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Re: Poor brakes - and how to get to them

To: "Gosling, Richard B" <Richard.Gosling@atkinsglobal.com>,
Subject: Re: Poor brakes - and how to get to them
From: "Paul Hunt" <paul.hunt1@blueyonder.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2005 10:48:18 -0000
What are you comparing it with?  I know some cars have very sharp and
immediate brakes.  There should always be some free travel in the pedal
before they start applying, but they should be locked with the pedal still
some distance off the floor, of course.  Do they 'pump up' if you repeatedly
push the pedal, only to give a long pedal a few moments later?  If so that
is air in the lines.  How many clicks before the handbrake is on?  Should be
4 to 6, much more indicates poor adjustment which will cause a long pedal as
previously mentioned.  Sponginess is a bit difficult to quantify but
distance shouldn't be.  With the engine off and the pedal pressed hard my V8
travels about 3.5cm, and the components will be much the same as yours.  How
far does you pedal travel from rest to hard on (if you'll pardon the
expression), is it really 'a few inches' or is just that the perception from
the drivers seat?  I was surprised mines was as little as 3.5cm measured, it
seems longer.

At the moment I can't see how a MC problem would cause a long, but hard and
more importantly reliable, pedal.  With a wheel off have you looked to see
how much the pads are moving, if at all, when the pedal is pushed hard and
released?  I've not done this but wouldn't expect it to be more than a
milli-metre or so.

PaulH.

----- Original Message ----- 
> The problem seems to be that the first few inches of pedal travel are
doing
> nothing - the only resistance I'm working against is the pedal return
> spring.  Then finally I actually start pumping brake fluid, and the brakes
> work fine.




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