To: Triumph Mail List, Triumph Subscribers Inet
John L. writes:
For a few weeks I've noticed that the brake pedal on my 2500 PI
slowly sinks while sitting at the lights. Since the car is an
automatic, it's in 'D' at this point, and as the pedal sinks, the
car will start to inch forward. Most times it seems to reach a
point where the sinking and inching stops, but this morning on my
way to work I was stopped for some time on a steep hill: the
pedal slowly sank down to the floor, and I had to change into
'Park' to stop from slowly rolling into the car in front of me.
I haven't be able to locate the problem. I have bled the brakes
and replaced all the vacuum servo hoses, some of which showed
splitting. Is this a hydraulic or servo problem?
1. I notice no lack of effectiveness when slowing down from
speed. The effect is only felt while standing on the pedal.
2. Once I release the pedal and move off, the pedal travel
returns to normal range.
3. No loss of brake fluid.
I intend to replace all the brake hoses and completely renew the
brake fluid. Should I be looking to overhaul the servo as well?
**************
John, I have had the same experience with my Datsun roadster (I
know, I know, it's NOT a Triumph, but I am working on one of
those, too). Anyways, it may be that you are not properly
bleeding your brakes. Make sure you are using a "bubble pot" as I
call it, i.e., keep the end of the hose in a jar UNDER the brake
fluid, otherwise you'll just suck air back into the lines. I
assume that if you "pump" the pedal a few times while stopped at a
light the pedal returns to normal height, and the pressure is firm
again. If you have not bled a lot of brakes, it takes a while to
get the knack of it. Sometimes a helper is needed to do it
properly.
Before you spend a lot of money on "phantom" fixes, I'd bleed the
brakes one more time being especially careful to eliminate all
traces of air in the system. I'd be willing to bet $5 that will
cure the problem.
Ross D. Vincenti - 64 Spit Mk I/68 Datsun Roadster 1600
Any comments welcomed. Thanks.
John
__________________________________________________
John Laidler | johnl@zeta.org.au | (+612) 519 3912
68 Applebee St. St Peters N.S.W. 2044 Australia
...available for HTML & Web authoring work... <a
href="http://www.zeta.org.au/~johnl/";>Web wrangling</a>
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