cszjrh Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Have a very small brake fluid leak from one of my rear drums on my SE narrow. Due to my engine transplant it's now three weeks out of its MOT so want to get it booked in ASAP. Is it an automatic fail with a minor fluid leak or is it just an advisory if brake function isn't affected? Obviously it's something I'll sort ASAP but would rather get the MOT sorted. Cheers, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinten Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 If you can't see the leak externally, and the brake function is unaffected, then there is no reason to fail it on it. My rear brake cylinders where leaking but you wouldn't know unless you removed wheels and drums, which they do not do at MOT time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cszjrh Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 OK thanks, that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Frankly, I'd strongly advise changing it now for several reasons: > It's not going to get better, only worse > It's only about a tenner and just 1-2 hours of time > You need to do it anyway > Hassle of having to re-book and do the MOT twice if the leak is visible and it fails the first time > Possibility of it contaminating the pads, necessitating changing the pads on both sides in all probability > Lastly, the consequences if it suddenly lets go - and they do. When I was about 20, I was coming into the garage at home in my Mustang when the brake pedal went straight to the floor. Through sheer instinct, I slammed the car into Reverse (auto box), then Neutral. I nearly went through the gas-powered hot water heater and after that, through the wall and into the kitchen. It was the seal on the near side rear brake cylinder that had failed suddenly - no prior warning at all. Change it now - your life might depend on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cszjrh Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 Understood Scott and I'm absolutely going to sort ASAP. Just seeing if I've got a bit of flexibility in the sequencing. Was just reading that the drums aren't held on with a centre nut so in that case I might tap it off tonight and work out what variant I have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Understood Scott and I'm absolutely going to sort ASAP. Just seeing if I've got a bit of flexibility in the sequencing. Was just reading that the drums aren't held on with a centre nut so in that case I might tap it off tonight and work out what variant I have. Good man. Sorry to get all Mother Hen over this, but I worry about the welfare of the members, especially when it comes to safety critical components that have no extra levels of redundancy. Indicator bulbs are one thing, brakes are another. If you need help, take some photos and let us know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrie Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I've done that too. It was a slow leak that didn't appear to contaminate the shoes, then one day there wasn't enough brake fluid. Its a quick, cheap and easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cszjrh Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Good news - pulled the wheel off last night and found that the drum, shoes and cylinder are all very new. No sign of a fluid leak but what I did notice was that the inside edge of the tyre and back of the wheel hub were covered in diff oil from when I had an oil leak earlier in the year. Cleaned all that up so hopefully won't see any more fluid dropping in that corner. Bad news - I decided to give the brakes a "little test" whilst the drum was off by gently pressing the pedal to see if any fluid leaked which I've now realised was of course a stupid thing to do. I've been fortunate in that I've not over extended and destroyed the cylinder however the shoes are now sitting a couple of mm wider than they did originally and I can't get the drum back on. No amount of squeezing the shoes back together would bring them back in again. The brakes look like the MK2 Escort to me with the self adjusters. Do I need to release the tension on the adjuster springs to let shoes move back? If so, do I take the spring off? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinten Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Take a flat headed screwdriver and 'wedge' it into the handbrake adjuster. That is the part that looks like two semi circles meeting each other underneath the top spring (left hand side on the picture). That is the mechanism that will auto adjust the shoes when you pull the handbrake, so once the drum is on, pull the handbrake a few times, and then its as normal again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cszjrh Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Cheers mate - so I'll be pushing "into" the adjuster, i.e. in the same direction as the wheel studs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinten Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Yeah, both semi circles need to be pushed inward (i.e. away from you as you are facing them). It's harder to describe than to actually do 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Try with the cap off of the fluid resavoir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cszjrh Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 Sorted. Screwdriver into the adjuster and the shoes eased back. All done and dusted in a couple of minutes . Thanks all! And even better - I've finally finished my engine swap!!! Taken just under 3 months and had challenges at pretty much every step of the way but it's all done. MOT booked for Tuesday but not expecting any issues. Will take a few photos tomorrow. Time for a beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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