Hmmm we bled the brakes constantly for ages trying to get them back into order, little success.

I pulled the master cylinder down and the seal/cup seems to be pretty good. One thing is, if the master isn't primed it won't get itself going, it's almost like there should be a one way valve at the end of it to stop any air pockets going back into the piston.

So basically if I have the master cylinder in my hand and I pump the piston it produces good pressure, the next pump will keep pressure as long as I keep my finger over the end. Once I leave the end open and pump it a few times it doesn't seem to work.

So is my clutch cylinder faulty or are they just a dog to get going? Could there be an air leak in the brake line that keeps letting air into the system- hence why I can't keep pressure?



EDIT: I'd use the manual I have at home but I'm at uni and between classes, so any help would be much appreciated.

manually bleed it on the bench, push it in, finger over the end,
once it's bled, fit it to the car, bleed from the lhr, rhr, lhf, rhf,
adjust and check..

And if i can add...adjust the linings right up,don't worry if you cant turn the drum at this point.Once you have the air out,back them off to normal clearance.

You say brakes... then mention a clutch cylinder

And you say there is no valve when you think there should be... and yes there is in a drum braked car

So what are you doing ?

Once bled on the bench, you can also bleed it from the pipes direct at the M/C when installed (watch the paint!), just crack the pipe nuts. Main thing to make sure is that the resivoir is always full.
I have bled some really cr@ppy british heaps (land rovers usually!) after cylinder replacements by just cracking the bleeders and letting it bleed through with gravity, making sure the resivoir is always full. Once it has flushed through with new fluid (and no more air bubbles), you pressure bleed them like normal.

Thanks for the pointers...... Gylezy take note!

yeah i get it, but i dont understand it...
chris you can show me when we install it :)
cheers
Dan

Quote: And if i can add...adjust the linings right up,don't worry if you cant turn the drum at this point.Once you have the air out,back them off to normal clearance.

Great point, this info would have saved me from rebleeding my brakes 9 times, I had a frozen drum brake adjuster.

Ive just had an SS sleeve put into my MC, I definitely prefer this over buying a new unit with alloy bore. Even better would have been if I could have relocated it under the dash rather than in the engine bay like Tommoz has done to his 1200.