Dave Bond

Hi, by way of epilogue: I took a closer look at my calipers and found that on the front left, I had one pad that looked almost new and one that was down virtually to metal! So I had one piston a long way out and one (presumably siezed) right back in its bore. I still don't know how this situation would necessarily cause the symptoms I had (intermittent loss of pressure) but it's clearly not good and I have now fitted new discs and calipers and all feels good now! Which of course it should do, as the whole braking system is pretty well new now. Thanks again for all the help. Dave

Hi All! I spent today working on the Bond. As I suspected, the relatively new drums, shoes, springs and wheel cylinders were all still in good shape; however, I took the opportunity to adjust the brakes (the shoes needed a bit of expanding) and replace the rear brake hoses; the old hoses looked ok, but worth replacing and then bled the brakes. The pedal feels really good, but of course as the fault has been intermittent, I'm not sure yet if it's fixed and I would be happier if I had actually found a clear fault. I'll be giving it some test drives and see what happens! Dave.

To everyone: it's really great to have such support and interest from so many of you; thank you. Ideas still very welcome and when I get to work on my Bond at the end of the week, I'll let you know how I get on. Dave

Hi Matthew, II haven't checked the wheel bearings for a while. I'll take a look. Dave

Hi Alf, thanks for the idea, but I'm afraid there's nothing that sophisticated on a Bond. Colin - thanks for your idea; I replaced the front hoses last year and they look good. I will check the rear ones. I'll look at pads also. Dave.

Hi, Thank you for the reply, however, I've replaced the MC with a brand new one and same problem persists. Dave

Hi Pete/Matthew/John, Thank you for your replies; very helpful. Pete; the calipers are not new and look in good shape, but I'll check. Matthew; the problem is very new; the rear brakes have performed well, but I'll check adjustment and ensure shoes return; I guess I assumed that the shoe springs would always keep them firmly against the wheel cylinder piston. Johnny; yes, it was pretty exciting! My working assumption has been a faulty MC, hence my surprise to repeat the problem with a new MC! I shall try your suggested check. The next time I will get a chance to work on the Bond will be Thursday/Friday; I'll follow your combined ideas - thank you again for your help. In the meantime, any other ideas/thoughts gratefully received! Dave.

Hi, I hope someone can offer me some suggestions. Recently, driving my Bond Equipe, I suddenly lost all brake pressure, the pedal went straight to the floor without any resistance. I pulled over and soon afterwards, the pedal was back to normal. Whilst parked, I removed the master cylinder cap, expecting to find the fluid low, but actually it overflowed. I also jacked the rear up and the brakes were not binding at all and there were no signs of any leaks anywhere. I drove twenty miles home with no problems. I don't think the brakes overheated. However on closer examination, the master cylinder looked old and crusty and may have leaked a little, so I decided to replace the master cylinder. I have now done this and after bleeding, the pedal felt great. Unfortunately, the next day, the pedal went straight to the floor again with no resistance and then on the second press was perfect again. So I seem to have intermittent loss of brake pressure. I replaced the rear drums, wheel cylinders and shoes about 18 months ago (less than 1000 miles). There is no servo on the Bond. The master cylinder I have fitted is actually a clutch master cylinder, but I can't see why this would create an intermittent problem (which I already had before I fitted it) Any suggestions gratefully received. Dave.