As i've mentioned in another thread my old friend a plumber is in the process of fixing our bathrooms up among other jobs.
He mentioned that his nsf brake was prone to locking on and he had to release the pressure via the bleed nipple to release it...seems it's been like this some time.
Seeing as i did the decent thing and gave the agency fair notice of my leaving, they've dropped me like a hot spud, which doesn't bother me in the slightest as i did things the correct way so my dear dad won't be turning in his grave. It's given me a few days off...so i said i'd have a look at it for him...i know, but i can't help it.
So today i jacked the van up, and straight away it needs a new set of front pads....so seeing as i'm going up the factors i'd see what else it needed.
Lifted the bonnet, somewhere under all that muck is an engine...i casually enquired when he last had it serviced, well i've put it through three or four MOT's over 80k or so but it's never actually had a service!!!
Righto, i took the pads as patterns, unclipped the air filter housing and poured the rotted air filter out, the fliter frame was still intact though so still as good as new according to Tone.;)
So i ended up fully servicing said van, nice and easy to work on if a bit filthy.
Oil filter cover a nice touch, replaceable filter type, it had a large nut and a serated edge if you use chain or grips wrench instead, well thought out.
Fuel filter had no priming mechanism i could find, so syphoned some clean fuel into the filter before offering it up....big winge here, why for the pennies cost do makers not fit a simple primer pump, Japanese and Citroen can manage among others...end of winge.
Considering it's neglect it's stood up well, not sure if i've cured the brake problems, the pistons seemed free enough from what i could see, but the sliding pins needed a clean and regrease, not actually seized like some i've come across, but given the slight offset forces exerted by slide calipers i think that might have been the cause, plus very worn pads means the pins were almost fully closed.
If it's not cured then a new caliper may be needed, hopefully not.
His next brake pad change will be expensive, not only will it need front discs but also rear shoes @ £75 Gulp...coincidentally the same price as all today's service parts combined not including MY Millers oil...bah.
Still a good motor the old Tranny.
EDIT...oh and might bleed those brakes tomorrow too, seeing as he's been undoing one valve regularly.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Wed 29 Jun 11 at 19:27
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>> why for the pennies cost do makers not fit a simple primer pump, Japanese and Citroen can manage it
Every Citroen and Peugeot (and 90s Ford!) hand primer I've ever touched has popped its diaphragm as opposed to primed the fuel system.
Our fitter at work just cracked off one of the high-pressure fuel pipes and turned the Mondeo's engine over until some fuel came through, worked first time. Glad to see several years of neglect can't kill the TDCi engine though :)
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I've told the story before about the never serviced 85k mile but only 18 month old Mondeo diesel estate I bought for peanuts and ran ( having serviced it of course ) without problems for a further two years.
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>> I've told the story before about the never serviced 85k mile but only 18 month
>> old Mondeo diesel estate I bought for peanuts and ran ( having serviced it of
>> course ) without problems for a further two years.
Bombproof, those old Ford 1.8TD 'Endura' engines, although I'm surprised the cam belt made it 85,000 miles. These were known for being quite short lived.
In a previous job, I took over a Focus 1.8TD from a departing employee. 68k on the clock, and never serviced. Had it serviced, and then put another 30k on it without any problems at all. To be honest, it didn't drive any differently to the religiously serviced 100,000 miler I'd just given back.
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I agree with Dave_TDCi, the cheap primer bulbs are more of a menace than a help. Even the decent primer pump which Bosch used to fit alongside their inline pumps on both light and heavy vehicles was a frequent cause of trouble.
The only primers which didn't add an extra potential failure were those where you could move the diaphragm of the pump using a lever on the lift pump itself.
I suspect the problem with these brakes is not within the caliper. Releasing pressure by the bleed screw to release the brake is the giveaway. It could be that the flexi hose has collapsed internally, or has been twisted during fitting so that it acts like a one way valve for brake fluid, or, the problem could be much more serious in either the ABS or the master cylinder.
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It could be that the
>> flexi hose has collapsed internally,
I did wonder about the hose, but it appeared to be in good condition, not as i have X ray eyes, i hope it's not master cyl...if faulty wouldn't it affect both front brakes, ABS i could see possibly affecting one.
Well he's phoned me and the brakes are working fine, so far so good, i fully expected them to take a while to bed in but he reckons they're good already.
I'll bleed them tomorrow and we'll just have to wait and see if the problem reappears, if it does then i'll shove a flexi on anwyay, pennies and it's one possible off the list.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Wed 29 Jun 11 at 20:42
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You back in harness then Chap?
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>>if faulty wouldn't it affect both front brakes,
Off the top of my head, I don't know what layout the split is. If diagonal, for example, then the locked in pressure might not be enough to cause a problem with the opposite rear drum.
One way to pin down the problem if it's a bit stubborn is with the brake locked, first undo the relevant pipe at the master cylinder, and then check the brake. If it releases, it must be something to do with the master cylinder. If the brake doesn't release, you can work your way down the pipeline until you find the one where the brake releases - bingo!
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Those transits can survive a tremendous amount of mechanical neglect.
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>> Those transits can survive a tremendous amount of mechanical neglect.
My first driving job entailed driving one of two '87 Transits - they only had five-figure odometers but we were racking up 100,000 miles a year in the things in 93/94. "Basic" wasn't the word - "deafening" was, but they just kept going and going until they rusted away.
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[[You back in harness then Chap?
Helping me mucker out, or rather taking pity on his van, big un too LWB high top.
>> One way to pin down the problem if it's a bit stubborn is with the
>> brake locked,
That i haven't seen yet, hopefully it won't reappear but if it does i'll take your advice NC, thanks.
I drove Transits a lot in the 70's, even then they could suffer dreadful neglect and just keep going.
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Those transits can survive a tremendous amount of mechanical neglect
They can't be that bad the travelling community swear by them in the hundreds.!!
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Update.
Brake problem has not reappeared and the van does a decent mileage so i reckon it's cured, certain it was the sliders.
Hopefully that's it for a while then, a few months hence and it will be a big bill, discs and pads, and rear shoes....which incidentally i haven't found much below £70 for the set.
I'll hide the week he has the MOT..;)
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Ford Transit - Service, what service - Dave_
