Td5 110 soft brake pedal?

[squashyhat]

Next question, while I wait for the new suspension bushes to arrive... (last post)
The Td5 used to have really good brakes - we had the front calipers refurbished early on in our ownership, and with new pads all round it was great. About a year ago the brake pedal went soft - the brakes still worked but the pedal went down an inch or two before much happened.
I suspected(assumed) the master cylinder, and ordered and fitted a good quality (TRW IIRC) new one. After bleeding the brakes manually the pedal was still soft so it went off to our independent specialist for a modulator bleed.
That seemed ok - there was still a little more travel than originally but we put it down to tolerances/differences between parts.

Present day - I drove it yesterday, after quite a while and TBH it feels pretty bad - the brakes do work fine, but there's something like 2 inches of free travel first. (edit- not that much - maybe 1-1.5inch. More than there should be)
Any ideas?
Possible related side issue - the traction control seems very ineffective. It's very easy to end up with one front and one rear spinning. But I don't how good Td5 TC is supposed to be. ABS works fine. No warning lights.

Thanks!

[rick130]

A couple of thoughts, but firstly, one specific issue to Deefers.
Is the pedal harder than it used to be with the longer travel?
The boosters are notorious for cracking around the mounting bolt area. This results in the booster flexing and you'll have a really long pedal.
Thoroughly check where the master cylinder bolts to the booster, and preferably get someone to push the pedal hard while you observe the MC.
It could be enlightening!
If so, only use a TRW booster as a replacement.

Second thought, the Deefer is a bittch to bleed properly, I was never able to get a pedal with a conventional bleed, I needed to use a pressure or vacuum bleeder.
Third thing, check the flexible hoses if they've never been replaced. They're twenty years old now and may be swelling.

[squashyhat]

A couple of thoughts, but firstly, one specific issue to Deefers.
Is the pedal harder than it used to be with the longer travel?
The boosters are notorious for cracking around the mounting bolt area

Humpf... I will certainly check that! The pedal isn't really harder though, so not sure if that's it.
I replaced the front hoses couple of years ago, but never got around to the rears. Add to the list of things to do.
I have a vacuum bleeder, but usually speed it up by slowly pumping the pedal. I think I should by re-bleeding the whole thing to start with. Just in case.

Thanks for the ideas!
P.S. Any experience with Td5 Def traction control vs Puma?

[RANDLOVER]

What about water absorption as a lot of brake fluids are hygroscopic, (except for DOT 5)? Although I think this would show up more when the fluid is hot and the moisture starts to boil off, so the pedal travel is compressing bubbles.

[Tins]

Rumour has it that there'll be one or two LR enthusiasts in your neck of the woods soon...

[squashyhat]

Rumour has it that there'll be one or two LR enthusiasts in your neck of the woods soon...

Ha yes! Looking forward to that.

@Randlover , I think it should be ok as the fluid is only ~1 year old - but thats another reason to try bleeding it again.

[PWat]

if your symptoms are a long pedal travel but short travel after pumping once, then I suggest checking your wheel bearings. (Excessive wobble pushes the callipers back further than normal.) I've used this to diagnose loose bearings a couple of times, especially when on rough roads.

[rick130]

if your symptoms are a long pedal travel but short travel after pumping once, then I suggest checking your wheel bearings. (Excessive wobble pushes the callipers back further than normal.) I've used this to diagnose loose bearings a couple of times, especially when on rough roads.

Damn,forgot about this!!
Shows it's been a while side I drove a Deefer 😳

You'll even get paid knock off when running quickly on corrugated/bumpy dirt roads and tight when bearings.
Just something to be aware of
Slider calipers don't do this, one of the few times they have an advantage IMO over fixed piston calipers