There's a big gap since the last post on this thread as nothing has gone anymore wrong than however wrong it was when last posted. That was until last week when I pressed the brake pedal and not a lot happened, and I don't mean working as intended not a lot happened, more along the lines of pretty please stop. So with the same sinking feeling that the brake pedal was enjoying I popped the bonnet open and peered at the obvious culprit of an empty master cylinder, that explains that.
Luckily I had some brake fluid on board, for I'm well versed in the ways of running old BL vehicles and carry a spare Dolomite Sprint in the boot. Topped up with fluid and pumped away to compress the air bubbles, and carefully drove home with Highway Code plus 2 miles stopping distances being diligently observed.
Clearly the not stopping thing was not something to ignore, and whilst I had noticed a little fluid loss in the early days of ownership and wondered if a wheel cylinder was leaking, it had appeared to have sorted itself out subsequently as weekly fluid checks didn't show any further movement. I had noticed that the handbrake has become quite ineffectual on steep slopes over time, and assumed the cable had stretched a bit and had mentally added that to my to do list.
Getting underneath it didn't take too long to spot the leak dribbling down the os/r tyre.
Well oiled brake shoes do add extra life to the shoes, but do also tend to impede the whole stopping thing.
The culprit.
Beyond rescuing with a service kit, but could be useful as a cheese grater.
A little purchasing spree later, with some LPR C04678 19mm (¾") replacement cylinders and a set of brake shoes from Rimmers, coupled with some lovely weather today (dammit, should have gone to Stoneleigh, without stopping) and we are back in business. Well, except you should never change just one corner with brakes, so I might as well do the other side I thought. Ah...
A well greased set of brake shoes, good for extra li...think I've done that gag.
This side was very new looking, with a new wheel cylinder, springs, retaining clips, even the drum was extremely clean looking on the inside, once I washed the grease off that is. So after degreasing everything thoroughly, I decided to put the drum back on, run it for a few miles and hope that the last mechanic that renewed this side has just been overzealous with the grease gun. I live in hope.
On the positive side, that explains why the handbrake was a bit useless!