Thread: brakes this time, of course

Originally Posted by newhue

If we have a BBQ it will be a bon fire. Bring your long toasting forks as you know what will be burning...

I swapped over the seals they are easy enough, dealt with the blocked bleeder, and being covered in brake **** for the afternoon. Just can't get the brakes to bleed up. Been through 2 bottles of fluid. Can get 2/3 the old pedal without motor running, and 1/2 the old with motor running. Pedal doesn't sink with held light pressure, but there is a lot of travel going on. Hoping its not the booster, but will be the second one if it is.

Thanks for the support on how frustrating these cars are. I see the ol coolant bottle has gone non see through, a little trick LR have been doing since Tdi's first release some 30 years ago, and seems still not bothered in rectifying. I have to keep checking the coolant as the plastic heater valve leaks. Again 165K old, and coolant changed every two years, just wears you down.

Wife has granted permission to unload it. I might stip the accessories of it and trade it. On what not sure, maybe a hybrid Pajero if they come out next year, and stick to bushwalking type camping. Our other hybrid is pretty cool to drive, and believing global warming is upon us and ramping up, its about my only choice for a 4x4.

Tanks for the offering of help.

Have you cracked all the nipples?,I'm only saying this because a disco owner had the same problem and asked me for help,he didn't do the bottom two nipples on the front calipers.Fill the fluid to the top and start from the furthermost left rear nipple and work to the right front,don't pump the peddle down quickly or let it rise quickly,slow and steady wins this race. Pat

I feel offended for your Defender. Took you to a bunch of horrible places without ever braking where you met a bunch of horrible people, was the best thing since sliced bread to you back then. I guess you like to ditch things quickly when they don't go your way. My 2 cents said no need for a 2 page novel reply. I am sure Lisa will let you do what you want to keep the peace. Enjoy your Pajero or Hilux and enjoy all the new friends you meet
All the best
K

Originally Posted by newhue

I will let you blokes in landy land think they are something to behold, and yes I wish I did buy a toyota. But this heap of junk will be the first and last LR I ever buy. I don't mind saying I made a mistake, I should not have bought it, and perhaps all the rubbishing they get just might have merit.

Did the Defender ever leave you stranded? Didn't it take you across the desert a few times, the high country, Fraser, Moreton plus a number of other places? All the time while loaded to GVM? Didn't the vehicle offer a plethora of ways to modify and customise it to your exact needs? In all the trips you have done with your specifically customised vehicle exactly how many times did it let you down? How many times did your holiday end in tears because of this heap of junk?

So after 165K, some including proper off road, real outback and numerous beach trips the brake seals need doing. Of course the logical answer to all this is to want to burn the vehicle and put it down to Land Rovers being rubbish and having a go at the owners who like them.

Could it be that the owners who "think they are something to behold" actually look at the positive aspects of LR ownership? Maybe most Landy owners focus on the holidays, the camp fires, the customisation and the joy of talking to other enthusiasts. Some call this having a positive outlook on life. Sell your car, maybe try and focus on the good times you had with it, even if you hated every minute of it I'm sure the family had some good times on those holidays.

I get Jason feeling a bit jaded. Diffs, transfer box, electrics etc. And now warranty is over it's at his cost. The Puma seems particularly prone to failure. While there are many happy owners, but there's been some catastrophic failures. Digger is the most recent example that comes to mind.

JLR are only just starting to get QA right. I don't think the bothered too much with QA with an outgoing Defender.

My BILs 2015 D4 is an example. The adhesive sealer on the rear door glass was all over the place like mad women's ****e.

I'm really liking the L322. JLR seemed to have gone to a bit more effort on QA. However even then they stuffed up in my case by not spending 30 seconds smearing some grease on the output shaft, and surprise it failed stuffing the tranny and transfer box. I wasn't too put out as it had done a few miles. But would have done a heap more with no cost to me if the DHs in the line had spent 30 seconds and 50p of grease.

No model is without fault. But some Pumas have more than their share. So it's easy to forget the great adventures.

I think the silver bullet was the only car to have dramas on the desert trip. Even then it wasn't catastrophic. Actually every problem stemmed from operator error. Although the Yellow Peril might have got a new transfer box in Alice I think.

Pat, cheers, I see the defender callipers only have one nipple per calliper, regardless of number of pistons. I have been bleeding from closest to master cylinder to furtherest, will try the reverse. Pedal seems to sink however, may have to get the master cylinder sleeved.



Andrew, Karine, Mr and Mrs Inside; thank you for you personal views. Did the Defender ever leave me standard, well yes. Its been flat bedded several times and still to this day chooses when and if it wants to start. I paid 60K, and I kind of expect it to work. Bit different to a 20K dedicated holiday car one does't mind replacing stuff on as its required. If you see this as positive I am happy for you.

Sadly I know people with other marc's who have done all and more than I, and they are not doing the brakes. Or wheel barring, or transfer boxes, or have squeaky doors, or broken wiring, or leaking heater valves, or squeaky clutch pedals. I don't enjoy working on cars.

Yes I have some good holidays in it, but out of warranty I regret buying the Defender. I feel like a fool for thinking all the negative comments didn't or won't apply to me. You may think I ditch things quickly when they don't go my way, and it appears you are including people in there as well.
The Defender is just 6 years old now, and at its current rate of niggling issues I have lost the accepting Landy owner personality. As for the people, you can blame me for as much as you like, and I will leave it at that.

I feel your pain mate, I had a 2009 Puma, spent a fortune but what a let down, I considered it to unreliable for remote solo travel, ignition barrels, turbo, axles, transfer case, etc... sold and bought a 200 series, 120k trouble free motoring. Considering I have a 20 year old 300tdi that has taken me all over Africa and Western Australia it was disappointing. Have owned several other Landrovers but not sure I would buy another new one, still have old one but now in storage.

Best of luck with the new direction.

Hang in there, probably to late now but....

As Pat has advised start the furthermost caliper from the master cylinder and work your way forward, there are a few handy bleeder extractors on the market that dont cost a lot that make the job very easy. I cheat and use my air compressor, bit hard to explain but have made a fitting that goes over the master cylinder and turn the pressure down to about 10psi open the bleeder nipple on the caliper and start bleeding the air out.

Also have a read of this thread might be handy http://www.aulro.com/afvb/tool-time/...e-bleeder.html

Goodluck with it, but when your minds made up and your committed theirs no going back and nobody can convince you, most importantly do whats best for yourself and the family.

If you've bled everything up.....take it for a little run.....carefully.....

And see how the pedal feels after that........this will help everything settle......
Did you put the brake pads back in exactly the same position they came from.....?

If you've swapped the inner and outer pads for example.....they may not be sitting flush on the disc face.....hence increasing pedal travel as they flex.....

A short run will help them bed in and decrease any gaps hence improving the pedal feel......
If it doesn't make any difference......then it's either still got air in it.....or the master has blown a seal......

On my 03 fender.....the abs pump can be bled using the nanocom to run the pump to each individual caliper.........


When changing brake fluid.....it's good to get a different coloured one if you can......so you can tell when the new fluid is coming through the nipple.....
This takes the guess work out......