Fungus
Part of things
Posts: 960
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May 11, 2016 10:04:20 GMT
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Hi,
I've recently bought a Humber Sceptre and I am preparing it for an MOT. It's not far off but the brake pedal sticks down with the engine running (servo related I assume?).
I've heard bad things about these Servos, as apparently the main seal can deteriorate and all braking is lost.
I'm used to driving cars without servo's and to be honest I prefer the pedal feel. If I wanted to remove be servo would it be as simple as plumbing the Master Cylinder straight to the T piece (that splits the braking off to each corner), or would I have to upgrade the master cylinder?
Thanks
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
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May 11, 2016 10:39:31 GMT
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Have a look at the other cars in the range (e.g. Minx/Vogue may not have had Servo's fitted) and see what size master cylinder they used. You could RJ Grimes a call and they'd be able to tell you.
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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May 11, 2016 10:43:39 GMT
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Hi, The servo problem is probably the air valve, easily and cheaply replaced. Just as you say to take it out of circuit. If you don't like the pedal feel afterwards you can change the master for a different size to make it lighter but you will end up with a longer pedal. You could then get questions at MOT time from the tester and an advisory.
Colin
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May 11, 2016 11:01:18 GMT
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And of course check with insurer whether they are happy with removal of a standard fitment braking component  |
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May 11, 2016 11:11:04 GMT
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And of course check with insurer whether they are happy with removal of a standard fitment braking component Ironic isn't it? Back in the early nineties, I got a new job that required a 50 mile round trip commute through the centre of Manchester. So to make life a bit easier, I decided to fit a remote servo to my old Series 2A Land Rover and, being a good boy, told the insurers. Their first instinct was to up the premiums until I argued it was an upgrade, not a detriment. I also got a engineers report saying the job had been dome properly, with new seals/cylinders etc. They finally, and begrudgingly, kept the premiums the same. |
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May 11, 2016 17:58:45 GMT
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Pedal ratio might be different for a servo'd car.
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Fungus
Part of things
Posts: 960
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May 12, 2016 10:34:56 GMT
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I know the Super Minx and Vogue didn't have servo's, but I believe they had drums on the front.
Tomorrow I'm going to bypass the servo and see how it is, should be simple and easily reversible if I don't like it.
Thanks for the help.
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Fungus
Part of things
Posts: 960
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May 12, 2016 10:37:51 GMT
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Whoops, looks like the Super Minx had un-assisted discs on the front, same as the Sceptre just no Servo.
Looks like it should work nicely!
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May 12, 2016 12:37:03 GMT
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Whoops, looks like the Super Minx had un-assisted discs on the front, same as the Sceptre just no Servo. Looks like it should work nicely! The Sceptre is the "performance" version hence brakes upgraded with the servo. A new valve is going to be a lot cheaper than a new non-servo master cylinder. |
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Fungus
Part of things
Posts: 960
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May 12, 2016 17:14:55 GMT
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Both the Humber and the Hillman appear to use the same 3/4" master cylinder.
Would this not mean that the system could be used as-is without the servo?
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May 12, 2016 18:07:13 GMT
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Yes.
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May 12, 2016 18:14:12 GMT
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I junked the servo on my elan plus 2, it was very difficult to bleed and even after a rebuild had a habit of drinking fluid, on this I went one size smaller on the mcyl and fitted greenstuff pads, now has firm pedal, little travel and much better progression.
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Fungus
Part of things
Posts: 960
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May 15, 2016 20:00:58 GMT
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So today I rebuilt the rear drums (including wheel cylinder seals), blew all the lines out, rebuilt the master cylinder and removed the servo.
This has all resulted in an excellent pedal feel, nice and progressive, and I can lock the wheels if I want to. I think this in itself is proof enough that I'm okay without the servo!
Thanks for all the input.
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