Hi all,
my wife brought her pride and joy home ( dont know how !!) with NO BRAKES , there are no visible signs of any leaks, but the pedal travels full distance with no resistance. Topped up the fluid (very little needed)started the engine and pumped the brake - if any thing there was less resistance on the pedal and the tick over went lumpy on pressing the brake down . any ideas ?? can anyone tell me how difficult the job is likely to be , many thanks
P.S upon interegation she has noticed a deteriation of the brakes over the previous two days

are you sure theres no brakes and not that you dont just have no servo assistence?
if the servo has gone you will have brakes but they will not be assisted and you will have to push really hard to get braking

Hi custard boy,
just took it out for check and the brakes are barely working if at all, and will not stop the car no matter how much pressure is applied - the pedal goes all the way down to the floor with no resistance, any ideas ??

check your vacuum hose to the servo is connected properly and is not split/blocked as this would cause a loss of assistence.
if your not losing fluids then you would need to look at the servo/master cylinder.

for the servo press the brake several times(engine off) and then start the car whilst pressing the brake. when you start the engine you should feel a give in the pedal.
let the engine run for a couple of minutes.
switc the engine of and if you pump the brake you should feel the brake get firmer with a shorter pedal stroke.

there is a one way valve on the servo as well which can be removed and tested.if you blow through it both ways it should only allow air in one direction

i dont really know your car so these are fairly general guides. i would look into the vacuum hose 1st though

thanks for that I will check it out

many thanks

if your pedal is going to the bottom with no resistance hardly then it will be your master cylinder.it either wants a new one or a reseal service kit.for the price,just renew.also change the fluid and check the rear wheel cylinders for leaks.and check the vacuum pipe to servo.if it was me,all wheels would come off for a thorough checkout.this includes all brakelines!! please do the same.might not have the wife come back one day!

No resistance indicates a problem with the braking system itself of some sort. If it was just a lack of servo, it'd be a firm pedal instead. As very little fluid was needed, it's probably not a leak - the top up probably was taking up the slack caused by (normal) wear in the brake pads. So it could be a master cylinder problem. Either that or a massive airlock. Or your wife has boiled the brake fluid... (bit of a racer is she? )
H

even with a massive airlock,it would pump up eventually.no its got to be master cylinder.