bx brake pedal.

[greendale65]

Hello all, After my garage changed the part that the front sphere sits on
the brake pedal travels about a good inch before contact with the brake
took it back and they said it was ok must be something worn
any help on this one.
Thanks 16v

[mat_fenwick]

I've deleted the post from the other thread seeing as you've got this one going.

Obviously we don't know exactly what work has been done, but work on the hydraulic system shouldn't affect the pedal position as this is set by a threaded stop and lock nut. However, if there is air in the system this can give a delay when you press on the brake pedal before anything happens - would you say that this might be the case, rather than excess pedal movement?

Unfortunately, if the garage believes it to be OK, they're unlikely to change their mind just because 'some bloke on a forum who's never seen the car has taken a blind guess what might be wrong', so I really do think you need to find another garage for a second opinion. Can you remind us where you are please, and someone may know of a recommended place to take it?

[David]

I agree with other members of the forum, The garage don't seem to know what they are doing & are doing more harm than good.

The problems you are mentioning all sound like air in the hydraulic system to me, The brakes particularly, can be pigs to bleed the air out of; it took me 3 attempts, a new brake caliper & a bleed screw before I got mine right.

I would check for hydraulic leaks from the rubber hoses to the pump, then check there are no leaks from the metal pipes. If there are no leaks then check if there is actually enough oil in the tank; its possible that the garage are just putting enough in when the car's suspension is in the low position, if so it needs more in.

After you have established there are no leaks & there is enough oil in, you can then start bleeding things out. Bear in mind that a leak from the rubber pipe to the pump might not be vary noticeable as it sucks rather than pushes oil.

I would first bleed out the hydraulic suspension, to do this you need to ensure there is enough oil in the tank (the green LHM tank if your unsure), then put the suspension in the highest & lowest settings a few times ensuring the car rises to the maximum in high. When you have done, leave the car in high & check the oil level again, It should be on maximum, if not top it up.

Once that is done jack the front of the car up slightly so both front wheels are off the ground & turn the steering lock to lock, after this has been done a few times the steering will get lighter. If there is air in the ram you will be able to hear the air returning to the LHM tank.

Once both of these have been done you can move on to bleeding the brakes. You need a length of tube in to a container of some description. I normally use jam jars. Clear washer tube works best as you can see the fluid (& air) coming out of the brakes. Then ensure you can get the bleed screws undone. The front ones are normally easy enough, but the back ones can be difficult. Then put the tube on a brake caliper bleed screw, undo it, then push & HOLD the brake pedal down as fluid & air is pushed down the tube. Once the air is gone tighten the bleed screw & move on to the next brake.

If the car doesn't rise in the first place then you'll need to prime the pump before doing anything else.

Hope that helps.

[greendale65]

I've deleted the post from the other thread seeing as you've got this one going.

Obviously we don't know exactly what work has been done, but work on the hydraulic system shouldn't affect the pedal position as this is set by a threaded stop and lock nut. However, if there is air in the system this can give a delay when you press on the brake pedal before anything happens - would you say that this might be the case, rather than excess pedal movement?

Unfortunately, if the garage believes it to be OK, they're unlikely to change their mind just because 'some bloke on a forum who's never seen the car has taken a blind guess what might be wrong', so I really do think you need to find another garage for a second opinion. Can you remind us where you are please, and someone may know of a recommended place to take it?

Hello All, Took the car to another garage they said
break pedal plunger stuck in pedal.
I live in Worthing west Sussex.
Any body recommend or know
in this area.
Cheers.
16v

[Way2go]

Kermit would likely know garage competences in your area. I don't think he visits this site much these days but you would be able to contact him via Philip Chidlow who is a regular on here.
.

[greendale65]

Kermit would likely know garage competences in your area. I don't think he visits this site much these days but you would be able to contact him via Philip Chidlow who is a regular on here.
.

Hi, Who is this guy don't know him if he see this get in
touch with me.
Thanks 16v

[citronut]

my workshop is in East Sussex,
pm. sent

regards
malcolm

[Philip Chidlow]

Hi, I'll ask Kermit (he isn't a frog ) and see if he can recommend... But you could do an awful lot worse than go to Malcolm and cut out the hassle!

[electrokid]

another garage they said break pedal plunger stuck in pedal

Sounds like another garage who don't know what they're talking about !

Malcolm will sort it out - no probs

[rutter123]

Personally i would NEVER let a "regular garage" work on any of my bx's, most mechs know nothing or very little about the bx system and this will ultimately lead to you taking it back to correct the faults they have created, and at your expense and inconveinience, always best to tackle the job yourself or take it to a proper old school citroen garage where people know their stuff and can carry out the task efficiently and in the correct manner.

Prime example recently took my bx to get the tracking set at a reputable tyre dealership only to notice after a week or so the car pulling to the right again quite badly, the numpty that set the tracking with his fancy laser gadget had forgotten to tighten the track rod locking nut on the o/s and it was slowly unwinding itself, not having tracking equipment myself i had no choice in this matter and put my trust in 3rd parties, never again could have ended very nastily.

[electrokid]

not having tracking equipment myself

Well... I think you do

Laser tracking equipment never produced the right results on my Granadas because the suspension geometry varies when the front end of the car is jacked up as it usually is to fit the laser kit. So, on the rare occasions I needed to adjust front tracking I did it by eye. Over the length of a car there is nothing straighter than light: so by squatting at the back of the car and looking forwards to the front wheels you should be able to line up your eye with the leading and trailing outer edges of the front tyre - then measure how far away from the outer edge of the rear tyre your eye / line of sight is.

You should do this on level ground because you don't want any stress / distortion in any tyre due to it being held on the handbrake, and you may need to move the car a few inches backwards and forwards to get an average if the tyre sidewalls are at all uneven - and this probably only works well if all your tyres are the same make / type or make allowances for any differences between front and back tyres.

Doing the math - the wheelbase of the estate is 2655mm : if the front wheel angle changes by one degree then the change in line-of-sight at the back wheel will be Sine 1° x 2655 = 46mm. Then 28mm needs to be added to compensate for the difference between front and rear track so dead-ahead will give a line-of-sight at the rear wheel of 28mm and 1° toe-in (on one side) will give a line-of-sight at the back wheel of 74mm (nearly 3 inches ! ! ). Moving your head from side to side to see where the farthest edge of the front tyre appears and disappears from view will give you an accurate line-of-sight. It's do-able.

Another way / more info here...

http://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic ... ase#p50533