on my moggy the R/H rear brake is not working when being preesed, the handbrake works on R/H rear wheel still just not foot brake. so far i have just tried bleeding it. anyone have a solution?
thanks loz
The hydraulic piston has seized in the cylinder. The handbrake operates above the hydraulic piston. You need to either overhaul the existing cylinder or fit a new one. Overhaul is OK if you can get the old piston out and the bore is not damaged. If it's heavily rusted or scored then fit a new one - your life (and that of others!) depends on good brakes.
When you say that its not working what do you mean?
Are the shoes moving when the pedals pressed?
Is the Adjustment correct?
Is there any damage to the brake pipe - running from the T piece on the diff to the cylinder.
Is there any leakage of brake fluid?
What simmitic said then. You have a seized cylinder. I'd advocate fitting a new one. Easily done in less than an hour. Remember that you will need to re-adjust one you have the shoe back on.
New cylinder - in fact best to fit a pair - and consider new shoes while you are in there. Then the brakes will be good as new - and fit for a few years of trouble-free service.
When purchasing new cylinders, make sure that the pistons are free to move before you fit the cylinder to the car. I've had three recent examples of "genuine" parts where the piston has seized within days of fitting. Apart from the obvious "return to supplier and complain", it's another example of porr quality modern parts. I now check all cylinders and have found it necessary to lightly emery every single bore in order to ensure that they work properly.
If you need further advice on this process then just say....
Hey, you'll never guess what Sleipnir failed her MOT on earlier this week!? All fine now, but identical symptoms, and successful cure by this very method...
Remove brake pipe, remove banjo union (with bleed nipple on it), push top of cyliner through back plate (tap with hammer if necessary), use hammer to tap (again) the cylinder upwards, pull out. Manual says you have to strip the whole plate/hub, IIRC, but you don't, it's just a fiddle.
Also disconnect the handbrake cable - pull out split pin and push the clevis pin out. The split pin may well disintegrate & you may have to drill the clevis pin in order to fit a new split (cotter) pin.
