Have read all I can find but no luck so far,had good brakes and then fitted my recoed Lockheed booster,can get half a pedal bleeding the back but as soon as I bleed the front loose it all again.Have put a litre of fluid through trying so far so I'm missing something somewhere.Any ideas please. Thanks PS discs on front

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Hopefully the front end always goes first. Rob

I had a lot of trouble with the lockheed booster I reco'd for dad's car, and eventually gave up and it's still on the bench 18 months later.

best way is a process of elimination

take the exit pipe off the booster, and put a bleeder in it. Bleed the air out of the booster and make sure you get a rock solid pedal that stays rock solid. If you don't get a solid pedal, then take the pipe out of the top of the master cylinder and put a bleeder in there, you should get a rock solid pedal. If you don't, then your MC needs work, if you do, then take the booster back, cos it's not sealing.

If you do get a solid pedal with a bleeder in the booster, then connect it back up, and put the bleeder in the T piece on the firewall, removing either the front half of the car or the rear half, bleed it through - eventually you'll find the culprit.

With the amount of time your car was sitting up on blocks, if you haven't replaced them already, I wouldn't be surprised if the flexible hoses to the wheels aren't stuffed, you may prefer to isolate them from the system first by clamping them (in turn) with some vice grips....

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

I hate the idea of clamping brake hoses with vise grips. But if you are going to replace the hoses anyway it doesen't really matter.

it can be a good catalyst for replacing them - if they don't look like they'd survive a clamping, then they probably won't

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

The trouble with brake hoses is that they are mulit-layered. What is happening to the important layer is hidden under the other layers.
The outer layer can look bad and you know to repace it.
The inner layer can be rotten and the outer will look fine.
You just can't tell.

a lovely new set of rear hoses arrived in the post for me today for that very reason - just in case the old ones aren't up to the pressure (hydraulic handbrake)

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Great tips,thought the trouble had to be with the booster but not sure what to do about it,would just cracking the fitting be the same as fitting a bleeder?Yes will also do hoses as they look original.Other thing that didn't work was the pressure regulator at the back,just took out piston,how important is it and can you get a new kit for it?Had thought of just putting in washer with small hole,may do the same job?Thanks

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Hopefully the front end always goes first. Rob

Looks like you have no idea about how brakes work and the importance of doing things correctly. Please get someone that knows what they are doing to fix your brakes.

I'm with Morris1100 on this one. You cant just remove an important piece just because it doesn't work. Who knows who you may have killed when things went wrong.

Dicko

Sorry dick0 but no chance of any one being killed as brakes were A1 on brake tester at motor rego with out piston in regulator.The brakes have always been done at home so hence my original question.

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Hopefully the front end always goes first. Rob

That's fine until you stand on the brakes on the highway and the rears lock because you've stuffed the pressure regulator. Then you proceed straight to the scene of the accident.

Don't stuff around with brakes. Do them properly, or not at all.

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

Could someone please let me know the bleeder nipple size and thread for the m/c and a Lockheed booster?

I also just refitted a re-coed Lockheed booster and can't get pedal pressure. Had good pedal but no boost (PO had blocked vacuum tube) before, and now just no pressure. After booster refitted, was leaking at splitter under banjo nut so replaced copper washer and no fluid leaking anywhere visible now.

Have to isolate m/c then booster before I go further, and guess Enzed would have the bleeder nipples?

Thanks all.

PS will get pics up soon of my 2 new family additions....

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Cooper S Mk2
Cooper S Mk1
ex Cooper S Mk2, various Morris 1100s, 1300s, 1500s, Leyland Sherpa!

3/8ths unf i believe

& for the guys who "Think" their brakes are fine without any rear valve (or without any guts inside the rear valve),,, well,,, you obviously havn`t hit the brakes in the wet yet hey????????? ??????? ???????? ????????

funny that

well ,,, in fact it wouldn`t be funny if you locked the rear brakes & skidded sideways into a whole familliy of people would it?

the rear brake valve is exactly that... "A Pressure LIMITING Valve"

Not just a restrictor

that`yre 2 totally different things

Pressure within a system remains "EQUAL" even with a restrictor

however, when a "LIMITING VALVE" is fitted , then the pressure at that end of the car goes no further than the set spring pressure & shuts off any more after that pressure is reached

Please do some reading &/or get some-one to fix your brakes "Properly" for you

However,,, if you have drum front brakes then may i suggest you try to "Un-Adjust" the front brakes,,,,, THEN Bleed the sytem,,, & Then re-Adjust UP the fronts & see if that helps (which it should if you have drum type front brakes)

If you have discs then you`ll need it all "Diagnosed Correctly" before going any further

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I have 4 drums and a hydraulic and no problems getting a pedal, no booster though, and i have silicone fluid which to me seems a little thicker so it bleeds nicely.
As for the bias valve, very important. I think mine is a bit sticky because on dirt it can sometimes skid the rear wheels before the front.

Back on topic, i'd use Simons method of elimination to find the cause.

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Dean Hutton's first car was a Mini.