Thread: hard brakes on 86 classic

Originally Posted by mandala1111

Hi there all.
I have a problem with the brakes on my classic.The brakes generally need a fair bit of leg pressure to work properly but now every now and then they get really hard and don't work very well at all and even to the point that I need all of my strength to stop the car.It is a little bit like having brakes without a booster but when I apply heaps of pressure to the pedal,the pedal feels like if won't go any further and the car has not yet come to a complete stop yet.Does it sound like the booster is gone or could it be the master cylinder.Thanks for any help.Shane.

Hi Mandala111,

I'm not really familiar with the classic brakes setup, but you can try a few basic tests.

With the motor off, pump the brake pedal,and get it as hard as you can. Start the motor. If your brake pedal now goes to the floor, there is a pretty good chance the booster diaphragm is defective. After all of this pumping, check the back of the booster, where it bolts to the master cylinder for fluid leaks. ( not part of your hard pedal problem )

Next check the pads, rotors, and or drums for oil contamination. If they are contaminated, you could push your pedal through the floor, and not stop the vehicle.

Some of this is getting into the realm of a specialist.

The next stop is your calipers. They need to be checked for sticky or seized slides

We could go on. Essentially you need to check for the obvious first, and then work through each area methodically. it could be a long process of elimination if the brakes on your Classic have been neglected.

Replace all your 4 brake lines as the rubber inside will be coming off and blocking the lines, I have had this now on 2 of my Rangies
Its a common issue with older ones
Brad

Just a thought, on the booster pipe that runs to the inlet manifold that gives you vaccum assist, check that the valve isn't sticking shut and not allowing you to have any vaccum assist to the booster. I had this happened on my Rangie years ago and it gave the same sort of issues you had, replaced the valve on the inlet manifold and I never had an issue again, problem solved .

Good luck with it.

Trav

sounds like vac failure to me.

I had this problem for ages. Replaced the pads with softer ones. Bingo. Lock em' up in the dry now!

Could also be the shuutle valve that has shunted to one end and only letting fluid to one pair of pistons at each side.
On My 1978 the shuttle is bolted to the inner wing just below the booster. If you screw out the switch (should light the brake warning light when shunted but mine didn`t) and look down the hole with a torch you should see a notch that the switch sits in when its correct. If you can`t see the notch its probably moved. You need to try and centre it again (i used small screw driver) and then loosen all 3 bleed nipples on each front caliper and bleed.

Mine did this after fitting new hoses.