a couple of questions about brakes!

[vraksianrebel]

well my car is actually running quite nicely now with the tr7 lump in but i still feel the one thing thats letting the car down are the brakes.
i have the standard tandem 1850 brakes and find them really rather lacking.
on top of that the brake warning light is on constantly presumably due to the bias thing on the bulkhead.

i know some people have chatted about the tracker jack upgrade, whats actually involved in that?
i have a set of nice dolomite sprint alloys on the car and would really prefer to keep them and i may have misread the posts i have looked at already but i thought the trackerjack upgrade doesnt fit behind the sprint alloys.

what other options are there?
what do people recommend?
also how do i sort out the brake warning light issue?

[Jon Tilson]

The TJ conversion AFAIK uses Golf GTi vented discs and fits behind the Sprint wheel.

Your trouble with this will be getting one and doing some machine work on the old disc to make a clamping ring.
I've never done it so I'll let others comment.

Your problems is more I suspect your existing brakes not working properly. You need the right pads for starters and you need to be sure that both pistons
in both calipers are sliding in and out freely.

You can also improve things by fitting aeroquip hoses. If your existing hoses are a past their sell by date they will inflate or collapse and reduce effectiveness.

To stop the brake light comming on you need to hold the shuttle central while bleeding each circuit, front and rear. If you bleed it without doing this the shuttle
stays over one side and the light comes on.

Jonners

[vraksianrebel]

well i have checked over the brakes and everything seems to be working but i will take the calipers off and give them a second inspection to check nothing has gone wrong since i reconditioned them.

with the shuttle, how do you hold it in the centre? as mine has obviously gone over to one side how do i get it back to the centre? will the shuttle be affecting the performance of the brakes?

[sprint95m]

The Trackerjack conversion consists of special brackets to allow Ford calipers to fit over VW Golf vented discs.

The calipers are for 240mm brakes as used on Sierras, Escorts, Kas, etc (make sure they are for 240mm brakes
as the other sizes look almost identical!!).

The discs are VW 239mm as used on Golfs. These need four new holes drilled to allow them to be clamped to the Dolomite hub.

To make a clamping ring you simply remove the disc from a Dolomite brake disc (using an angle grinder).


Sprint alloys won't quite clear this new set up so it is necessary to grind a small amount of the caliper (which is less daunting
than it sounds). (Steel wheels from 1850 clear the calipers easily.)

I have fitted new bespoke flexible hoses which allow the original brake hoses to be retained and permit easy caliper removal
to faciliate brake pad replacement.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12257&p=117492&hili ... es#p117492


You will need high level brake lights! You soon get used to the effortless stopping.
Jon (Trackerjack) can supplies the brackets and discs. Send him a PM.....
Once you have tried this conversion you never want to go back to the standard brakes.



Ian.

[vraksianrebel]

ok that doesnt sound too daunting.

what do you mean by a clamping ring? do the golf discs not have the same sort of design?

[Tony Burd]

The clamping ring is the threaded part of the original dolly disc, it clamps the VW disc to the Hub. Trackerjack also machines the front of the VW disc so it is true when clamped in place.

[vraksianrebel]

ok i think i know what you mean (sadly i cant view the pictures as they are blocked on the work computer)

and just a little careful grinding means i can still use my sprint alloys?

well that all sounds pretty good, how much are the kits?

also any advice on resetting the bias shuttle thing?

[Jon Tilson]

You dont have to take the calipers off to check the pistons arent binding.
Just remove the pads. If you can push the pistons back as when fiting new pads without too much force they are fine.

The clue is on the dust boots. If these are not showing any small splits chances are they will be fine.

Also be sure the pads come out easilly. Some bind on the edges and need a file. Also there can be a build up of crud in the caliper that makes the shoes bind.

Have a search on the forum. I'm sure someone put up some pics on the shuttle reset recently.

Jonners

[xvivalve]

...and make sure the H spacers are fitted to the rear shoes!

[MIG Wielder]

with the shuttle, how do you hold it in the centre? as mine has obviously gone over to one side how do i get it back to the centre? will the shuttle be affecting the performance of the brakes?

Interestingly this centralisation procedure isn't in either of my workshop manuals.
However it does feature in the MGB manual for the similar unit.

It goes as follows.......

" During bleeding the loss of pressure in one brake system will force the shuttle valve of the warning switch over to one side. Thus after the last wheel has been bled it will be off centre, and the warning light still on.
Refit the bleed pipe to a bleed screw on the circuit other than that last bled. An assistant should then apply the brakes firmly and watch the warning light.
Slacken the bleed screw a little when the assistant may feel pedal movement as the shuttle moves. As soon as the warning light extinguishes, shut the bleed screw. If this is shut too late the valve will move past centre and the light will come on again. The procedure must then be repeated but more quickly on a bleed screw on the other pipe circuit"
Note the ignition must be on for this.
Disconnect the coil to avoid possible overheating if it takes a long time.
HTH,
Tony.

[Carledo]

Or just ditch the shuttle valve and save yourself time, agro and worry! It doesn't have any affect on brake performance.

Steve

[vraksianrebel]

Well I finally managed to get the shuttle back into the right place just in time for the mot but then having a look on eBay I found the trackerjack setups for sale so one of those is on the way.
Just need to find a set of the calipers as I can't work out which size most of them are as it's not listed. Hopefully I can get a set and be ready to enjoy the improved braking.
Do I need to do anything to the tears as part of the upgrade? No balance issues?

Also I picked up a pair of replacement rear cylinders but I had a quick look and I don't think the adjusters will fit in. Are the correct cylinders threaded to accept the adjusters? My adjusters do seem to be fairly worn so might need to replace them as well sadly

[Carledo]

Calipers from a Sierra 1.6 or 1.8 model will go under Sprint wheels. The 2 ltr calipers, though larger will still fit the TJ conversion brackets, but the Sprint wheels will no longer fit. I believe (though i've not tried it) that 1 or 2 of the Escort mk6 calipers will also do the job (seeing as how Sierra calipers are getting thin on the ground in scrappies)

Steve

[Richard the old one]

When you are setting up the shuttle value you need to have the handbrake off as if it is on this all brings on the brake warning light.

[Jon Tilson]

The adjusters are just a push fit in the wheel cylinders but beware. They are handed thread wise so that the lever turns them
to wind the adjuster outwards. If you get them on the wrong side the brakes adjust the wrong way....

Jonners