saxchappy Posted October 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 Thanks again - I really feel that I might just be getting there! Does anybody have any idea on the subject of this hissing that comes from the brake servo area when the engine is running and continues for a while (a minute or so, but getting progressively quieter - like a bike tyre emptying) after the engine is turned off? I have checked the servo to inlet manifold hose and that seems secure and leak free. Cheers Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rosey Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Sounds like the rubber seal between the master cylinder and the servo is split or perished, mine failed the MOT a few years back on that one. The hissing noise is probably the air leaking into the servo due to the vacuum Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted October 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Thanks for that Dave. BTW - did you find that you had virtually no brakes and v. long pedal travel when this happened? Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rosey Posted October 14, 2006 Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Not that I can remember Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted October 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hmmm - thanks again Dave. I took the master cylinder off the servo today. Seal looked fine. Replaced the cylinder and the hissing has stopped. I had taken the m/c off to replace the brake failure warning switch when the pipes were off and there was no fluid in the system. Perhaps I have now just re-seated the seal correctly? However, still have long pedal travel and poor brakes. Could it be that another go at bleeding is needed or might the point be towards a more serious problem? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hasbeen Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 I have always found it takes 3 bleeds to get a 7s brakes fully bleed. Once you have them working, work them regularly, to stop them seizing/rusting up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted October 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 I have always found it takes 3 bleeds to get a 7s brakes fully bleed.Once you have them working, work them regularly, to stop them seizing/rusting up. Don't worry - I fully intend to once we are up and running Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rosey Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 I used an Eazi-bleed on my 7, just bleedin marvelous! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 The Day of Judgement approacheth !!!! She's booked in for MOT testing on Thursday at 2:00!! Don't expect a pass, but will know what to do to get her sorted (no nasty surprises please!!) Watch this space for an outcome report, perhaps Thursday night depending on how well or badly it goes Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malcolm Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Good luck Kevin! Dunno what the rest of you think, but I still find MOT testing is very subjective. I could point you to a garage in the Midlands which has passed two cars of mine. The one had already failed elsewhere (in the hands of a previous owner) and the other which then seriouly failed the next year. Not suggesting anything illegal here, the tester was just much more sympathetic to older cars than a standard MOT centre. Hope she passes anyway Malcolm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Thanks for that Malcolm To be honest, I'm remaining philosophical about the outcome of the test. At least I'll know what needs doing if (when) the fail sheet is handed over. I foresee a less than wholly positive outcome. When I booked the MOT I asked about the fog light situation. My car was registered in Aug 1980. Cars first used after January 1980 must have a rear fog light and tell tale light fitted. So mine should be suitably adorned. As you can imagine, in line with BL policy of that time whereby equipment variations for different markets were minimised as far as possible, I have the holes in the rear bumper for the fitting of a fog light as well as the wiring in the boot. Indeed, I have recently bought a genuine BL-fitted fog-light unit and got it working. Trouble is, there is no tell tale light working. When I fiddle about at the back of the warning light panel, I can feel the recess where the tell tale should fit, but it's covered by plastic film, presumably the carrier for the circuit board to the remainder of the lighting The guy at the MOT station said he would be guided by the computer so I guess that suggests a certain degree of inflexibility. It would be a shame if the only failure point were the lack of a tell tale (especially when I shall avoid driving her in the fog, for all sorts of reasons!!). So, depending on Thursday's outcome, I might asking for advice on overcoming this latest little challenge cheers Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robgeev Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 The MOT inspection does not require a fog tell tale-just that it works. remember, you can be the person operating the controls, just ask the test station,it's not a problem, if they find it to be so, go elsewhere. Any further info, pm me, I run an MOT station, and have access to all stored info. Just having a moment of doubt, I willl check. I would however be surprised if a tester did check the tell tale anyway, as they don't operate it. Rob. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chris turner Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 The fog tell tale light does need to work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted October 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Well, the good news is that she didn't fail on Thursday . The bad news is that she didn't pass either To cut a long story short, two things made me cancel the test on Thursday morning. The first was the fog tell-tale issue (more later). The second was the brakes. I had spent so long putting the fog lamp on on the Thursday morning that I left myself with insufficient time to be sure (?) of getting the brakes sorted for the journey to the station. I possibly could have driven there on the brakes that I had. And then again I could have killed someone through not being able to stop fast enough, so I pulled out. I feel fairly happy that, with the amount of work already done on the brakes, I can get the hydraulics and the handbrake sorted without too much mither. However, the fog lamp tell-tale is another matter. It transpires that if a fog lamp is fitted, it must have a working tell-tale. Now, I got a fog switch with built in tell-tale on Thursday morning, but it won't fit into my harness block for the fog lamp wiring behind the original switch as there is a bar down the (wrong) side of the switch to prevent incorrect insertion of the block. As mentioned earlier, I can feel the recess for a warning lamp on the instrument panel. Can anybody advise on the following, please? Should I modify the new switch to operate the tell-tale from the switch (a bit like the hazard warning switch) or should I go for fitting a lamp into the instrument panel. Rimmers only stock two circuit boards for the TR7, one for each of the two types of reset mechanisms for the clock and trip meter. Could it be a simple case of just plugging a lamp into the empty hole? Any thoughts/advice/ commiserations would be welcome Thanks again!! Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chris turner Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 I should make the switch light up, saves taking out the dash. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted November 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 Thanks, Chris I have followed your advice and gone for the lighting up switch option. As I couldn't get the wires out of the plastic block that goes into the back of the switch, I hacksawed (!) the old block off around the wires and pushed the wires into the block that came with the new switch. I took an earth from the body to the earth for the telltale lamp and pushed the live for the telltale into the space next to what I believe is the side lamp contact (to stop the fog lamp coming on when the car lights are off) above and to the right of the live feed to the fog lamp. I had to push it in all the way to test if it would work. It didn't The fog lamp works fine but the tell tale doesn't. I would like to try the other connections to see if they make the telltale work, but can't get the wire back out. Can anyone tell me if there is a knack to this, or have I got to order a new block and start hacksawing again? (BTW I would have tried again for MOT this weekend but was on an overnight conference at work until after the station closed, so will go for next Saturday) Thanks yet again folks Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted November 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Just to let you know that, after some hit and miss trial and error with electrical connections, I have now got a switch operated fog-lamp and tell tale I went for the replacement switch option rather than the dashboard/PCB option in the end (Thanks Chris ) Just a little tweaking of the brakes and MOT here we come - wahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted December 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2006 Hoping to get the brakes sorted this week - no really! I have picked up on the difficulty of bleeding TR7 brakes. I have also heard whispers of something called the 'gravity method'. Could anyone out there comment on its effectiveness and describe how it is put into operation, please? Any other hints and tips on the best way(s) to go about bleeding would be appreciated Many thanks in advance Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ally Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 No advice from here I'm afraid, just sympathy - between us we seem to own the stubbornest TR7s in the register! I too need to finish fixing and bleed my brakes before I can get mine MOT'd...aargh..... Best of luck! Ally Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rosey Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Hoping to get the brakes sorted this week - no really! I have picked up on the difficulty of bleeding TR7 brakes. I have also heard whispers of something called the 'gravity method'. Could anyone out there comment on its effectiveness and describe how it is put into operation, please? Any other hints and tips on the best way(s) to go about bleeding would be appreciated Many thanks in advance Kevin I have used an Eezileed and it worked fine (dont use too high a tyre pressure though) and the help of a son on the brake pedal works fine too. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted December 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 I have used an Eezileed and it worked fine (dont use too high a tyre pressure though) and the help of a son on the brake pedal works fine too. Dave Merry Christmas, all Used the Eezibleed kit today. Went through all the bleeders twice (That's a total of six bleeds now) : the brakes' effectiveness don't seem particularly great. I've replaced virtually all the system after the servo, but not the master cylinder that goes into the servo. Could the problem be to do with something other than bleeding (I can't see any evidence of leaks)? When the engine is idling and I push the (spongy) brake pedal repeatedly the revs drop and the engine cuts out. Or am I expecting too much from a 1980 car's brakes, having got used to discs all-round /ABS on a VW Sharan? (I doubt this, to be honest - I've had the car at 20mph-ish and the car doesn't stop quickly - I hate to think what would happen at 70 ) Any advice would be very welcome - a 2006 attempt at MOT is my aim cheers Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hasbeen Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 I think your servo is shot, & not holding a vacume, hence the motor stalling. Run the thing, & get it warmed up. Turn it off. Pump up the brakes, to as hard as you can. Start the motor, You should loose about half the pedal. If you do, it doesn't prove the servo is good, but if you don't the servo is definately shot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted December 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 I think your servo is shot, & not holding a vacume, hence the motor stalling.Run the thing, & get it warmed up. Turn it off. Pump up the brakes, to as hard as you can. Start the motor, You should loose about half the pedal. If you do, it doesn't prove the servo is good, but if you don't the servo is definately shot. Many thanks - it looks like you may well be right, Hasbeen Any ideas on the most cost effective solution - it would appear that servo rebuild kits are like hens' teeth. Is this a DIY job for a relative novice? Happy New Year!! cheers Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ngtf Posted December 30, 2006 Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Many thanks - it looks like you may well be right, Hasbeen Any ideas on the most cost effective solution - it would appear that servo rebuild kits are like hens' teeth. Is this a DIY job for a relative novice? Happy New Year!! cheers Kevin Exchange recon servo from Robsport is £20 plus shipping and vat. Alternatively, I have a reasonable secondhand one you can have for the cost of shipping if you would prefer. Up to you, you have my numbers already. All the best Kevin Gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saxchappy Posted December 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2006 Exchange recon servo from Robsport is £20 plus shipping and vat. Alternatively, I have a reasonable secondhand one you can have for the cost of shipping if you would prefer. Up to you, you have my numbers already. All the best Kevin Gary Cheers Gary - I've PMd you Kevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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