Fiat Scudo Van 2004 1.9
The pedal just goes solid and then ok and then solid and then ok..
There is nothing to say when it will happen but now happens quite regularly. I have had everthing checked out
and the Garage has not been able to reproduce the fault. Servo good, master cylinder good, pump good.
It doest seem to ocurr when braking heavy which I have tried. It happens as I brake very steady which is the way I always drive.
I spoke to a Fiat garage, by phone, non local, and they said it could be the pivot linkage from the servo to the pedal which runs up behind the dash.
My local garage just sprayed some oil up behind the dash I think and said there was nothing more they can do..
Removing the dash to get to the linkage looks to be a mamouth task unless the linkage cab be accessed following the removal of the Servo unit..
Just don't know what to do as I have no idea if it is the pivot linkage or something else.
Has any one had the same problem and if so how was it resolved.
Thanks in anticipation.

hi did you get anywhere with this. i have exactly the same problem by the sounds of it. im thinking its either the servo(do they play up like this) or a connecting hose thats split allowing air and thus pressure out of the system, and at lows revs it doesnt build the pressure up....does this make sense to anyone? trouble is all that brake stuff seems impossible to see or get to without removing the engine

dmannhgm said:

hi did you get anywhere with this. i have exactly the same problem by the sounds of it. im thinking its either the servo(do they play up like this) or a connecting hose thats split allowing air and thus pressure out of the system, and at lows revs it doesnt build the pressure up....does this make sense to anyone? trouble is all that brake stuff seems impossible to see or get to without removing the engine

Click to expand...

It sounds like a weak pump, the pressure will be there for a normal stop but it can't keep up with a prolonged one.

thanks for the reply...is that the vacuum pump? and how easy is that to get to....the problem isnt so much prolonged breaking, but in traffic jams and in parking when speed and revs are low, breaks go solid and then within a minute they can work fine

dmannhgm said:

thanks for the reply...is that the vacuum pump? and how easy is that to get to....the problem isnt so much prolonged breaking, but in traffic jams and in parking when speed and revs are low, breaks go solid and then within a minute they can work fine

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One thing to check is if there is a non-return valve in the hose between the vacuum pump and the servo. These can stick closed at low vacuum = low engine revs, when the vacuum "stored" in the servo is depleted you lose assistance and the brakes feel solid. Rev the engine and the valve un-sticks and works again for a while. Ofen the valve is built into the plastic fitting between the hose and servo body. If not this, suspect an intermittent pump. This could be a worn or damaged drive, or stuck vanes.

dmannhgm said:

hi did you get anywhere with this. i have exactly the same problem by the sounds of it. im thinking its either the servo(do they play up like this) or a connecting hose thats split allowing air and thus pressure out of the system, and at lows revs it doesnt build the pressure up....does this make sense to anyone? trouble is all that brake stuff seems impossible to see or get to without removing the engine

Click to expand...

Still have the same problem. Just do not know what is at fault and no one can tell me. The problem is gone by the time I get off the drive by applying the brakes a few times but just needs sorting.

It's not the pads sticking !!!

Ok so now it seems to be turbo related. This morning on winding roads the turbo wasnt kicking in and the brakes where hard the whole time... As soon as I had power to the turbo I had brakes. I've seen a post on here somewhere of a problem caused by a diaphragm that caused both these problems.... Anyone have any idea where that is? Other than that I'm now convinced it a split hose, somewhere sufficient pressure is escaping and it seems it's more turbo related than a brake system failure.

This thread?

https://www.fiatforum.com/scudo/304403-intermittent-hard-brake-pedal-loss-turbo.html

Forum search: diaphragm turbo brake.

That's it..Thank you

To quote.... i have a 2.0 hdi 2006 scudo and have solved my problem of loss of servo and turbo loss it turned out to be a diaphragm with a hole in it i used a mitty vac to test the lines and traced back to the fuel/air diaphragm having a hole in it
the unit is located in front of the vacuum pump on this model, hope this has helped because i have replaced vac pump, servo, master cylinder, one way valve and brake pads before i found it good luck jim
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So Where's this diaphragm?

Does anyone know which haynes manual has the scudo 2.0 jtd engine in it?

Haynes have never done a manual for Scudos. Not sure if they do for pug or Citroen equivilents. Only ones I have found are on here in ePER and the Russak paperback.

Yes.... But isn't there a car with this engine, then I could get that manual

so looks like it was something very small causing brake problems.

a friend of mine had a quick look and fiddled around with the hoses at the top of the engine that go in and out of the the plastic valves, theres 3 that are easy to get to.

2 days later and no problems, so it seems one of those valves was sticking after all

Hi do you know which pipes they were I have the same problem were they the ones On the vacume pump ?

Hi, are there any more details on this fix? The problem sounds exactly like mine...
We towed the caravan back from Essex today with the van pulling like an asthmatic donkey, (having to use 2/3rds throttle just to maintain a steady 50mph) and braking like one too - until we got to Luton, when something must have sorted itself out and we flew the rest of the journey just like "normal" - cruising on a touch of throttle and braking normally too. It seems clear from the linked post that the offending diaphragm isn't part of the vacuum pump (which the poster said he replaced), so where is the little s*d located? More importantly, how do you fix it, are spares available?
I don't know from one day to the next whether it will be an issue or not, but I'm not keen to tow the caravan again until its fixed, so any guidance would be welcomed!

We replaced everything,left servo until last,done that and fingers crossed its all fixed now

my problem has come back...whatever was done fiddling with it was clearly a temporary fix....anyone got an answer to this?

so its sorted...

I swapped the vacuum pump with a 2nd hand one and its fine....

This brake problem is a problem steming from the vacuum pump to any other part that could cause a loss of vacuum, split hose, diaphragm, faulty part....its just finding which one it is.

Its nothing to do with the master cylinder or servo as many have found out after replacing them and having no improvement.

I hope this helps someone out.

this happened to my scudo 2.0 jtd 2004. caused by split vacuum pipe

I had this (very scary) problem quite early on in the life of our 2006 Scudo where we nearly had two nasty accidents.
This was due to servo failure. I was appalled that with such potentially serious consequences Fiat did not conduct a recall and did not initially want to assist in any way. I gave the dealer an unbelievable hard time and threatened press intervention and they finally contributed (vehicle was one month out of warranty at the time).
I did consider if I should have reported this via the Department of Transport as someone could have been seriously injured.
It occurred again after four years. Another new servo seems to have eliminated it but, I always leave a good braking distance now as you never know.