Transit 190 2.5d 1999 mk5 Spongy Brakes!!!

[cbtransit]

Hi all
Got a transit 190 2.5d 1999 mk 5.Changed the rear wheel cylinders as they were leaking.Fitted new shoes.Bleed the system.The brakes with the engine off are normal ie hard and dont sink.Turn the engine ON and the pedal sinks to the floor nearly!. Bleed the brakes again in the correct procedure,removed rear drum and checked for leaks,replaced the master cylinder and servo from another 190 that we know was working correcly and STILL THE SAME PROB!! HELP

[MrCoffee]

Presumably you adjusted the rear shoes? Its normal for brakes to be a bit spongy when you replace the pads or shoes until the brake surface beds in properly. Maybe give it a quick run up and down the road (assuming you feel it safe to do so) and use the brakes a lot and see if they improve.

[cbtransit]

hi mate
Tried that on numerous occassions still no different. Running out of options! Not sure why the pedal is hard when the engine is not running it loses no pressure and does not fall to the floor. On starting the engine the pedal begins to go soft then with even pressure applied it slowly falls to nearly the floor.

[cbtransit]

hi you say adjust the rear brakes. Presummabley you mean the self adjusters? We have adjusted the self adjusters back to the max so that the drums go on nice and easy.Then when the pedal is pumped the adjusters can be heard clicking and adjusting themselves. The handbrake has been adjusted so that it locks the wheels on the third click

[MrCoffee]

Not sure what type of adjusters you have on those, but usually I`d back the handbrake cable right off, then adjust the brakes manually til the drums go on with a bit of force. The wheel should still spin freely, but you can hear the shoes making contact. Do the same on both sides, then adjust the handbrake cable to suit. You may find there`s a slot on the backplate where you can adjust while the drum is on too. I do it this way because the self adjusting mechanism rarely gives a decent pedal from my experience.

The symptoms you describe do point to a servo/master cylinder problem. If its the master cylinder, I'd guess the pedal would fade even without the engine running, so I'd check all hoses and whatnot relating to the servo. Also, may be worth bleeding the pipes at the master cylinder too if you've swapped that over.

[vanfox]

If you have a hose clamp try blocking the flexy pipes one at a time until you find where the sponge is.

Last time I changed rear shoes I had to run with the handbrake on until they faded. When they cooled down it passed the MOT. Seems this non asbestos lining stuff takes a lot of bedding in. Mine did anyway.