LSolheim
Member
We went on a great tour with the MG Club Saturday (http://www.mbmgcc.org/gallery/082308-CrabRun/index.html), as described. We had another couple with us, as they discovered an MG fuel pump failure as they prepared to leave Saturday morning. Possibly significant only in that we had a VERY full load.
All went well during the drive, as it had since I reworked the brakes back in April. After the feast I backed out of the place I was parked, backwards down a small slope, and applying the brakes Amphi’s brake pedal went to the floor (although not “slamming” down) and without brakes (or with a tiny bit of limited brakes) I rolled slowly into the fence of the host’s neighbor across the street.
Fortunately, no one was hurt and there was no damage to the Amphicar. All-in-all, pretty scary. To get there we had gone down a very steep road ending in a ‘T’ at the bottom, drop-off across the road. I had just commented that it would be a nasty place to lose brakes!
Fluid in the reservoir looked about normal and after moving Amphi to a flat area I could not duplicate the brake pedal action. She drove (and stopped) normally all of the way home.
After the car has set in the garage for a day the pedal will again go to the floor. Pulling the rear seat and floor, I have found no leaks at any wheel cylinders, on the master cylinder or any of the hard or flex lines or their connections. The reservior shows no drop, so I figure the problem must be in the Master Cylinder, but am at a loss to know what it might be. There is no "brake fade" when holding light pressure on the pedal indicating fluid moving past a seal. Since there is no pressure on the system when just sitting, where and how can the fluid move? It is silicone fluid. After testing a bit the pedal is nice and firm again. We'll see what she feels like in the AM.
Pretty strange how this just occurred after months of driving and swimming. I do recall when restoring MetalBeast, I had flushed and rebuilt the brakes and was in the process of bleeding them. I stepped on the pedal and felt a wetness on the back of my neck. It turned out that a horizontal line to the RR on the bulkhead under the back seat had rusted and there was a pinhole allowing fluid to spray up and out. Couldn’t find it before as the whole system was frozen up.
Long message, but thanks for your inputs/ideas,
--Larry
All went well during the drive, as it had since I reworked the brakes back in April. After the feast I backed out of the place I was parked, backwards down a small slope, and applying the brakes Amphi’s brake pedal went to the floor (although not “slamming” down) and without brakes (or with a tiny bit of limited brakes) I rolled slowly into the fence of the host’s neighbor across the street.
Fortunately, no one was hurt and there was no damage to the Amphicar. All-in-all, pretty scary. To get there we had gone down a very steep road ending in a ‘T’ at the bottom, drop-off across the road. I had just commented that it would be a nasty place to lose brakes!
Fluid in the reservoir looked about normal and after moving Amphi to a flat area I could not duplicate the brake pedal action. She drove (and stopped) normally all of the way home.
After the car has set in the garage for a day the pedal will again go to the floor. Pulling the rear seat and floor, I have found no leaks at any wheel cylinders, on the master cylinder or any of the hard or flex lines or their connections. The reservior shows no drop, so I figure the problem must be in the Master Cylinder, but am at a loss to know what it might be. There is no "brake fade" when holding light pressure on the pedal indicating fluid moving past a seal. Since there is no pressure on the system when just sitting, where and how can the fluid move? It is silicone fluid. After testing a bit the pedal is nice and firm again. We'll see what she feels like in the AM.
Pretty strange how this just occurred after months of driving and swimming. I do recall when restoring MetalBeast, I had flushed and rebuilt the brakes and was in the process of bleeding them. I stepped on the pedal and felt a wetness on the back of my neck. It turned out that a horizontal line to the RR on the bulkhead under the back seat had rusted and there was a pinhole allowing fluid to spray up and out. Couldn’t find it before as the whole system was frozen up.
Long message, but thanks for your inputs/ideas,
--Larry