Hi All

Seem to always be having an issue these days, its been a bit demoralizing i was even questioning whether to keep the car that ive always said i wouldnt sell.

I havnt had a handbrake for a year i made a thread about it, but nothing worked, i even ended up getting oe calipers but still no handbrake output.

I have now purchased some new cables "borg and beck" to replace the previous new ones which had a dragon on them cant remember the name. I remember someone saying to push the brakes in while engaging the handbrake, interestingly my brake are also shocking and spongey so this never helped much, they never firm up, not too bad when driving though. i have bled them multiple times "two person method" to no avail.

slightly rotten underneath chassis too


my questions

while the calipers are off i will empty the brake lines again. Would you replace the master cylinder and brake servo at the same time?

rear calipers- should i use the used Toyota ones or the brand new aftermarket ones? is there anything on the caliper i can do to make the handbrake stronger- any adjustments?

im going to tackle the underneath rust, but i was thinking,sanding, rust remover and then new rust paint. Would anyone advise underseal or is it more issues than its worth?

While doing all of this is there anything i may aswell also do or replace?

sorry for the long thread

Thanks everyone.

Don't apologise, that's what we're all here for, to help each other out.

Unless you're unable to get clear, bubble free, fluid coming out of the bleed nipple, there's no need to replace the master cylinder, I would have thought.  The servos do go out, but that results in more effort on the pedal rather than spongy brakes.

New aftermarket calipers should be fine, and a lot less hassle.  Just make sure the pistons are properly lined up with the grooves in the crown dead vertical, and the pad with the nipple on the back is properly located in the groove.

There's always more stuff one could do, but I think your list is plenty for now.

Decent new cables should sort the handbrake from there.

Rotary wire brush to get rid of the rust.  Paint over with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80, alow to dry for 24 hours then zinc primer amd a top coat of paint to roughly match  you car's colour and you'll be golden.

Ever since I saw the water coming out from behind the underseal on @scottee's  car, I've really been against putting that stuff on.

Thanks Carolyn, thats a great help, ive not come across Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 before, is it good stuff?

We used underseal on my brother LDV camper conversion and had nothing but issues after a while so that put me off too.

If your 2 has the engine off and you were to press the brake, do your brakes firm up? Mine never seem to, but i can get bubble free liquid coming through.

Did you get the right handbrake cables to match your car? PFL an FL are different lengths. They do fit on each other, but wont work properly.

PFL lengths are same both sides, FL one side is slightly longer.

Youre joking! honestly i have a slight memory that one was longer than the other, but they matched what came off exactly. Saying that it never worked well. Am i after the 17091 cables? i have a 2000 Japan import.

.... Already dropping the tank lol

looks like ive found the right cables on ebay 1585 both sides.

@ty222 said:

If your 2 has the engine off and you were to press the brake, do your brakes firm up? Mine never seem to, but i can get bubble free liquid coming through.


One press of the foot pedal will unlikely result in a firm feel of the brakes in that situation unless you practice adjusting the self adjusting brakes by several firm operations from time to time. That is also advisable before trying to adjust the handbrake.
Iirc the hand book does suggest applying the footbrake prior to the hand brake in normal use.
All being well the foot pedal should firm up with progressive actions. If not there is likely air in the system.

Quote from: ty222 on March 13, 2024, 12:52Youre joking! honestly i have a slight memory that one was longer than the other, but they matched what came off exactly. Saying that it never worked well. Am i after the 17091 cables? i have a 2000 Japan import.

.... Already dropping the tank lol

looks like ive found the right cables on ebay 1585 both sides.

Yep 1585 for a pfl will be right.

Quote from: ty222 on March 13, 2024, 11:32my brake are also shocking and spongey so this never helped much, they never firm up, not too bad when driving though. i have bled them multiple times "two person method" to no avail.

If you switch off your engine and pump the pedal quite a few times, does it firm up at all?

It should go rock hard. If it does so, but doesn't stay hard, it's almost certainly your master cylinder seals.

The cables are handed - colour coded Blue and Red, you do need to get them right to work correctly.

Norman

Quote from: Alex Knight on March 13, 2024, 19:05If you switch off your engine and pump the pedal quite a few times, does it firm up at all?

It should go rock hard. If it does so, but doesn't stay hard, it's almost certainly your master cylinder seals.

This sounds like what happens, it never gets to the rock hard stage it get a little tension but looses it. I understand these things can happen with age but it's only 24 😂

Quote from: ty222 on March 13, 2024, 21:37This sounds like what happens, it never gets to the rock hard stage it get a little tension but looses it. I understand these things can happen with age but it's only 24 😂

Check your master cylinder seals.

Not really advice but just words of encouragement: don't sell, persevere and get those jobs done. My car was in a very similar situation with brakes, rust etc. I'd say it's definitely worth it and I found most of the rust was just components rather than the chassis itself.

Quote from: MrChris on March 14, 2024, 09:23Not really advice but just words of encouragement: don't sell, persevere and get those jobs done. My car was in a very similar situation with brakes, rust etc. I'd say it's definitely worth it and I found most of the rust was just components rather than the chassis itself.

Thanks for the encouragement, i think you're right. I removed all of the body panels and tank yesterday and there is only slight rust to the chassis which was great news. An mot said that it had a hole in the sill, but this turned out to be the rear wing panel.i am now more optimistic, im going to tackle any rust and revamp the tank while its off and then the cylinder seals and then get the new HB cables on when they arrive.

More words of encouragement:

These cars are totally worth it. I'm hoping to get a respray this year, and I'm sure that won't be the end of it. Like @MrChris said, keep persevering. You'll be glad you did.