Morris Minor Owners Club

OK took off the metal cable ties that hold the brake pipes to the axle case to paint the axle jumped into the cab to move the car and the pedal is now near to the floor (it was fine when I drove out).

Now the only thing I can think of is that they where somehow restricting the amount of 'slide' that the rear cylinder have in the back plates! and they are now moving more than they did, so got me thinking as to how far from the axle ends the ties should be to allow the pipe to flex enough to allow the cylinders to move slightly.
Anybody know if there was a factory set distance?

dont think there was a factory point, just enough to allow freedom of movement to the handbrake

funny i did mine the weekend and had no pproblems

are the cylinders still ok and not leaking or the pipes

dont know its a bit dark to start checking the unions at the moment but my remote master cylinder reservoir level dosnt seem to be dropping after some extensive pedal pressure.
also if we are relying on flex in a copper pipe to provide movement for the hand brake isn't the clip position a fatigue point in the line? therefore the nearer the end the worse the bending must be.

yes probably is

but the cylinder does not move much

must admit had never really thought about it much just put the clips on and never had a problem in nearly 20 years of minors

No me neither! but I can't remember ever driving with the clips off before.
Once the paint is dry I will put them back on and se if the pedal goes back to its normal hard self.

Check further!

I once had a problem with brake efficiency at the MOT......nothing happening on one side at the back!

Eventually, I discovered that the shoe was catching on the adjuster, and sticking 'off'. There was an amount of resistance when I span the wheel with a pal pressing the brake pedal......but not enough for the test. Seemed like it was all okay at the time. The problem was that I was very tired, and my judgement was therefore banjaxed!

Great verb!

I diddled around with it (grinder), and got the MOT at the second attempt.

Regarding the clip restricting the movement of the cylinder - no way on earth! If you place a steel rod between the bottom piston of a brake cylinder and a block of wood on the ground, and press the brake pedal, the car will rise! That's the power of hydraulics.

Certainly does - that's how I free off stuck cylinders!

as for 'fatigue' points on the rear brake pipes...

A friend lent me a Minor for a few months. After 2 weeks I had complete footbrake failure heading down a big hill (the road from Burford to the Fosse Way, for anyone who knows north Oxfordshire).

The car had new rear pipes some months earlier, but he'd forgotten to clip them. The vibration rattled the pipe until the it sheared off at the cylinder banjo
Needless to say I've not had a pipe problem any car that had clips. Therefore I'd say to put the outermost clips about 9 to 12" from the cylinder and then not worry about it ever again.

Coming down the hill at 60-70 I pressed the pedal a lot hoping the problem would recover... In normall conditons the tyre would have been drenched in fluid but the hill was big enough that it all sprayed off!

Don't leave us hanging Ray ! What happened at the bottom of the hill! ?

Don't leave us hanging Ray ! What happened at the bottom of the hill! ?

it levels out and then as a slight rise before you come to a T-junction with the Fosse Way. Engine braking (and finally the handbrake) got it all sorted.

It did take me a few minutes to calm down though! Luckily it was 2am and nobody else about - and no tractors coming out of the gateways half way down...

Lucky day!

Sorted!
It was air in the right hand front caliper, must have moved an air bubble from the remote reservouir connecting tube as its a bit conveluted where it goes into the chassis to connect to the dual circuit master cylinder front. line (Austrailian kit) when I reversed up the ramps.
so I still had braking on the rears with increased pedal travel.
Well thats the only explanation I can come up with after thinking about it for a few days.