This has happend quite a few times now....


If I'm breaking down to come up to a junction, I will brake a bit, and then select a lower gear (whilst still braking) and when i engage this slower gear i can physically feel the brake pedal going down?!

Would this have anything to do with clutch/brake fluid?

the calipers are prone to seizing in puntos, if you jack it up and try to turn the wheels by hand you'll know if its one or both of the brakes that are siezed., then you'll need to replace with a new/used caliper.,

Brake servo's operate on a vacuum basis to aid pressing the pedal. The vacuum is drawn off the inlet manifold and fills a chamber, when the pedal is pressed the vacuum is "used up" in increasing the pedal effort (a test of servo efficiency is running the engine, switch off, pump the pedal to destroy the vacuum until it stiffens-up, hold pressure on the pedal, now start-up. The pedal should sink as the vacuum builds.)

I wonder if you're braking enough to use up the vacuum, then when you drop a gear the increased engine revs create an extra "bit" of vacuum which causes the pedal to drop slightly further. Diesels do this a lot due to using engine-driven vacuum pumps.

Either that or you've got a slight brake fluid leak, though I'd expect you to notice it whilst stationary and just holding pressure on the pedal (it would sink if fluid was leaking).

ahh thanks for that danny boy^^

That seems to make perfect sense about why it is happening.

My brakes are also pretty crap, so a change of caliber will be needed.

Was just worried about the pedal dropping

Sticking brakes aren't necessarily a stuck caliper.

Usually one pad sticks due to a build-up of brake dust/ corrosion. I'd take the pads out and clean-up the contact surfaces in the carrier and lubricate with copper-grease first before condemning a whole caliper.

my pedal drops a little bit as the engine revs increase

but if yours is very noticeably dropping then maybe there is air in your brake lines making it drop more as air is compressible

maybe all you need is your brakes bleeding