BX brake woes (again!)

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:10 am

After Ken`s kind assistance in getting my handbrake to work properly for the re-test on the estate I duly drove it around for a while and gave it a few good stomps on the brakes.
Taken it back for a (hand)brake check before I pay for the MOT again and the tester said brake imbalance was `at best` (after he`d also tried bedding the brakes in again) 36%. Says it needs to be 24% (I think( before it would pass and that he thinks it`s a `lazy caliper`. Not big problem changing the caliper but it is p*ssing me off now as I`ve stated previously the handbrake had never worked so well after the work that`s been done post MOT fail.
Does this `lazy caliper` thing ring true to anyone else? I do have spare ones about and can change it but it`s bloody annoying but a nmeccessary evil I suppose?

Barnsley BXer · Post by **Barnsley BXer** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:46 am

It could be the slide that's sticking.Wire brush it off give it a smack with a hammer and chisel(optional) and give it a squirt with WD40 or similar and move backwards and forwards till it's sliding freely

sleepy0905 · Post by **sleepy0905** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:14 pm

It was the slides which were sticking on mine i took them out cleaned and oiled then refitted i havnt had a problem since and that was 2 years ago

cavmad · Post by **cavmad** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:52 pm

Thanks chaps, I`ll be trying that. Failing that I`ll be hitting something else with a large hammer.
Is it still illegal to `re-shape` the MOT tester`s head?

Oscar · Post by **Oscar** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:06 pm

Slides is an easy job to do but yuo'll need a 17mm socket and a lot of grunt to get the bolts off. A mixture of grease and WD40 will do a good job. I'm still trying to find a substitute for the rubber seals that were perished and fell apart when I took my bolts off. I might just use gaffer tape to keep the cr*p out.

Oscar