My brakes - they break!

[johnthesmith97]

Land Rover series 2. Has been stood for about 5 years with minimal maintenance to keep it running. Took it out for a well deserved drive around a month ago and was working fine. Drove it yesterday and was working fine, today though I have no brakes!

The pedal has gone from being fine to completely limp in 24 hrs, I mean it goes right to the floor, I doubt this is having any braking effect but it is hard to tell as I got as far as the bottom of my flat drive and daren't go any further. The system has completely lost pressure.

What has happened, how do I fix it.

P.S I can't see if they have leaked as it has been raining the area where is parked is wet.

[Tanuki]

Is there any fluid in the master-cylinder?

From what you're saying - minimal maintenance/essential disuse for half a decade - I'd be looking to replace *all* the wheel-cylinders, the master-cylinder and the flexible hoses, if only because there's *never* a valid excuse to drive a vehicle with less-than-100% brakes.

[ejparrott]

With bare minimum maintanence over 5 years, I'd be looking at a complete brake rebuild

[johnthesmith97]

At the risk of sounding a bit 'green' where is the master cylinder?

[Snagger]

Hi John,

Please take it as a concerned and well intended piece of advice rather than in any negative way when I suggest that if you are unable to identify the master cylinder, then you're not yet up to working on the vehicle's brakes. Fill in your profile, and hopefully one of us will be local enough to help you out, but brakes are the most critical system on the car and should only be tackled by those who know how.

[johnthesmith97]

Oh, found it, yes there is definitely fluid in the system so I assume that the issue is with the pedal.

[johnthesmith97]

And thank you Snagger, I am just pleased you said it in that way rather than somebody else in... another

[Snagger]

Look for signs of leaks by looking for discoloured or stripped paint - brake fluid is almost as strong as Nitromors, and any leak will have blistered and peeled the surrounding paint. Look at the top of the foot well where the pedal box is secured, and the pedal box itself. If you have a vacuum servo (big black drum that the master is bolter to on later models and some which were retrofitted with SIII brakes), then look at that too. I think you need to find someone local to help you, though - there is a lot to go wrong with these systems and symptoms are very specific for different failures.

[Serious Series]

Have a look at the base of brake drums inside the wheel if one of the wheel cylinders has failed fluid will be leaking into the brake drum.

Take top of master cylinder and note where the level is press brake pedal a couple of times if fluid level drops you definitely have a leak.

[Gazzar]

And thank you Snagger, I am just pleased you said it in that way rather than somebody else in... another

Well, we all started somewhere!

It helps if you have a mate locally who can pass on the benefit of experience having broke the same part when they did it, but if you don't, then the forum here is quite good.

Top tip:

Buy/download/borrow the Haynes manual, or the ROM - Landrover repair operations manual, there should be copies floating in the internet, and read the chapters, then get the parts book and look at the exploded diagrams. Then look at your LR and compare and contrast.

Then ask questions - if it's dumb question, and there ARE some, don't be afraid to say it's dumb question (we all have them).

G.

[Snagger]

Good advice Gaz, though there is an old saying that "there are no dumb questions, only dumb answers". That is one weakness of the internet - some of the advice given is utter carp and is sometimes dangerous or reckless. Always canvass for opinions when using the net, unless you have identified a few reliable individuals.