Best Place for a Brake Servo

Post by **hotrodder13** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 6:55 pm

ive baught my first morris minor and it is a great runner but the breaks not so good. so i baught a servo this is my first car and i am 17 so i have no idea were to put it under the bonnet
so were is the best place under the bonnet to fit it.

piks of yours would be great

thanks Tom

Post by **PSL184** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:04 pm

I've never had any need for a servo on any of the Mog's I've owned - even my 1275 is non servo'd - are you sure your brakes are all good and working correctly cause adding a servo to a bad set up won't help you at all......?

Post by **d_harris** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:18 pm

The standard brakes are perfectly up to the job if they are in good condition. The servo wont make the brakes work any better, you just wont need to hit the pedal so hard.

Post by **eastona** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:19 pm

yes, they aren't too bad really. I overhauled mine recently, new shoes, cylinders and new fluid and they are so different. Budget for pipes as well as they are often seized to the end fitting thingys and don't survive being undone (or am I just ham fisted?!)

There is a whole host of difference between poor Minor 1000 brakes and well maintained ones. A servo won't really help that.

Andrew

Post by **Peetee** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:40 pm

I'm sorry but if someone wants to fit a servo then let them. I'm becoming increasingly aware of how important they are to some people. if you have been brought up with modern cars they are pretty much essential on a Minor. The difference is just too great otherwise. Sometimes I think my disc brake Minor won't pull up but when you drive all manner of modern tin and hit a Minor brake pedal sometimes its sooooo dificult to persude yourself that there is more power and just to push harder, harder, harder till you get it.

Post by **eastona** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:02 pm

I'm sorry but if someone wants to fit a servo then let them.

Fine, by all means fit a servo, I'm not against that. I'm going to fit a servo to Mrs E's traveller.

Just make sure you're fitting them so you don't have to hit the pedal so hard, and not just to mask seized, worn, leaking or badly adjusted brakes.

It's worth checking.

Andrew

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:39 pm

Quite tricky to fit a servo -because the rear brakes are fed on a separate line from the master cylinder. The brakes really don't need a servo - if it's an early 948 Minor then it will benefit greatly from an upgrade to the later larger (8") front drum brakes. But even the early drum brakes are fine - if in good working order. This is the way to go!

Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:12 am

If you can wait a week or so tom, i can take a photo of the engine bay on the car i am picking up next weekend that has a servo fitted.

It is normal to mount them on the engine bay floor and put a strap to the inner wing from the cylinder to hold it all in place (if that makes sense).

Post by **dalebrignall** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:45 am

ive got a servo on my mog off a mini cooper,it was all ready fitted to the car.it looks like a hard job to do.it is easy and essential that you keep your brskes adjusted up.jack the car up safley and use axel stands.take the wheels off and then use a tourchto find the adjusterswhich is a screw. and turn the drum till you find the adjuster then with a large screwdriver turn the screw clock wise,till it locks,then go back one click.there are 2 adjusters on the frount wheels,and they are diagonally opposite each other.with the back wheels there is 1 adjuster.chock the frount wheels take the hand brake off,and its the same procedure,turn the screw till the drum cant move then back one click,hope this helps.

Post by **aupickup** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:31 am

a servo will mean you have to apply less pressure to the pedal

they are adequate without, with enough umphhh behind the pedal

Post by **hotrodder13** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:01 am

[quote="charlie_morris_minor"]If you can wait a week or so tom, i can take a photo of the engine bay on the car i am picking up next weekend that has a servo fitted.

ye it will be a couple of weeks because i am also going to connect it to the rear brakes as well.

it cause i am learing in a ford fiesta (BORING) and it brakes stright away so that is what i am use to

Post by **jonathon** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:48 am

Personally I'd be very wary of servo assisted drum brakes, they are too sharp acting and all too easy to lock up. Servo'd discs are another matter.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 4:08 pm

Several have advised you hr13 - to NOT fit the servo. Listen to the advice ! Just sort out the Minor brakes - and they are light on the pedal - and work fine !

Post by **paulhumphries** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 5:40 pm

You can fit a servo anywhere.
The Hillman Imp had it with the engine - in the rear

I do agree though that since fitting brand new drums to my Minor the brakes are far better than when fitted with just new wheel cylinders / shoes and a servo isn't really needed.

Paul H.

Post by **minor_hickup** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:18 pm

Just don't fit it on the bulkhead, on the tie plate is the best place. If you fit it too high it can be impossible to bleed any air out of the brakes as it becomes the highest point in the braking system.

Its also a good time to check the condition and replace as necassary the wheel cylinders, shoes etc as the servo will be putting them under more strain (as a result of the lighter pedal).

Post by **rob.hardy1** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:47 pm

The first thing i did when i bought my traveller was to fit a servo. The servo then burst the seal on some ropey brake cylinders.The master cylinder the dave up the ghost and i replaced it. The servo was fitted high up on the side bulk head and look atrocious.It really made what is a very simple engine bay look cluttered
When i refurbished the engine bay i did the brakes at the same time as removing the servo.
The brakes now work better than thay did with he servo.
The moral, to me, was to do the basics before spending out on big stuff.
I answer to the thread question, best place to put a servo? Back
on the shelf in the shop till you NEED one

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:32 pm

Well said Rob!

Post by **jaekl** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:01 pm

It sounds just like the wiring. Once you remove the 'repairs' and return the car to original design, it works quite reliablly. Designing improvements is one thing but adding patches to a system designed with different parameters can cause problems. Besides moving away from the simplistic beauty those remote boosters can be dangerous. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this type of booster is not a 'power assist' but actually a separate braking system that is actuated by the original master cylinder so that with no vacuum you have no brakes unless you keep the rear brakes connected directly to the master cylinder.

Post by **alex_holden** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:11 pm

jaekl wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but this type of booster is not a 'power assist' but actually a separate braking system that is actuated by the original master cylinder so that with no vacuum you have no brakes unless you keep the rear brakes connected directly to the master cylinder.

You're wrong. The brakes still work, unassisted, with the engine off.

The risk is that once you get used to the light assisted pedal, you might not brake hard enough if the engine dies.

Post by **dalebrignall** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:46 pm

you are right there alex the brakes will still work,but your legs will have to work very hard to get the car to stop.