ah..... well, the rear adjuster is a square 5/16" 'nut' poking out of the top of the backing plate that screws in towards the wheel to force 2 wedge shaped dealies against the shoes inside the drum

assuming you have drums on the front, the adjuster is a bit different - the nut poking out of the backing plate looks the same as the rear, but inside it has a round circle, and a rod poking out of one side of it, and the rod pushes against a slot in the shoe

hard to describe without pictures - MSN me if you want to chat

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

righto cheers mate.... i will give it a go with ur description....

i have just been gettin so pi..ed off after spendin a fair bit of money for me and it not workin...

if i still kant figure it out... i will add you to msn and keep a look out....or pm u
\
cheers

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hey skssgn, is it possible to adjust disc brakes cause i seem to be having the same problems as harvey69, as i can put my foot down and its soft but then take it off and back on again and its hardish......
Cheers Rikki

no, it's not possible to adjust the disks, but if the back brakes aren't adjusted properly, when you push the pedal the back brakes will take all the fluid pressure, and you'll get the same effect, first pump pushes the rear pistons out, second pump puts the pressure on the disks and rear shoes

another reason you may need 2 pumps of the pedal on disks is that the disks are warped and are pushing the pistons back into the callipers as they rotate, the first pump pushes the pistons back out and the second applies the pressure. This happened to me when my hub nut came undone and the disk rotor was actually wobbling, it eventually broke, but the hub nut was only 3/4 of a turn from falling off and taking the wheel with it

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

If your brakes are spongy, ask yourself when was the last time you changed your brake fluid. If the answer is anything more than 2 years ago, you should consider replacing the brake fluid as it absorbs moisture and hence becomes less effective in performing its hydraulic duties.

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

yeah, that's true... I never seem to have that problem cos I'm always pulling things apart

something else to check is that if you've done some work to your brakes and decided to put the callipers on so that the bleeders are at the bottom so they're easier to bleed and don't make much mess - think about the nice air bubble you get at the top of the fluid cavity that you'll never ever get out...

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

hey....i adjusted the brakes..... but the pedal still goes basicaly to the floor... not all the way but close..... and then on the second pump its awesome pressure...like only goes about half the way down....

wtf???

please help... blue slip on thurs and i aint fixed the brakes yet..

cheers

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All I can think of at this stage is to go and see a vet and get the biggest syringe they have and some rubber tubing to go over the bleeder . loosen the bleeder a bit , slip the tubing over the end and while someone is pouring fluid into the master cylinder pull it out with the syringe . DO this for each one till you are sure you have drawn through more than two or 3 times what the car's braking system can hold just in case there's some air hiding in there somewhere . It just sounds like there's a little pocket of air trapped somewhere that will continue to cause grief .

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Hi, just a little bit of help from here too - are you losing any fluid???

Dylan recently fitted a re-co'ed master cylinder and the dumb shits forgot to tighten the bolt on the top of the M/C - result was loss of fluid but it didn't show till we jacked up the back of the car. All the fluid that had leaked was now running down the firewall onto the ground.

He had brakes but the pedal went about half way then with a lot of back pressure all the rest of the way down.

Just my 2 cents worth.

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Rod
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v607/Rodney/

the system isnt leaking anywhere . we have check multiple times.....thanks for the input... when you adjust the brakes do u make it so the wheel just moves or like barely moves????? i will bleed it a few more times to try and get it out.....

cheers

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I think someone on this thread said to adjust them till the wheel spins about 3/4 of the way.

Peter at Bellarine Mini Centre bleeds brakes in a way that I've never seen before, but it works because you dont introduce new air into the system with pumping the brake pedal....... it's done like this...........(but on thinking about it, the car would have to be level) Anyway, what Peter does is to top up the master cylinder then loosen off the rear left brake nipple and just let the fluid drip out for about a minute before screwing it in again.

Top up the master cylinder again now do the same with the rear right.

Top up and repeat on the front left - top up again and finish with the front right wheel.

Yes, it's a bit messy and be prepared to do a bit of a clean up and don't use the rags on your car. Get rid of 'em straight away.

Might be worth a try - however, I've never done this before so please don't hold me responsible - best way is to get the professionals to work on brakes.

Cheers

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Rod
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v607/Rodney/

I used to have a heck of a time trying to bleed Mini brakes. Then I got a one-man brake bleeding kit for about $5 CDN, now it's a snap.
I didn't buy it from this place but this is exactly what I have. I highly recommend it.
http://www.toolmix.com/browse/product.a ... &pid=61694

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

Ditto. I was very skeptical as is it so cheap, but worth a pop. But yeah, makes it truly a one-man operation. Just remember not to let the master cylinder's level drop too far or you will pump more air into the system. It also requires a lot less co-ordination ("Pump", "Loosen valve" "Pump" "Tighten" etc), just (excuse the phrase) pump away, tighten valve and move on to next corner.

Sorry that I am jumping in here late and i have only skimmed the all the above posts but all I have read so far is that you've replaced the master cylinder and slave. What about the rest of the system?

It's the wheel cylinders that are the first to go. Plus have you checked the condition of the brake pipes? after 30yrs they do go hard and leak/not seal properly.

if you have bleed them many times there should not be enough air in there to effect the brakes that much. If there is no pedal after adjustment and bleeding I would say there somewhere in the system something is not sealing correctly and/or still letting in air.

Replacing some of the bits is not enough IMO, you have to do the lot... New wheel cylinders, pipes, shoes and springs

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Personally I use a vacuum for my setup, suck through the fluid,air and any other crap that has collected.

OK you need to isolate the problem. What youve said so far is good as you have checked the system and there is no fluid leakage. Because there is no leakage and you do actually get pedal firmness then your system can only have excess air or excess slack. I am assuming you have the correct master cylinder and wheel cylinders for your model and they are installed correctly, also you have a twin leading shoe drum setup

1:First Make sure the hand brake is fully released. I would even suggest checking this manual brake system and make sure all pivot points are greased.

2:As Simon says adjust the brakes using the square drive on the back of each wheel. Note while the rears have one each the fronts have 2 on each wheel, the second is hidden right behind the steering arm on the brake backing plate. At this stage I would adjust them till you cant rotate the wheel. So that's 6 square drives fully tightened.

3:Try the pedal. It should be solid with minimal (3mm) movement (slack takeup in the pedal to mastercylinder linkage). Given the pedal is now solid, all you need to do is slightly loosen the the 6 square drive adjusting lugs one at a time and checking the pedal. You will be amazed at how little slack drops the pedal a long way.
If the pedal is not solid and it drops to the floor or even an inch then there is no problem with air in the line. I've seen systems "gravity" bleed and still have air in them. The syringe idea is a very good one. As I said I use a vacuum flask and when I do a mini for the first time is sucks all the crap through and it's normally looking like sludge, I even pull air out that must have been in there for years. Use the syringe just make sure that during emptying the syringe you have retightened the bleed nipple. Start with the left rear then front right then right rear then front left then front right, yes do the front right twice. Now the pedal should be solid and you can start to slack off the square drive lugs to free up the shoes.

** If you have followed the above and as soon as you loosen off the square drive lugs the pedal gets excessive travel then the master cylinder could be to small and/or you have the cooper larger rear cylinders fitted.

Finally if youve spent $300 on the system take it to a pro to get adjusted and reap the full benefit of your hard spent dollars.