Chuck,
I had a number of problems which compounded to cause a soft brake pedal last
year- so soft I needed to press twice (i.e. pump it) to get it to do
anything! However, if you are not moving much brake fluid when pressing the
pedal, I doubt any of my faults could be what you've got. Nevertheless, these
were my problems, in case they help you:
Brake pads binding in calipers, because they were too tall (or slot in caliper
was too small). This meant that they did not move gradually towards the disc
as they wore away, but instead got stuck where they were, so the initial gap
that must be closed as the pedal is first pressed got bigger and bigger.
Solution - grind a little metal off the edges of the pads.
Old, soft-ish rubber brake hoses. Replaced all with steel braided items. Yes,
I know the standard ones aren't all rubber, they are re-inforced inside, but I
noticed a significant improvement with the new items.
Rear brake shoes - I was concerned they had got impregnated with grease that
had escaped from the hub, so I replaced them, not sure if that achieved
anything.
Poorly adjusted rear brakes - adjusted when shoes replaced, probably had more
effect than replacing shoes.
Brakes needed bleeding, a lot.
All these caused a soft pedal and poor braking effort, but would not explain
your lack of fluid movement. Sounds to me like a dodgy master cylinder seal,
unless it is something to do with the dual circuit set-up - I have single
circuit in my UK 1500, so have never bothered to find out how the dual circuit
works or what its problems are.
I have seen some DOT4 mineral brake fluid that has very little colour to it,
although still slightly brown-ish. I have heard that silicone is coloured
(artificially), but can't remember what colour it is - purple?? I'm not sure
exactly what happens if you mix fluids, but I am led to believe it is BAD!! I
have heard that, if you convert, you need to do it at the same time as
re-building everything, as seals that have been used with mineral fluid will
fail rapidly with silicone. All brake lines should be flushed and dried
thoroughly during a conversion. This would suggest that mixing them is not a
good idea... It would also suggest that this isn't your problem, since I
guess you would have spotted failure already if this had happened.
Richard & Daffy
///
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// To unsubscribe send a plain text message to majordomo@autox.team.net
/// with nothing in it but
///
/// unsubscribe spitfires
///
///
|