Lockheed Brake Servo Rebuild Kits?

[archigator]

I've reviewed different options regarding brake servos in the Forum, and I think I'd like to take a shot at rebuilding my Lockheed servo as noted in this link: http://www.triumph-spitfire.nl/servoimages.htm

I'm concerned that once I open it up, I might find some rubber parts have perished or are otherwise deficient. Is there a rebuild kit for Lockheed servos, or must one send it off to be serviced... or just buy a new one? I'd really like to go the kit route, if there is one available. My Google searches have not yielded results.

I know many here have abandoned brake servos altogether, but I'd like to keep mine operational. Thanks!

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

[Gordon Sauer]

VictoriaBritish.com in their Healey catalogue,they have them for Triumph MG etc,show a Lockheed repair kit and note this as replacement for Girling MK2. Kip Motors.com in Dallas has kits too. VicBrit is in Kansas City area. I'm sticking w Girling and was going to get Sierra Specialty to sleeve-they retired,anybody know another source for just sleeve? White Post does the whole thing only. Gordon Sauer

[tedtaylor]

Below is a lengthy article (blog) i wrote about rebuilding brake servos on my Lotus Europa. I'm sure they're similar and the parts source would be the same. Don't give up and give it a shot....

REBUILD YOUR SERVO BOOSTERS, DON?T TOSS THEM
I?m ecstatic! I just completed a very complete brake job on my Europa Special, all 80+ hours of it! I?m only a typical hobbyist, back yard mechanic, and if I can successfully rebuild the brake servos, so can you.
It all started with the purchase of my car a couple years ago. It had been sitting for over four years not running. So when I revived it to life again, the brakes were expectedly a little spongy, sticky, and pulled a little. So I started collecting parts expecting that I would soon undertake a brake job. I found front pads at LOG in Gettysburg for $10. I ordered a master cylinder rebuild kit and both caliper and wheel cylinder rebuild kits from Rick at RDent. The brakes were working relatively well with some minor pulling and sticking. I actually ?bought some time? one day and pulled the calipers off and compressed and popped (back and forth) worked them back into temporary operation. Well time finally caught up with me. A test drive the night before a Lotus Pals spirited drive in Maryland found my brake pedal go to the floor on the first pump. So the stand by MGB allowed me to participate in the drive, while I garaged the Special for the dreaded full scale brake job.
I jacked up the car at four points and attacked the Master Cylinder first. Ah-hah! I discovered that the front reservoir was empty! I always checked the fluid level from under the front bonnet by taking the cap off. I assumed if there was fluid full to the top, I was OK, but didn?t realize the front can go empty. I thought they were connected and equalized each other. I can?t see the front from up top. You have to turn the steering wheel all the way left, and shining a light from up top, you can see the fluid level in the front reservoir. So in the end, I think running that empty contributed to my problems. Who knows how long that was empty? And no warning lights lit to boot!
I rebuilt the MC with the kit, but noticed that the reservoir is attached with screws in the back and I?m suppose to swivel the reservoir to the side. Well that?s not good enough for me. I tried my hardest to get that tank off! I soon quit trying to pry it off in fear that I would destroy the tank and not be able to find a replacement. Problem is, I loosened it enough that when I reinstalled the unit, sure enough, it leaked from that front tube connection into the MC body. Off came the MC again. I eventually was successful to find a rusted clamp ring holding firmly in place. I scuffed up and almost destroyed the plastic tank getting it off the MC body. The real problem became that the kit did not contain the grommet for that front tube going into MC body! Ugh!! And no one supplies it anymore. I was able to fit a fat o-ring upon rebuild and that proved successful.
The front calipers were an easy rebuild that only involved light cleaning and reassembly with fresh seals and new pads. Rear wheel cylinders were also an easy rebuild with light cleaning, slight honing, and reassembly with fresh seals and new shoes. I disconnected the emergency brake lines at the rear drums to get full action and adjustment of the rear brakes. The drums were worn evenly and flat, so I cleaned and reused them. In retrospect of the whole brake job, I could have replaced the drums and rotors with new, but I opted to use what appeared to be good condition parts already in place.
Now for the bleeding, apart from the blood I usually shed banging knuckles, or slipping off a wrench! I noticed a air vent hole in the very top center of the existing MC cap and decided to power bleed the system. This involved drilling and threading a spare air chuck into the top of the cap. It left only a half inch hole that I used a tire valve stem cap to plug when finished. Hey, works for me! I used about 20-25 PSI and connected the air hose to the cap and bled the system. I?m all excited and hopeful. I get in and?brake pedal goes to floor on first pump! I bled using someone to pump the brakes?brake pedal goes to floor on first pump. I started the engine, assuming the vacuum needs to run the boosters?brake pedal goes to floor on first pump. Ugh! What did I do wrong? How can this possibly be happening? Do I have air stuck somewhere in system? Oh well, went through 1 quart of $13 dollar DOT #4.
Everything seems to point to the boosters, but which one and why? The boosters are not available and apparently neither are the rebuild kits (so I was told). Everywhere I read about Europa owners tossing out their boosters, either replacing the MC with a S2 Europa one, or re-sleeving the original to a smaller size bore to compensate the pressure to apply differences. I also lots of pictures of Europa?s for sale or even owned, that show brake lines jumped and boosters gone from the engine bay. What a shame for us original enthusiasts trying to maintain originality of design. I took valued advice and tested the units by jumping or bypassing the boosters. Easier said than done, since the thread sizes (metric, US, or a hybrid of the two!) and nipples (flare, bubble) are not easily identified until you?re into the thick of things. Eventually (and after purchasing several test parts, unions, lines, etc.) I was able to successfully bypass the boosters, bled the brakes, and voila!.....a solid brake pedal. I drove around testing this out. I felt the braking effort a challenge. The pedal effort was noticeably higher needed to stop the car and I didn?t like it. I much preferred the booster assisted brake setup (when it was working). Seeing the jury rig of lines and jumpers and large empty space in the engine bay, I was determined to investigate getting the servos rebuilt.
I was referred to White Post Restorations and they quote me a price of $470 each unit. That wouldn?t be bad for a car equipped with one unit, but my luck, the Europa has two units! Now the benefit is brass sleeving and guarantees, but I?m saying to myself, where are they getting the parts to rebuild? If they can get it, so should I! Me being very cheap, I was determined to find the replacement parts. We?re not talking about a space shuttle here, but a simple mechanical device! It?s just like a master cylinder, but with two bores, how tough can it be? With some internet searching, I found a place in?.you guessed it, England that had the kits and I sent for two. Converting pounds to dollars, it cost me $350 that included shipping. Not bad in perspective, considering I was facing nearly $1,000 for White Post. The kits came in the mail within one week, and that was during Christmas holidays. They were very complete with the curious exception of a few parts (air filter element and gasket, non-return valve grommet, and a couple hard plastic or nylon parts that would not normally be worn or discarded from the original unit, so they needed to be reused in the rebuild). Well I tackled the job with surgeon?s precision and it actually was quite interesting and relatively straight forward. This instructions were thorough and I completed the rebuild. Being proud of myself, I reinstalled them, bled the system and??..brake pedal to floor on first stroke!!!! UGH!!!! Not only that, brake fluid came out of the air filter element spilling everywhere. Something?s not right here!!!
Another new day and I am determined to solve this problem. Pulled the boosters and dissected them methodically, seeking the culprit. I found a major blunder on my part and installed the gasket between the bellows and the cylinder body backwards, thus blocking the air vent hole (and attributing to the spillage!). What I found curious was that the instructions that came with the rebuild kits indicated that lubrication of the pistons and parts were to be with high quality brake fluid (which I did the first time). However, I found other publications from Girling on the internet for the same rebuild kit that specifies using the red rubber brake grease (supplied in the rebuild kit, no less). I liberally used the grease on the pistons and seals (away from the brake fluid ends) and carefully and with great scrutiny, cleaned and reassembled the units. At this point I think I can take apart and reassemble the units closing my eyes (I obviously did the first time round!). I think I have a pretty good understanding on how they work mechanically now (using vacuum boost, parallel bores, switching valves, etc.) and have a certain respect for their functionality.
Upon reinstall, re-bleeding (I?m on my 3rd quart of fluid now), power bleeding, pumping, etc., I now have excellent brakes!!! Victory at last!!! Me, the backyard mechanic has licked this challenging and infamously mysterious mechanical diabolical from getting the best of me. My brake pedal is firm, high, and the car stops on a dime, equally, no pulling, no squealing, no noise, no fluid loss, no worries?..and I?ve kept the mechanical originality of the car. We won?t mention my sanity though!
I then had to reconnect and adjust the emergency brake lines. This involved removing the center console arm rest pad (it it?s not already missing or broken off) and removing the foam sound deadening material to expose a very small oval hole to work from. It was the size of an open Kleenex tissue box! I could barely fit my hand into this hole, then had to get tools a foot down in this well, move the wrench at most a 1/16th inch! This access was designed for a child, not an adult with tools. I was finally able to properly adjust my emergency brake cable.
This long story was cut short on the many tangents I travelled in seeking advice, talking to others, finding parts, internet searches, recruiting family to pump, and other mishaps and adventures down the road of owning and restoring/repairing a Lotus. I lost count on the number of times I installed, reinstalled, took apart, bled, and so on, all the various steps along in the process. In the end, I spent under $500 in parts, and invested easily over 80 hours in this mammoth task, but the final result is confidence in braking.
I think the original failure was partly due to running the front reservoir empty, and partly corrosion and sticking of the brake booster servo piston. Using the red rubber brake grease is recommended as a lubricant rather than using brake fluid alone (in my opinion).
If you have pitting, corrosion, or scoring of the bores, you probably should have them resleeved. In my case, there was slight corrosion that I was able to lightly hone and clean up. For me, it was worth taking a chance on the rebuild. If it fails now, I have no one to blame but myself. Heck, at this point, I can fix any part of my brake system in seconds!
Happy Motoring!

[archigator]

Thanks for your input Gordon and Ted. I took my Sprint servo unit off today and have it 70% disassembled at this point. This link has been particularly useful - http://www.triumph-spitfire.nl/servoimages.htm (Although I'm having trouble getting the bellows off.)

I have also found a vendor on eBay named Power Track Brakes, located in England, who said that once I ascertain my piston sizes during disassembly, he can supply me with the correct rebuild kit. http://www.powertrackbrakes.co.uk/

I, like you, want to maintain the original set-up of my Elan, at least appearance-wise, including the look of the cadmium-plated brake servo. (Although I have a modern starter and a lightweight flywheel, and I know that the original servo was a Girling.) Who am I to modify the original Colin Chapman design?

Gary
'71 Sprint FHC
Miami, Florida

[tedtaylor]

Power Track in England is who I used. I had to buy (2) two kits since my Europa had one for each the rear and front brake systems. I paid nearly $300 i think in total. They shipped quickly and I was able to do the rather straightforward rebuild. Have fun!