to think, and your statement is really patronising.

[bigginger]

Hope I'm right about the parts - it's what I've done in the past - with discs, btw

[bmcecosse]

That's just the 'extra' work because of the Minor master cylinder layout - you still need to fit the servo up front, break into the hydraulic line to the front brakes and divert it through the servo - and, fit the T piece to run the extension back to the rear brakes . Pheeeww. Easy enough if you have a flaring kit/lengths of pipe/box of brake pipe ends - not so easy otherwise. And of course - arrange for a vacuum connection!
I wouldn't say I was 'dogmatic' - hate dogs anyway - but it is a fact that small cars like the Minor don't normally (disability excepted) NEED a servo! Much larger classic cars/early Landys etc manage perfectly well without a servo. But if someone really wants one - it's certainly not for me to stand in their way. This poster asked for opinions - I gave mine.
Modern cars of course ALL have servos (and power steering) - we have become soft. My wife's Meriva for example just needs the slightest touch on the brake pedal to make it nose dive - it really is FAR too light.

[jonathon]

T o get back to the original question. If the servo is of the correct rating, then yes I would suggest fitting it with discs. However I'm not a great fan of servo'd drums so I'd say no in this instance. The revised plumbing is very simple and does require an additional T piece to be fitted plus a vacuum feed from the manifold.
Tony if you wish to email me I can send a drawing of how to re plumb the system.

Regarding servos and size of car, this argument is irrelevant as we are talking assistance and not braking power. Most modern small hatches have discs with servo assistance and anti lock brakes!!

[tony22]

thank you my question seems to have caused a little controvesy and comment i enjoy looking through all the different posting iam now a fully paid upmember . i will watch for more comments on the question of remote servos before i decide what to do . it is also my intetion to join the lincoln club as well

[jonathon]

Previous post made before BM re-edited his again.