Ok, I've tried to bleed the brakes but the brake nipples are rounded on the rear cylinders, so I reckon I might as well replace them.

Anyone got any recommendations of good places online to buy new cylinders? I'll be doing the shoes at the same time as it's a while since they've been done, so a set might be a better option?

Shop4parts Sell them IIRC
One thing i would do is also have a look at the Condition of the Rear Drums, if there is Big Lip, there is a chance the new shoes will stretch out to there limit and stop working shortly after been fitted
Also check the condition of the handbrake cable, If they are freyed they need replacing

All on S4p, or all good local auto-factors

ziggy

Thanks Ziggy, just what I was looking for.

I'll take a view on the drums, will measure them against the specs and see if they need replacing. I did the handbrake cables not long ago so they should be ok.

Guessing a change of brake fluid should improve braking performance, I have to admit I've neglected it since I've had the car so it's more than likely fnorked!

i think brake fluid is every 2 years?

Eitherway time for a good change yes

make sure you have Plenty of fluid, as you'll need to push good fluid through to clean system

Alot of waste - but good brakes and Fluid are vital when it comes to stopping

No Point having old fluid thats let the pedal go saggy
Make sure there is NO air in the system tho

Ziggy

eurocarparts are doing 30 percent off all brake products if ordered online

Eurocarcare or Shop4Parts.

If the shoes are worn, its pretty pointless keeping the drums as they wont be in fab condition.

You can get full axle sets drums shoes and cylinders for less than £75 on ebay. Use some common sense reading the adverts and you will avoid the rubbish. Its also worth changing the handbrake adjuster/lever assembly as they bend over time and dont pull on properly.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_n...ke+drum&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

WhiteSei said:

If the shoes are worn, its pretty pointless keeping the drums as they wont be in fab condition.

You can get full axle sets drums shoes and cylinders for less than £75 on ebay. Use some common sense reading the adverts and you will avoid the rubbish. Its also worth changing the handbrake adjuster/lever assembly as they bend over time and dont pull on properly.

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ive still to see a bent one maybe you can post a picture of one in captivity?
good point about buying off the internet carefully
me?
and everyone i know in the trade wont source new brake components via mail order due to copies being everywhere
you should be able to walk into any factor and pick up a quality cylinder for £15
drums if small lip i grind this lip off
nipples shearing? bleed the cylinders via brake pipe union (ok not always the best solution i admit )
you only need to bleed until the fluid comes through clean not long usually
main thing is keep bottle topped up and dont push pedal to floor because the seels in the master cylinder can be cut on the edge where the pedal normally never goes (equate it to the lip on the top of a cylinder bore on a worn engine)
one final thing its easier to bleed by gravity sometimes rather than via the pedal .ie drop the appropriate corner of the car to the floor ,open the bleed a little bit and let the fluid trickle out,put the kettle on whilst its doing it then nip and go to next wheel and repeat (non abs models only)

replace everything while you have it apart; any local motor facors should be ok for parts; shop4parts get you on the postage
see my other posts re rear brakes

tinytim said:

replace everything while you have it apart; any local motor facors should be ok for parts; shop4parts get you on the postage
see my other posts re rear brakes

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no
strip
inspect
order whats required from your factor because they will have the bits in stock and you can match up if you take the old bits because often just going on registration number brings wrong parts
no point replacing parts fully serviceable,can you imagine going to a garage and they changed everything because they were spending your money rather than fixing the problem,? you would go balistic with good reason

Quote

• Ive still to see a bent one maybe you can post a picture of one in captivity?

I speak from experience with a 2000 Seicento (same as Punto brakes) that had 40K miles. The hand brake was hopeless though it had new cables and the brakes were as good as new. I fitted new adjusters and the hand brake worked properly. The old ones looked ok but were the only things left to change.

If the rear cylinders have rusted solid bleed nipples its not going to be long before the seals fail so may as well replace the lot. The trade I have talked to use local parts factors because they deliver same day and costs are passed on to the customer. They don't use mail order because wrong parts are hard to return and the sales process is slow. Everyone I have used has been happy for me to supply the parts.

I speak from experience with a 2000 Seicento (same as Punto brakes) that had 40K miles. The hand brake was hopeless though it had new cables and the brakes were as good as new. I fitted new adjusters and the hand brake worked properly. The old ones looked ok but were the only things left to change.

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im afraid the siciento is a completely different setup
these seize on the clevis pin usually down to bad maintainance and i can easily see why these would bend if the handbrake was pulled hard enough
they enter at the back on the backplate and also the rubber cover seems to go missing even if very low mileage,the other thing the sicientos had was a shoe setup similar to the old mk1 panda where rather than a proper adjuster you had two discs that gripped each other,a very bad design and one that was prone to slipping once everything adjusted off,the remedy on these was and is to fit new shoes

disagree s and b
if the wheel cylinders are shot then rest of the rear brakes are likely to be quite worn; the parts are cheap if sourced properly and its a fiddly job and we ARE talking about brakes.
Replace everything and the rear brakes are good for 100,000 miles
obviously I am referring to DIY not dealer/garage prices...........

tinytim said:

disagree s and b
if the wheel cylinders are shot then rest of the rear brakes are likely to be quite worn; the parts are cheap if sourced properly and its a fiddly job and we ARE talking about brakes.
Replace everything and the rear brakes are good for 100,000 miles
obviously I am referring to DIY not dealer/garage prices...........

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cant imagine 100,000 miles
if no leakage from cylinders when you pull back rubbers and cylinders arent seized then why change them
as for shoes only the person assessing can see if they are past their best
as for changing drums ive seen them advertised on the internet for silly cheap prices and i would expect them to be made of chinese cheese ,i would rather de lip a factory drum than put an unknown copy on
we ARE talking brakes here

They'll probably need de-lipping, likely new shoes, too, but I'd not think much more than that. I'd be surprised if they've done 100k miles, and certainly not expect even a factory fresh set to be good for 100k miles.

Slave cylinders are dirt cheap, anyway. The trick to not rounding the nuts off is to either use a flare spanner, or a 6 sided socket to do the intial loosening, and final tightening. And don't overtighten.

s and b said:

im afraid the siciento is a completely different setup
these seize on the clevis pin usually down to bad maintainance and i can easily see why these would bend if the handbrake was pulled hard enough
they enter at the back on the backplate and also the rubber cover seems to go missing even if very low mileage,the other thing the sicientos had was a shoe setup similar to the old mk1 panda where rather than a proper adjuster you had two discs that gripped each other,a very bad design and one that was prone to slipping once everything adjusted off,the remedy on these was and is to fit new shoes

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Sorry my mistake. I thought they were same as 1200 Puntos. I couldnt compare directly as mine is the HGT.

have to agree to differ I suppose..
the principle is when parts are cheap and labour fiddly or expensive then it makes sense to replace all wearing parts while you have things dismantled (and the car unusable)
just because a wheel slave cylinder is not leaking when you check does not mean it will not be leaking a month later; rubber deteriorates with age and they will all leak eventually eg rubber flexibles hoses deteriorate and are a common MOT failure.
I renewed the rear brakes on my 1997 Punto (bought new) at 100,000 miles and then again at 210,000 as routine and never had to touch them in between..
A "genuine" Fiat part could just as easily be imported from China; I always source parts from local factors where I get good prices and I can return the item if I have ordered the wrong part; it also helps to keep local businesses viable; they might want to buy something from me tomorrow....