Brake pedal trouble - brakes need bleeding?

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Webley1991

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The brake pedal on my Series 3 needs to be pressed down, released, then pressed again in order to stop reliably.

I have been told that there may be air in the system and the brakes may need bleeding.

I am trying to work all this Land Rover stuff out on my own. Where would I start with bleeding the Brakes?

Thanks for any info.
 
mine was the same, after bleeding the brakes it was the same. I found out it was the adjusters in the drum if its not one its the other.
 
Yeah mine was like that, i bled them and bled them and it was the same then i found a hole in the tube i used to bleed them, oops. but halfords sell a 1 man blead kit, it is around 5 quid not bad quality, people say bleed from the wheel furthest from the resevoir but i usually just start at the front, if you dont know how to bleed then just look online its pretty simple. if your break cylinders are old then your nipple might be stuck so try some plus gas or WD40 onn it. i ended up replacing all 4 cylinders in the front and new brake lines.



But with bleeding theres allsorts of different techniques so best to look online.
 
i tried on of them off ebay, looked like some aquarian pipe with a one way valve on it, wasnt very good, the halfords one was eazyblead or something, worked well took me 10 min to bleed mine, and the whole system was full of air. just make sure you dont uncrew the nipple more than 1/4 to 1/2 a turn otherwise air can be drawn back in!

BRAKE BLEEDING KIT DRAPER | eBay
 
I use the "offspring", needs a couple of slaps to get it working properly, but usually works ok in the end.. :D
 
i use an old bradex easy bleed backwards through the system

i take the brake reservoire out clean it out thoroughly to remove the ****ty silt then leave that empty

i then put the easy bleed on the rear passengers bleed nipple and pressurise the easy bleed with 20psi off an old 8" spare wheel off me trailer ( easy to move and the easy bleed sits nicely in the middle )

once i open thew nipple ill go to the front and watch all the air get forced out into the reservoire with the **** and old fluid aswell

to stop me reservoire overfilling i use a pop bottle with 2 pipes into the lid copying the easy bleed but to act as a syphon that you wont get a gob load of fluid from and wont spill any and if its under vacuume will hoover the ****ty fluid out of the reservoire

the bleeding order that worked for me in the end was

back passenger then back drivers then front passenger then front driver
 
Never heard it done like that, i'll try it next time. when i bled mine i replaced all the old brake fluid and that was full of crap, it all came out grey. i just kept pumping the brake untill new fluid was coming out then i moved to the next wheel, well worth doing every so often.
 
philsefo said:
Never heard it done like that, i'll try it next time. when i bled mine i replaced all the old brake fluid and that was full of crap, it all came out grey. i just kept pumping the brake untill new fluid was coming out then i moved to the next wheel, well worth doing every so often.
Click to expand...
thats how i allways do it ,
 
Thanks for the replies. After a 10 mile run earlier on, I noticed that the front passenger side and rear driver's side wheels were both warm to the touch. The other two were cold. Does this mean that the pads on those two wheels are probably rubbing?

There is also a swishing noise that has started in the rear passenger side wheel that comes and goes.

Overall, it looks like the brakes need looking at.
 
they are either rubbing or the others just arnt working, but you would steer to one side if only one side was working, was the land rover stood still for a long time?? the brakes could just need adjusting or a cylinder might be seized.

Try jacking up one wheel at a time and rotating it and getting someone to press the brake and see if the wheel stops and when the brake is released if the brake catches on the drum, if it doesnt stop or you can hear it catching or feel it catching then adjust them. On the front wheels there are two nuts on the back plate opposite each other, turn them untill the wheel cant rotate anymore than turn it back just enough for it to rotate freely, do that for all 4 wheels. the rear wheels just have 1 adjuster bolt, at the bottom i think.

If that doesnt work they strip the brakes and check them out.

Hope it works
 
Thanks for the advice. It was stood for a while. I bought it in mid February and didn't insure it until late April.

If two are working and they are at a diagonal angle to each other, then the effect of steering to one side may not be as obvious.

Someone at work suggested that maybe the return springs are weak and perhaps they need replacing.
 
yeah the springs have huge effect on the brakes, if they are put on wrong the brakes stick or dont return when pressed, its best to take them apart, get some brake cleaner on it all and see the condition on it, sooner is better than later when dealing with brakes! if you take pictures and post them here we can see if there is anything wrong.

brake cylinders are cheap though so not a huge job, aftermarket parts are pretty decent.
 
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