Andy Burrell

Retired to the country
Driving in slow traffic, stop/start at the weekend my wife commented on the whirring noise coming from drivers side virtually every time I touched the brakes, her hearing is better than mine!
The noise is definitely the accumulator and it does seem to activate nearly every press of the brake peddle and takes a little while to stop if the car has been parked up for a bit.
How long and how often should it run for?
 
most say 4 pushes before pump kicks in when fully charged, still a few in reserve but will probably need a bit more effort.
As you say it takes a while to charge if its been parked up, is there a leak somewhere.
It should charge pretty quick even if the accumulator is fubar if it holds its pressure. but will come on quicker if it is when used. (does that make sense?)

Maybe pump is sus too
J
 
Driving in slow traffic, stop/start at the weekend my wife commented on the whirring noise coming from drivers side virtually every time I touched the brakes, her hearing is better than mine!
The noise is definitely the accumulator and it does seem to activate nearly every press of the brake peddle and takes a little while to stop if the car has been parked up for a bit.
How long and how often should it run for?
It's the pump running and your accumulator needs replacing. The pump should run every third or fourth press of the brake pedal. bleed back when the car is parked is normal which is why the fluid reservoir rises above max when parked. An initial run is 30/40 seconds I guess and then just a brief run every third or fourth brake application.
The pump sounds OK to me.
 
There'll be some leakage ( use a rag around the base) after which the reservoir will need topping up. I use a rubber strap wrench to get the old one off, although there is a nut at the base you can also use
 
Might be the diaphragm had failed and it was full of fluid.
That is certainly possible, but the failed diaphragm on one of them actually blocked the pipe so not much came out although when shaken, I could hear the fluid inside .
 
But i guess you at least checked? right, which is the point...i have also done a few, and always ended up adding something, however small. Whereas RAVE wd have you do a full bleed, which I have never had to do/ always got away without
Maybe the level was down slightly to start with? From pad wear etc
 
I have changed the accumulator without any spillage and an immediate improvement in every way. The old one had a bit of fluid in it but also found the brake fluid level was much to high so used a syringe to bring it down to the correct level, must admit hadn't checked it since I got the car :rolleyes:
What's the best way to dispose of the old accumulator if it still had some pressure in it.
 
I have changed the accumulator without any spillage and an immediate improvement in every way. The old one had a bit of fluid in it but also found the brake fluid level was much to high so used a syringe to bring it down to the correct level, must admit hadn't checked it since I got the car :rolleyes:
What's the best way to dispose of the old accumulator if it still had some pressure in it.
much too high.. was this after the pump had stopped running?
 
Ok, well i forgot to add, that you top off with the ignition on and once the pump has done its thing. If you turn the ignition/ pump on you will see the reservoir level drop from where it was, and then you level off after that. Re accumulator, I've found a guy on ebay who will recharge the accumulators on an exchange basis for 85 pounds and I've got one of his to fit at the weekend - so probably worth hanging on to the accumulator in case you want to try the refilling route
 
Last edited:
Ok, well i forgot to add, that you top off with the ignition on and once the pump has done its thing. If you turn the ignition/ pump on you will see the reservoir level drop from where it was, and then you level off after that. Re accumulator, I've found a guy on ebay who will recharge the accumulators on an exchange basis for 85 pounds and I've got one of his to fit at the weekend - so probably worth hanging on to the accumulator in case you want to try the refilling route
Refurbing the the accumulator must be a bugger of a job.
I paid £85 for my last new one.
 
Yes, thats what I paid last time too, but UK prices on them have increased big time. Hopefully just until post Brexit supply chains bed in
 
Last edited:
Ok, well i forgot to add, that you top off with the ignition on and once the pump has done its thing. If you turn the ignition/ pump on you will see the reservoir level drop from where it was, and then you level off after that. Re accumulator, I've found a guy on ebay who will recharge the accumulators on an exchange basis for 85 pounds and I've got one of his to fit at the weekend - so probably worth hanging on to the accumulator in case you want to try the refilling route

He could have had my old one for free. I chucked it a few weeks ago.
 

Similar threads