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MG TD TF 1500 - Brakes

I am having an issue with my TF brakes. In order to get any brakes I have to pump them to get them to grab. Otherwise the pedal goes to the floor. Any suggestions?
TRH Hammond

First check the level in the reservoir.
Then, bleed.
master cylinder could be also be faulty or one of the flexible hose could be gummy inside or spongy. Need to change.

Laurent.
LC Laurent31

Thanks, so I filled the master cylinder. The front passenger brake grabs great, but none of the other seem to. I kind of glide to a stop.....Even the parking brake lacks in grabbabilty.
TRH Hammond

Jack up each wheel and adjust the cam through the hole in the hub to just grab and back off one click. Apply the brakes a couple of times and re check the adjustment.
Make sure the hand brake is off when you do the back two.

When bleeding the brakes start with the one furtherest away from the master cylinder. Might be time to replace the hoses - two to the front and one at the rear axel. They swell shut with age. Bleeding is a problem if they are not functioning correctly.
Rod
Rod Jones

If you have lost brake fluid, the master is probably to blame. Just adding fluid will not solve the root problem. You can get the master re-sleeved in brass, or replace with modern.

Sounds like you also have a few frozen wheel cylinders. Time to replace them - the various sources have complete kits pretty inexpensively.

To adjust I crank the adjuster all the way down hard until the wheel is locked, and then loosen one click or until the wheel spins. A little scraping is OK. You want as little play in the system as possible.

The 3 hoses collapse internally, so you ought to replace them as well.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

If the fluid level went down due to break wear there may just be air in the system. Because you stated that fluid was added you should probably check the 3 flexible lines and all connections for deterioration and security. If all is well you should pull all the drums and inspect the wheel cylinders for leakage and the shoes for contamination. I realize it’s a pain but if this is a sudden change in performance you may have blown a wheel cylinder.

As the saying goes it doesn’t matter how fast you can go if you can’t stop!

Safety Fast

Stuart
S Grimm

I am trying a gravity bleed. I am not loosing fluid, so I don't think I have cylinder or master cylinder leak. The hoses could be an issue, they are 14 years old.
TRH Hammond

I agree with Tom that you might have a frozen wheel cylinder or 2 (or 3 or 4) as well. I ended up sending the master cylinder all 6 wheel cylinders and the shoes of my Dad’s TD to White Post to get sleeved and rebuilt. All front cylinders were frozen and the rears were leaking. Rear shoes were so contaminated the linings just peeled off like wet cardboard. Was crazy expensive but the car never stopped well before. I would crush the pedal while pulling on the steering wheel to get the thing to stop. If you did that now you’d blow all the tires!

Stuart
S Grimm

Thank you to all. I do have a set of cylinders, and just replaced one. I will also replace the hoses, as that also sounds like another issue.
TRH Hammond

The MG wheel cylinders have only ONE fluid path.
Unlike more common US cylinders where there is a bleed on the body along with a fluid feed.
I doubt gravity bleed will easily dispel the air in the cylinders.
I believe you need pressure and you need to bleed them several times Bleed, wait over night, bleed, wait, and on. Unless you pre-fill the cylinders.
Yes you can bleed without pre-fill but it will take several tries.

Would Vacuum be better?

Just my thoughts.

Jim B.
JA Benjamin

Consider you can replace your entire brake system for less than $500 from Abingdon Spares. This is a single circuit system, and a failure means no brakes and likely a very bad outcome. All of the above mentioned items are suspect and likely failed or nearly so. A problem with vacuum or gravity bleed is air leaks around the threads of the nipples as well as the curved shape of the steel pipes. I think you need some flow volume to move the air bubbles onward. Use silicone fluid with your all new parts. George
George Butz III

When replacing the hoses, Moss Lockheed or at half the price, aftermarket? I have heard the rubber at Abington Spares is better, is it bv on an item like this?
TRH Hammond

Always amazed me when guys will spend thousands of dollars to make a car go faster, but cheat on a life saving brake system. The one thing I do when restoring a car is, replace the entire brake system with new, on the last two cars, even all the lines. On my TF, I even replaced the drums with new. PJ
PJ Jennings

In August of 2013 I decided to totally redo the braking system of Lazarus (my 52TD). Included was the installation of an MGB servo into the system with all new brake components. For the servo see http://www.ttalk.info/TinkerServo.htm. I located mine above the rear axle. One reason for installing all new components was the conversion to Dot5 silicon brake fluid. I installed Speed Bleeders in the system and successfully bled all air from the system. Last week I checked the level in the master cylinder and it was right up where it belonged, where it's been for almost seven years now. Periodic tests for moisture have been clean. Bud
Bud Krueger

This thread was discussed between 17/05/2020 and 18/05/2020

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.