Top Tip or Trash idea

[skelteanema]

Hi all,
I have been fixing my brakes recently. They have been sticking on, and this was largely down to corroded pistons in the left front calliper. I ended up rebuilding both front callipers with new pistons and seals. Once back together the binding problem was solved, but I still had a problem with the brakes "locking" on after pressing them. A tap on the pedal would then release them again. I have had this problem for a while, and from other posts on the forum, I realised that this was probably due to the air valve sticking in the Lockheed brake servo. John P. Clegg posted a nice solution of fitting a spring over the diaphram so I took the air valve diaphram unit down to a couple of local shops to see if I could get a suitable spring. I couldn't get anything off the shelf so to speak, and would have had to order some, but I didn't know what specs I needed so I didn't order any at the time.

I was then fitting a nozzle to the garden hose and realised that the connector had a spring that seemed to be about the right size. The standard connector was a bit small, but I had a larger version (maybe 18/20mm) lying around so decided to see if this would work. Well the spring was exactly the diameter I was looking for, and the "springiness" seemed about right for the job, so I installed it to see if it would work.

This is the first time since I have had the car that the brakes feel right. No more sticking so fingers crossed that it would do the job. Thanks to John P. Clegg for pointing out this quick fix, and maybe this tip will help someone else out.