Took another look at the brake system today, with Steve's help. Having tightened up all accessible joints, we tried bleeding the front brakes again. Not surprisingly, same result as last time, ie lots of air coming out and little fluid. Similarly, when I started the engine we got lots of smoke produced. On closer inspection, the smoke was actually coming from the exhaust, rather than a hot surface, as I had originally assumed, and there was a pool of liquid (brake fluid) below the outlet of the left-hand exhaust pipe. (note, I don't have the rear silencer box on the car at the moment, so the exhaust pipes finish half way along the Car's length).
Not understanding how so much smoke could be generated from the exhaust when we had been working on the brakes, this time we went back to "first principles" and got the manual out.
From the schematic diagram we found that the brake system effectively consists of 3 circuits - 2 hydraulic and one pneumatic/vacuum - and that the pneumatic circuit is linked to the engine through the inlet manifold, via a non-return valve.
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| Check Valve between Reservac Tank and Inlet Manifold |
So now I'm assuming that I have a leak from the hydraulic side to the pneumatic side in either the master cylinder or the slave cylinder, but whichever it is, I know I'm getting hydraulic fluid into the "Reservac" tank on the air/vac side.
I know the areas that I need parts for, so now off to SNG Barratt's catalogue to find how much the parts are going to cost me! Will I be able to get overhaul parts, or will I need to replace complete assemblies? And, do I even want to tackle the overhauls?
........watch this space.
