[Tigers] Dad's Clutch and Servo

[Gary Winblad]

Jay,
I forgot the original problem...
If it is "sticking" brakes, suspect the vacuum piston from "dragging" due to lack
of lubrication or mis-alignment (The vacuum canister mounts to the cylinder are
sloppy to allow alignment)
If it is "lack of assist", I might have had the same problem years ago.  It was my
original yellow stripe vacuum hose to the servo.  It collapsed when really hot.  My
brakes would work normally all the time except when I went up in the hills and
beat on it..  The extra heat in the engine compartment softened the old hose and
it collapsed.  Had the problem for years, I thought it was brake fade and blamed
the supposedly marginal Tiger brakes... NO, it was just that old hose.

If there is no leak, you can run without assist by just removing (and plugging) the
vacuum hose.  This is standard procedure when you notice that you keep losing
your fluid but you can not find any external leaks..  When the servo seal fails, brake
fluid gets sucked into the vacuum canister until it all of a sudden gets worse or it
gets too full and you will hit the brakes and there is a ton of white smoke coming
out the tailpipe.  That is when I normally disconnect and plug the vacuum hose
and drive it that way until I can get it home and rebuild it.  
If you see leaks coming out of the servo or you get home but can't find a rebuild
kit or something, that is when you take it out and bypass it.  CAT club used to sell
a nice SS bypass hose (I carry one in the console just in case).  Some owners
run without a servo.  I find it makes the brakes REALLY bad, way too much effort
needed for safety.  This was the same effort/feel as when my vacuum hose closed
itself off..
Oh, I just noticed you said "grabbing".  Normally, I find that is brake fluid contaminating
the shoes or pads due to a leak.  Yeah, running it more could clean/burn it off and
eliminate grabbing...  for a while...
Gary


----- Original Message -----
From: Jay Laifman <jay.laifman at gmail.com>
To: Tiger's Den <tigers at autox.team.net>
Sent: Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:01:25 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [Tigers] Dad's Clutch and Servo

Assuming that there is something wrong with the servo - and not the brake
lines because it did not pull to either side and I replaced the lines not
all that many years ago.  I would think that if I have a collapsing brake
hose, the chances that both are going simultaneously is pretty slim.

So assuming its the servo, what is it, and might it "get better" simply by
driving it more, as I've been doing?  When I realized that the brake pedal
was higher and harder than it should be, I rapped it hard with my foot a
couple times and it seemed to release.  The pedal hardness went back to
normal and the brakes were no longer grabbing.

I'd love to know if it will fix itself.  But, I'd hate to melt my brakes
too.

Also, to disconnect this problem, can I do so simply by taking off the
vaccuum hose (and blocking it)?  Or do I have to bypass the fluid too?

Thanks,
Jay