Brake pedal bar ?

[kapri]

Tried an experiment when my engine was struggling the other day. reached a hill, knocked it into neutral to see what would happen coasting. It slowed down of it;s own accord.?
After a journey of 5 miles or so you can feel the front hubs are hot to the touch. Looking at the brake pedal cluster it appears that the bar doesn't go all the way to the clutch through as the brake pedal assembly floats about 6 mm in all directions ,just where the coiled spring is before the clutch pedal ? Should there be a bush or bearing in there ?

Really must buy a manual soon!

[MrCoffee]

Its been a while since I crawled amongst a Ford pedal box, but as far as I remember, the bar should go right through the brake/clutch assembly as thats what keeps the ratchet in place. Sounds more like you have a sticky brake caliper though. Does it brake in a straight line or veer off to one side under braking? Does one side get hotter than the other?

MrC

[MrMPuk]

The van will slow down even going down a hill, easy way to check the calipers is to jack it up and see if the front wheels turn freely.

[Transitwalla]

The van is likely to slow down on a hill of reasonable gradient . . due mainly to diesel engine compression being so high. My van can hold its own on the hill down into Dover [whichever end you go into Dover] unloaded of course. As for the hubs being hot . . well, friction plays a big part here in as much as the brake pads make constant contact with the brake discs, keeps crap and crud out, so some heat is to be expected. . . too much though due to sticking calipers will have detrimental effect on MPG, brake performance and overall performance. Time, perhaps, for a brake caliper overhaul.

[MrMPuk]

The van is likely to slow down on a hill of reasonable gradient . . due mainly to diesel engine compression being so high.

But if you are in neutral the engine doesn't come into it!

[Transitwalla]

bloody speed reading again . . . didnt see this knocked it into neutral to see what would happen coasting Even so my statement holds water . . .

[kapri]

If you jump into the van and don't touch the brakes it drives in a straight line fine. First time you try the brakes it pulls up straight and true. It then has a pull to the left as you dive and when you brake next it pulls to the right.
I've a lot of experience with brakes ( through modifying motors in the past ) and a servo on any motor only runs 1mm clearance to prevent the brakes sticking. My thoughts re if this bush is worn ( if there IS a bush ? ) it would allow enough misalignment to keep the brakes just dragging.?

[MrCoffee]

If it was anything to do with the bush, it wouldn`t pull to one side as it would affect all brakes. As has been mentioned before, jack up the front and check for a sticky caliper and you`ll solve this mystery.

Maybe the bush is worn, but I don`t see the 2 symptoms being connected in any way.

With your experience with brakes, hot hubs, dragging, pulling to one side, one might have thought this was a no-brainer

MrC

[kapri]

...and you think that one might have slipped by eh ?

Yup but obvious ain't always right ! Certainly isn't in this case as it is impossible to recreate the fault with the vehicle stationery,only occurs when driven so this brings other stuff into play. Pull to either side can also be sloppy steering joints or suspension wear, not forgetting bearings.

Discs brakes run tighter clearances than drums and so would be the first to get hot if the minimal free play was removed.

[24vMk2]

My mk3 did this, was the servo mis-matched to the master cylinder, when it happens, pull the servo to engine pipe out, see if it releases the brakes.

My cure was tempory (it lasted the untill I scrapped the van, 8 years later) two washers between the master and servo, never had a problem again.

[kapri]

Hiya, matched servo and m/c but the washers do as I posted above, giving that minumum 1 mm clearance.

Used the same trick when running a 15/16ths Jag m/c on a Mk ! Fiesta sservo on an all disc set up.

Doesn't always work though as the 'through servo shaft' seal sometimes doesn't stay where it's supposed to and lets air bleed in the wrong side of the servo diaphragm.Used the same trick when running a 15/16ths Jag m/c on a Mk 1 Fiesta servo on an all disc set up.

[MrCoffee]

To eliminate the servo and bush, why dont you just slacken the adjustment allowing more clearance to the master cylinder and see if that cures it?

I still say it would be much easier to jack it up, whip the wheels off and check for uneven pad wear or signs of the disc overheating due to a stuck caliper. I`d certainly be checking that before assuming there was a master cylinder or servo problem.

MrC

[Luke]

what happens if you jack the front end up and press the brakes without the engine running
sounds like calipers to me

[kapri]

They retract fine ! No sticking and no sticking when the engine is running and the motor is jacked up. That's why I'm looking elsewhere.