Morris Minor Owners Club

I've just bought myself my first moggy. A 69' 2dr saloon which runs lovely but needs a bit of love.

After buying it I drove Liverpool to London but found the brakes a little spongy so I've had the wheels off and it appears one of my front cylinders is weeping a little. Not exactly pouring out but enough to be visible.

Can anyone suggest any solutions? Is it possible for me to buy a kit to service the cylinder or is it best to replace it?

Its alot easier and safer to just replace it. The major suppliers esm, bull motif etc all sell them. Go for genuine lockheed though rather than the much cheaper pattern parts, as these are much more prone to premature failure.

Unless you know the history, now would be a good time to overhaul the brakes, changing all the rubber parts, i.e. hoses and seals. Brake fluid should be changed at least every five years, although most Minors get fairly regular attention to the brakes, so that tends to be done by default!

If they are genuine Lockheed cylinders you can change the seals, especially if the fact that they are leaking is purely down to wear (fitted from new?) but to be frank that is less likely. I would suggest new (original equipment) cylinders all round although the rear pattern parts are said to be ok. Make sure that you fit high quality shoes as all the cheap stuff offered today is pretty awful!

I would also recommend a thorough cleaning and examination of the brakes and careful reassembly ensuring that the adjusters and slides are lubricated allowing the shoes to move freely. If you get everything set up correctly you will find that the brakes are very firm and pull up sharp and straight.

Spend some money and invest some time now and you will save a lot of fiddling or worse later on!

New seal is simple and cheap - if the brakes are otherwise working well - that's all I would do. Spongy is down to a little air in the system - so after fitting the new seal (a two minute job once the wheel is off) - bleed the whole system through with new fluid and adjust up all the brakes. They will be fine!

i don't want to cause any alarm but i'd not drive the car until you have had the brakes done, especially if a cylinder is leaking. years ago i had a leaking wheel cylinder and i kept on driving the car and said "next week. i'll look at it next week".

i certainly did look at it eventually....... when it was being towed away to the scrap yard when i wrote it off because my brakes failed when i needed them most. i was lucky to escape with a few cuts to my arms where the front caved in and the windscreen landed on me.

i've never made the same mistake again.......

Well - if it's only 'weeping' it's hardly a desperate case - but indeed, top up the fluid in the master cylinder and get seals ordered for 'next day' delivery right away!

Thanks everyone! That's quite a range of responses. I'd love to do the whole system but for now I'm going to start cheap and see how it goes. I assume I just buy a brake cylinder seal like this one?
http://www.morrisminorspares.net/shop_item.php?ID=1516

I had a leaking brake cylinder and the fluid contamininated the shoes. I replaced the cylinder with a pattern unit and new shoes. A few months later the new cylinder had failed and cost me another set of shoes.
In my case I was so fed up I bought discs. My point is, that it maybe more economical to buy lockhead.

Bull M links don't work...... but a new seal will be fine if the cylinder is just weeping slightly - and not seized up solid. And yes - for fronts the original type cylinders seem to be much longer lasting, but at the rear - pattern cylinders seem to be fine.