Morris Minor Owners Club

hi does anyone know the correct way to connect up brake servo to a moggy. cheers dave

It's usually just the front brakes that are boosted & it's easier hook up too.

Work out the best spot for the booster, usually at the right hand side of the engine bay mounted down low & out of the way.

The booster is plumbed into the pipe going from the master cylinder to the 4 way junction at the front. You'll need to have at least 1 pipe made up. You might get away with 1 of the original pipes shortened to suit, but if not, then you'd need 2 new pipes.

A hose connection needs to be fitted into the inlet manifold to provide vaccum for the booster. I'd recommend manifold removal for this to avoid swarf entering the engine. Connect a vacuum hose between this & the booster, don't use ordinary hose as it can collapse with age/heat.

Sometimes boosters can be hard to bleed through & most have their own bleed nipple. Bleed the booster first, then the rest of the brakes.

Hope this helps.

Servo fitting.
Ideally both front and rear brakes should be servo'd .Pipe work should be M/C to servo, servo to 3 way from this fitting take one line to the front 3 way union and the other to the rear brakes. Bleed furthest from M/C working then
across and forward to the o/s/f last. You will need a vacuum take off from the manifold to the servo. If you have fitted disc brakes make sure you have both modified the M/C and fitted a header tank. beware using silicon brake fluid as this can cause premature failure of the original minor seals.

Talking of which - is it possible to make a vacuum take off for a servo in the standard manifold, or is there some way of using the exising (dizzy) one? The first one seems like it should be possible - Manifold off, drill and tap hole for a fitting, but what fitting? The second one seems impossible, but I ask in case that's how it's done. Any advice?

bigginger wrote:Talking of which - is it possible to make a vacuum take off for a servo in the standard manifold, or is there some way of using the exising (dizzy) one? The first one seems like it should be possible - Manifold off, drill and tap hole for a fitting, but what fitting? The second one seems impossible, but I ask in case that's how it's done. Any advice?

If you purchase the AP Lockheed remote servo all connections are supplied. If you require the takoff on its own PM or e-mail me and I'll sort one out for you.

Now you mention it, I think the servo did come with one, but it's been fitted to the 1275 for ages and I can't remember how I fitted it to the (pre-existing) vacuum on the manifold, and it's time for the 1098 to go in... I'll check when it's light and get back to you.

Hi Folks,

I've been running a 'Lockheed' servo on all four standard drum brakes for around 8000 daily motorway & town miles now without any hassle (touching wood!).

Just a slight low pedal, but we're getting around to that.

Rich

beware using silicon brake fluid as this can cause premature failure of the original minor seals.

Johnathan would that still apply even if you changed the rear cylinders as well as upgrading the fronts to Discs.

Silicon fluid is probably less of an issue with the disc kit than the standard minor parts. Normally you should only use silicon with all new parts and not ones already run with either dot 4or5. There is very little advantage with silicon fluid, its usually used in high performance applications where temperature is an issue. It also has the properties of negligable moisture absorption. We have had experience of a Mini contesting the Monty Carlo classic rally, where the owner had replaced all brake components with genuine quality parts only to have nearly all seals fail on the second day of competition. I would steer clear of this fluid unless you are running your car to the extream. Yes Dot 4or5 will strip paint if you are not carefull, but really if you drain your brake system every 12 months and replenish you will not have any problems

Normally you should only use silicon with all new parts and not ones already run with either dot 4or5.

I'll second that as people I know have had big problems after converting to silicon with an old brake system. The minimum I'd recommend is to strip all the cylinders and clean them out and fit new seals (and also new brake pipes whilst you are at it to get rid of as much old brake fluid as possible).
On my traveller I'm replacing the entire system at the same time as converting to silicon, just to be overly safe - this is going to make the bleeding a complete nightmare but once it is done it won't need as much maintenance (hopefully...)

if you drain your brake system every 12 months and replenish you will not have any problems

The manufacturer's recommendation is every 2 years (even though most cars never get done) - but it's all relative. The % of water in the fluid increases slowly over time and the more water that gets into the fluid, the lower the boiling point gets. Under extreme temperatures, brake fluid with more water in will boil easier leading to complete loss of brakes!! Therefore for people doing track days etc.. I can see why an annual change would be useful.
For the normal lower mileage Minor, every 2 years shouldn't be forgotten (Although very few people will actually do it )