Hey everyone! My name's Haseeb Azhar, I'm 18 and I'm from Pakistan. My father was a government officer and he made my dream come true when the government gave him my dream car, the Land Rover Defender 110. My dad passed away 7 months ago and now all the responsibilities are on me since I'm the oldest son.

So my Defender drives fine but sometimes a problem arises and every time I take it to the specialist but he kinda cons me every time with a huge bill and new problems. A few weeks ago when my sister was coming back from her university, the brakes stopped working but she somehow managed to drive it home safely. I'm going to get it fixed but first I wanna know a few things about the problem before taking it to the workshop so the mechanic doesn't con me again.

So can somebody please explain a few things about the brakes so I would have a slight idea what the guy is working on or maybe I could fix it myself because I don't thing the problem is that big. The paddle goes down and comes back up like normally it does except the brakes don't work. And yeah the paddle is softer and there isn't any hard spot like normally you would feel while pushing it.

A little help would be appreciated, thanks!
 

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First thing to check is the fluid level in the reservoir. It sounds like there's a leak, check the inside of the wheels for leaked brake fluid
 
It sounds as though you either have very little fluid in the braking system, or it has a lot of air in it.
If you pump the pedal does it get hard and then operate the brakes?
Have you any wet patches around the inside of any of the wheels?
Put your foot on the brake pedal, and then start the engine. What happens?
Stop the engine after it's been revved a few times, then put your foot on the brakes. What happens?
Oh, and welcome to the asylum!
 
You have access I am sure to the wonders of Youtube.... if you look on there for someone called "Landrover toolbox videos" he has lots of informative videos showing you how to fix more or less anything. Lets of stuff about brakes - have a look and see because pictures are much easier to understand than the text.

Also, welcome to the forum! You are going to have lots of fun with a Defender, even if it does drive you mad at times when they go wrong!
 
Well first off thanks everyone for showing your concern and welcoming me! I wasn't actually expecting a reply but it seems to be a great site. And secondly, I'm a total noob on the knowledge of this field so I'm sorry if I sound stupid. Now, I think I know what oil you guys are talking about, it's the same one for the clutche right? Like once the clutch failed and I took her to the mechanic and he told me to check the brake oil every 2 weeks and pour some if needed. So I do that and I don't think that's the problem. But to be sure, the brake oil is placed on the top left side of the engine right? With a greyish color cap? And you fill it with Guard oil? That's the brake oil you guys are talking about right?

And about the leakage, well, the tyres are dry but it leaks quite a bit. Like the whole garage floor turns black. I showed it to my cousins and uncles and pretty much every car expert who visited our house but they all say that it's normal for big cars like this one. But is it tho? I mean it's a lot I don't even know how she produces so much oil.

And also, do I need to reply to all of you separately in order for you to get a notification or do you get a notification even if I just reply to my thread?
 
Well first off thanks everyone for showing your concern and welcoming me! I wasn't actually expecting a reply but it seems to be a great site. And secondly, I'm a total noob on the knowledge on this field so I'm sorry if I sound stupid. Now, I think I know what oil you guys are talking about, it's the same one for the clutche right? Like once the clutch failed and I took her to the mechanic and he told me to check the brake oil every 2 weeks and pour some if needed. So I do that and I don't think that's the problem. But to be sure, the brake oil is placed on the top left side of the engine right? With a greyish color cap? And you fill it with Guard oil? That's brake oil you guys are talking about right?

And about the leakage, well, the tyres are dry but it leaks quite a bit. Like the whole garage floor turns black. I showed it to my cousins and uncles and pretty much every car expert who visit our house but they all say that it's normal for big cars like this one. But is it tho? I mean it's a lot I don't even know how she produces so much oil.

And also, do I need to reply to all of you separately in order for you to get a notification or do you get a notification even if I just reply to my thread?
Don't you have to give the car back to the Government?
 
Don't you have to give the car back to the Government?
Good question, well they kinda gave it to us out of sympathy. Our personal car is an old car which always has problems. The secretary of health was my father's great friend and he somehow let us have it because my father was an honest officer and he passed away before retirement so turns out that there's a procedure where the family could have all the facilities given to the father, given that the kids are not old enough to have a job. So even our house is technically a government property.
 
Well first off thanks everyone for showing your concern and welcoming me! I wasn't actually expecting a reply but it seems to be a great site. And secondly, I'm a total noob on the knowledge of this field so I'm sorry if I sound stupid. Now, I think I know what oil you guys are talking about, it's the same one for the clutche right? Like once the clutch failed and I took her to the mechanic and he told me to check the brake oil every 2 weeks and pour some if needed. So I do that and I don't think that's the problem. But to be sure, the brake oil is placed on the top left side of the engine right? With a greyish color cap? And you fill it with Guard oil? That's the brake oil you guys are talking about right?

And about the leakage, well, the tyres are dry but it leaks quite a bit. Like the whole garage floor turns black. I showed it to my cousins and uncles and pretty much every car expert who visited our house but they all say that it's normal for big cars like this one. But is it tho? I mean it's a lot I don't even know how she produces so much oil.

And also, do I need to reply to all of you separately in order for you to get a notification or do you get a notification even if I just reply to my thread?

Everyone that has replied on the thread automatically gets a notification so no need for individual answers.

What engine is in it? It'll help with people telling you where bits are.
 
Everyone that has replied on the thread automatically gets a notification so no need for individual answers.

What engine is in it? It'll help with people telling you where bits are.
Umm like I said, I'm a noob I don't know. It says "Tdi" on the sides, I guess that's it but I've attached a picture(I know it needs a bit cleaning)
 

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It sounds as though you either have very little fluid in the braking system, or it has a lot of air in it.
If you pump the pedal does it get hard and then operate the brakes?
Have you any wet patches around the inside of any of the wheels?
Put your foot on the brake pedal, and then start the engine. What happens?
Stop the engine after it's been revved a few times, then put your foot on the brakes. What happens?
Oh, and welcome to the asylum!
Thanks! I talked about the fluid on the other reply. And I did what you said and nothing happens, she starts normally. The paddle isn't hard, it's softer and stays constant throughout the press, no hard spots like usual.
 
Umm like I said, I'm a noob I don't know. It says "Tdi" on the sides, I guess that's it but I've attached a picture(I know it needs a bit cleaning)

300tdi if it has a flat auxillary belt which from what I can tell on my phone it has
 
You have access I am sure to the wonders of Youtube.... if you look on there for someone called "Landrover toolbox videos" he has lots of informative videos showing you how to fix more or less anything. Lets of stuff about brakes - have a look and see because pictures are much easier to understand than the text.

Also, welcome to the forum! You are going to have lots of fun with a Defender, even if it does drive you mad at times when they go wrong!
Thanks! Of course I'm loving my Defender I'm not complaining she was my dream car since I was a little kid. I call her the Dinosaur because the way she roars and scares every other driver on the road.

And about YouTube, I just think you only watch and can't ask questions. Like here you can ask questions to the experts but there they just show you but yeah l, I will give it a try.
 
Alright I just checked and that doesn't seem to be a problem, the tank is quarter full.

It should be almost full so needs topping up but if the pedal is bottoming out and it's not lack of fluid and there's no obvious brake fluid leads I imagine you need a new brake master cylinder.
 
Good question, well they kinda gave it to us out of sympathy. Our personal car is an old car which always has problems. The secretary of health was my father's great friend and he somehow let us have it because my father was an honest officer and he passed away before retirement so turns out that there's a procedure where the family could have all the facilities given to the father, given that the kids are not old enough to have a job. So even our house is technically a government property.
That sounds far more humane than over here. Our government would have everybody out on the street immediately!
 

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