jpadie

dear all I've been thinking for a while that the canwasher reservoir must be very small as it's all used up after a few days. But as I was under the car sealing up the exhaust I found that there was a water leak under the front nearside wheel arch. Seems likely to be the washer reservoir. can this be accessed from the wheel arch (or at least can the unions and pipes be inspected)? or do I need to take the bumper off? thanks in advance Justin

The car drives fine and there's no squealing from the shoes. Handbrake feels well adjusted So I'm going to chalk down the grabbing to the coating on the new shoes or some lack of adjustment that needed some running to get right. The cars going to sit unused for a week and then I will jack it up and check again before its moT retest

dear all after a failed MOT for handbrake looseness (no more adjustment available in the cabin) I've replaced the rear brake shoes, but not the drums (which were rusted but in good shape and adequate thickness. I'm finding now that the handbrake is being a little temperamental to adjust - the situation is that one wheel spins freely and the other is grabbing somewhat significantly. I've pumped the brakes quite a bit to get the adjustment spring to set where it wants. is this just new brake shoes needing to be worn in or is there some magic that is advised ? thanks to all as ever Justin

Thanks all I've got the handbrake cable safely back on. Simple once I'd removed the other end from the adjustment yoke. I know I will have a fight with that later... My next challenge is the retainer springs. Been on one of those for two hours and have tried simple force to using zip ties to pre-compress the springs. I don't seem to be able to grow the third arm that's needed for this either! I can compress the spring all the way in and thread the pin ok. But I've then got no way of turning the pin. Off to YouTube for inspiration but also hoping they'll be anecdotes and hints here

Well blow me down with a feather. I've been so focused on the wheel end I forgot there was another! I was also contemplating a hose clamp tool or maybe cutting some slots in washers and using mole grips to compress them. Thanks!

... Attached to brake caliper? It seems to need three hands. One to hold the end, the second to push back the spring and the third to wiggle the brake shoes up and around. Sadly I have only two

Thanks both. I've left it on the a stand and will get back to it in ten days. Looks simple enough with the right tools.

Just replace the wheel cylinder and put the drum back. Terrible noise and almost no brake force nor handbrake. Disassembled again and found these bits knocking around the drum. Any idea where they go? Thanks Justin

Am I right in thinking its an 11mm flare nut wrench that's needed on the brake lines? Not got any in the UK so I need to go worship at the bezos altar....

Thanks. They seem ok and I will service them properly tomorrow. I do have brake cleaner but also have a Karcher...

well that's alright then, I've plenty of those!

thanks! I've not got a full set of hex bits so it's a timely reminder to pick some up.

brake cylinder seems to be the answer! I should have guessed given that it's more or less the same in French. new one arriving tomorrow.

Hello all I've been suffering a loss of brake fluid and find that there's fluid leaking through the nearside rear brake drum. Being a clever fellow I've diagnosed this fluid as brake fluid. The seals on the outside of the hub appear dry. And the inside of the drum was a nightmare of sludge. It looks to me as though the brake fluid is coming out of the rear boot. But that could just be gravity. What is the part called in English that I need to replace please? Thanks Justin

That would be a challenging result as I don't have alternative transport at the moment, and don't have any good quality M8 stainless steel bolts... Probably best that I put the car back together and go get some supplies!

Yes indeed in the hex size. My mistake. Feels like they do more than locate the caliper though. They keep it on the hub against the disks as well!

As it happens I've just got out from under the car doing this. It's on A-stands and am really struggling to get the horizontally mounted 18mm bolt out. No space for a breaker bar and my socket keep slipping off. I've had two metallic squeaks though, so I will persevere and not admit to anyone that I'm using my torque wrench to undo this bolt ... I'm wondering whether it might help to jack up the sump a bit. And maybe the wheel hub needs support to reduce the pressure on the bolt? Which leads me to the next conundrum of the fittings to the wheel hub all being seized. I've put on wd40. No oxy torch here unfortunately. I've only got a butane gun which I doubt will be hot enough to make a happorth of difference. It's annoying not having a lift available!

i've read that these need 30Nm. but that feels very light for such a core bit of kit. even though the bolts are H7 heads. anyone know the right torque setting for these please?

definitely not on mine! I think this is in fact a brake line leak. will monitor,

Why the LHF? Pads are ok but disks need replacing. Job for next week. Will do pads at the same time in any event.

Thanks. It is parked up for a week whilst I find enough nurofen to get rid of the headache the beeping caused. Will check the handbrake switch when I'm back I thought the three beeps was more the front brakes though. The handbrake being a continuous sharp beep.

Anyone know what three beeps and a flashing handbrake light mean? Seems continuous but the gap between each set of three beeps is not identical. Beeps are about 3/4 second apart. Brake fluid is the right level. No noticeable loss of hydraulic pressure. No codes shown in obd11

well ... that's annoying! so no choice other than to buy a bushing removal/installation tool (or seeing whether a neighbour has one)?

Dear all in last year's MOT I was given the advisory that "Offside Rear Lower Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement rear bush" and recently when I went to the garage for a clutch change, the mechanic told me that the rear arm was flopping about. I'm after advice please - I don't have any tools here in the UK that would work as bushing remover/installer and I don't fancy buying one. so I'm thinking that buying a whole new arm (complete with the bushings already mounted) seems like a good idea (they're only 30£). is this replacing this feasible on the ground? i've only ever done suspension work on a lift before. Feels feasible depending on how much pry-barring is needed, so looking for someone with experience to reassure me!

The MOT garage is the service garage. The point I was really making was that the garage service mechanics should be calling the owner and saying we can do this when doing that and save you xxx. And more worrying is a part entirely wearing out in 18k mi. I'm tempted to say that either the issue didn't exist or the work was not done satisfactorily. But not my car. I would have done the work myself. This is my mother's (79).