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master cyl
Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:16 pm
by mixerman
can anyone help me out there my brake pedal is solid i have took the plate off to look at the push rod as it enters the m/c but nothing happens u can put your foot on the brakes and it is solid but i have no brakes if i have got to buy a new m/c can anyone tell where to get a cheap one
thanking any one that can help.
Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:37 pm
by rayofleamington
did this happen out of the blue or was the car standing for a long time?
The only things I can think of are corrosion or swollen seals.
Swollen seals are very unlikely but if someone topped up with a mineral based fluid then it can happen.
not sure what you mean by cheap as everything is relative but in the last owners club, Bull Motif (owners club discounted) prices were:
Lockheed master cylinder: £49.50 incl VAT
Pattern master cylinder: £39.50 incl VAT
01386 831755
Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:59 am
by andypocock
Does the clutch pedal move OK?
I'm wondering if it's your pedals that are siezed rather than the cylinder.
Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 4:35 pm
by mixerman
i was at work at the time i got a frantic phone call on my mobile the wife was driving at the time she put the brakes on as the traffic lights changed and the pedal was solid but no stopping the car quick thinking (quite good for the wife i thought) she stopped on the h/brake she was only a mile from home so she got home on the h/brake also the pedals are free as a bird so i think the m/c is seized
thanks phil
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 8:40 am
by Matt
So the pedal has travel? have you checked to make sure you have brake fluid in the M/C?
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 8:46 am
by rayofleamington
hmm Matt - have you ever known anyone describe the brake pedal as 'solid' when there is no fluid in the m/c' ???

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 8:48 am
by Matt
*whistles and looks innocent*
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 1:23 pm
by Kevin
the pedals are free as a bird so i think the m/c is seized
Its not a nearby brake pipe that has got squashed is it, as the chances of a working M/C seizing while driving must be pretty remote and as you say the pedals are free that eliminates them.
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 1:34 pm
by rayofleamington
Its not a nearby brake pipe that has got squashed is it
one step ahead of you Kevin ;-)
There is a T piece directly on the back of the MC so you could only acheive that if you squashed 2 brake pipes simultaneously. On the basis that they leave the chassis leg approx 2 feet apart from each other that is very unlikely.....
erm
thinking aloud

Squashing the front brake pipe closed would give the car the feeling of no brakes and a hard pedal as the rears account for hardly any braking force and the fronts account for most of the pedal travel. Fairly unlikely though, but can't be ruled out.
brakes
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 7:14 pm
by Willie
MIXERMAN.....don't quite understand your symptoms. You say the
brake pedal is solid, then you say the pedal is as free as a bird!
when you observed the piston operating rod did it move into the Master Cylinder
when you depressed the brake pedal?? If it did then either your
M/C is defective or you have no fluid in there. If it didn't then
it is purely a mechanical failure in the brake pedal assembly?
m/c
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 6:23 am
by mixerman
willie
the symtoms are the pedal is free but as i push the pedal the push rod hits the m/c and it is solid the m/c is full of fluid
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 8:54 am
by Alec
Hello MM,
certainly an odd problem. Could the push rod in some way have got misaligned and is actually fouling or pushing onto the master cyliner itself rather than the piston. Unlikely I would think, so I suggest you will need to remove the master cylinder and check it over. Another thought, regarding the posibility of squashed front brake pipe is to open a rear brake bleed nipple and try the pedal?
Alec