Springy2112

Thank you all for you support its been a real grueller...I was determined not to be beaten ..I had various mk3 s in the eighties and nineties and never had issues making the brakes work..OK they'll never be as good as my other 3 cars (modern stuff) but I knew they were not to right even by 1984 standards... Any way on to other bits now... Had 4 new tyres fitted and I am in the throws of trying to get audio sorted but that's on the audio thread..wish me luck.. Thanks again....Paul..

Oh bugger...the original one I won is trash... So can anybody give me a clue as to where to get a radio code for an FD2005 fromn1995 it's a K serial number... Happily pay for the privilege... Serial number is K0347982 Esrt32s 89fb18k876aa 0046767 ?????? Thanks again.

Yep I won the radio cassette for 26 quid...

Its ok Paul The adjusters are working perfectly I checked them again ...I have the brakes working ..after doing a normal bleed on Friday pm with my work mate on the pedal I managed to extract more air from both rear lines..now just need to bed in all the new mating surfaces. Cheers..

OK forget the above I just had a look behind the unit and found a nightmare spaghetti cabling bodge so I removed it all and luckily the original radio wiring was intact...that's somewhat limiting but I've found an original unit on eBay which I hope I'll win to put straight in.... More for looks really ...if the radio works it's a bonus if the cassette works then it's a double bonus not that I've got any cassettes anymore but I can put an mo3 adaptor cassette thing in.... So I now have a spare 1995 fd 2005 with no code so I'll just put it with the other spares ...Cheers all..

Hello my cabby has an fd2005 rad cassette I can't find the code and it's a 3 digit code the serial no is K 0347982 don't seem to be able to find any unlocked for k serial nos and no number written down in the thousands of pages and books of all its history ?? I keep the battery off the car so need the code doh!!! Thanks in advance for any help..

I am getting somewhere I gravity bled all and git the usual spongy pedal..then before putting it all looks away I tried a quick bleed on rears with wife doing pedal...burger me !! Got loads of air out! Unfortunately we ran out of time after 10 mins having other stuff to attend to... Now I'm trying to find a couple of hours and a pump partner to give it a good go.. Bloody working 7 days so it's frustrating being so close...Anyway the result of the quick bleed was at least half a good pedal in fact the best pedal yet.. Wether it's because I gravity bled it first for 3 hours doing all four corners at once I don't know but it is a big improvement...

Oh It just goes on !!! I stopped off to see my mechanical guru who's garage is literally 2 minutes from where I work... I explained the whole rotten saga.. Expecting him to book me in ... Well he said you need to gravity bleed it Don't touch the pedal don't pressure bleed etc etc etc... Anyway the outcome was gravity bleed it all and if that don't work book it in.!! Don't know if I'm happy or not.. On the one hand he's given me advice and a possible way of fixing it myself... On the other hand am I going to spend another day bleeding and expect to see no pedal at the end... Oh well at least gravity bleed is the easiest and longest way to do it... Wish me luck..

Thank you Nick ..Yes it's really frustrating I've been playing with cars and bikes for 32 years I trained as a mechanic and did it fir a job for 15vyears then did it for hobby and helping friends since...this weekend I fitted another new master cylinder and bled it all again...no good...I then reverse bled everything with a giant syringe I got from screwfix..it's still rubbish.... I'm now going to take it to a garage near work that I have a great relationship with TO see if I'm missing something... This is the first mechanical job that's ever defeated me... I have stripped and rebuilt a v8 engine just for fun but cannot bleed a simple brake system....thanks for your kind words..

Back to the beginning.. OK I fitted the 2nd new master cylinder after doing a very careful bench bleed.. I pressure bled all four corners in the correct order..went completely overboard and put half a litre through each even though after the first minute there was no air coming out...I bled each for about ten minutes...9 of which gave no air at all... There's still no brakes..well none worth mentioning and it feels very low and even more spongy now ... I did the pushrod adjustment from servo about ten times in small increments and nothing.. I have now set the pushrod to where it should be be using a micrometer digital vernier guages to get the pushrod 0.2 mm clear of the piston at rest ... Anyone had any luck reverse bleeding? I have done the usual bleed with two people... I have done the one person bleed with my pressure kit... Haven't tried reverse bleeding...don't have the tool...yet!..... I have reverse bled brakes on some of my awkward bikes in the past but you only require a big syringe due to the small nature of motorbike brakes... On a car I would think even the biggest syringe would not be enough...Maybe there are some 500 ml syringes out there ? To save buying an expensive reverse bleed tool which probably won't cure the issue anyway... I am almost at the defeated point of taking it to a trusted garage and paying out just to get it sorted...it'll be expensive but the mechanic is meticulous and has a fantastic reputation...it'll very used him over the years for any work that's beyond my equipment... I so want to get past this brake dilemma and get on with prepping the car for summer...

The picture that Studabear put above is how the adjusters will look when fully off or slackened or no adjustment yet...the flat part of the cam will sit flat against the backplate...when you press the pedal the shoes push out and that cam with its spring will click round until it's self adjusted ...as yours did when you had driven it and looked again so it had self adjusted as you said it's back to where it was...so you are adjusting it correctly.. I would imagine a knackered bearing will set of the abs warning light as the abs sensor ring on most cars (don't know exactly on yours as mines a mk3 without abs)is sensitive to even the slightest misalignment or run out...even a tiny hairline cracking in the sensor ring will shut down the abs ... The notched ring has a magnet sensor next to it that picks up the speed of the wheel as the metal notches go past...if one wheel is moving at a different speed ie skidding it pumps in the abs... Sorry I'm going off on a tangent... It's sounds like you maybe need a new handbrake cable/cables...they do wear out or stretch over time... Hope you get it sorted soon mate..

The picture that Studabear put above is how the adjusters will look when fully off or slackened or no adjustment yet...the flat part of the cam will sit flat against the backplate...when you press the pedal the shoes push out and that cam with its spring will click round until it's self adjusted ...as yours did when you had driven it and looked again so it had self adjusted as you said it's back to where it was...so you are adjusting it correctly.. I would imagine a knackered bearing will set of the abs warning light as the abs sensor ring on most cars (don't know exactly on yours as mines a mk3 without abs)is sensitive to even the slightest misalignment or run out...even a tiny hairline cracking in the sensor ring will shut down the abs ... The notched ring has a magnet sensor next to it that picks up the speed of the wheel as the metal notches go past...if one wheel is moving at a different speed ie skidding it pumps in the abs... Sorry I'm going off on a tangent... It's sounds like you maybe need a new handbrake cable/cables...they do wear out or stretch over time... Hope you get it sorted soon mate..

Bit of an update I fitted the four stainless braided goodridge hoses and bled everything again...still rubbish..the adjustment on the rod from the servo didn't help massively but helped a bit..but what I did find was a leak at the entry end of the master cylinder which was brand new!!! So I have another new master cylinder bench bled last night I now need to fit it and start again...have a new gallon of dot 4 ...Yes gallon... I'm going to run a litre through each corner.... halfords trade cards are sometimes useful I got 12 quid off the fluid and brake cleaner price ... £19.99 for 5 litres fluid and two big cans cleaner instead of £32... Don't use halfords much but I got 16 quid off the battery also... I will let you know how it goes after the weekend...

Cheers Ian I am not at that stage yet I'm determined to keep it stock but stock with shit brakes maybe ain't so clever.. I'm in Scunthorpe btw .

Hello again jinks yeah I think I'm getting there using your advice...just haven't had the chance to do it properly as it's been chaos with house renovation the last few days..changed the hoses all round for braided jobs so need to re bleed again.. But I did get an increase in pedal..obviously I need to find the sweet spot between good pedal and binding as you well know ...bloomin faff I don't remember these issues on the six I owned in the eighties...

Himanshu cheers I changed the master cylinder for a brand new one straight after the discs pads drums shoes wheelcylinders and now braided brake lines..after a brief tinker on the pushrod adjuster I achieved more pedal ...but as I changed all the hoses today and pressure bled it once I need to go back to it and bleed again thoroughly..I also need to adjust the rid from the servo scientifically/ properly..but I had the whole house in bits replacing joists and floors at the same time...I think I'm getting there..

Looking through all the vast pile of bills the servo was changed 4 years ago which amounts to less than a thousand miles... This also ties in with the adjuster rod not being adjusted correctly ..I have watched half a dozen videos related to this now and the more I watch the more convinced I am that this is the issue.. But I'll find out this weekend when I have another go at it..it would be nice to move on to tyres tracking and fine tuning..oh yes and polishing !!

Oh wow you like it without power steering that's very interesting...it's funny how we get used to the modern bits on cars...when me and wife were driving these cars first time round in the eighties we thought nothing of no power steering etc because that's all we had.. Then after 30 years of luxury that's the only thing on the little mk3 cab which I thought might be a slight put off for her when I've got it all ready...she hasn't driven it yet..but I suppose like me it only took a while to get used to move then steer again!! Anyway thanks for your thoughts it's much appreciated..Cheers..

Cheers buddy good luck with yours well done on the pepper pots can't be too many left now ..

Hello all this is a thought for the future I have seen a company in the south West UK who supply/fit or supply a power steering conversion for the mk3 escort..it's the modern electric motor type from I think a corsa or similar...it looks to be a doable job just wondered if anyone has done or had this done...or should my tiny wife just go to the gym and get some biceps.. Or is this pointless if I wanted all the modern amenities just drive one of my other cars ??? Your thoughts would be welcome thanks ...

Jinks, yes buddy the pedal is fine but it's literally near the floor...I changed everything and bled a thousand times like I say I even just got braided hoses which is a good thing as everything else is new. The cars for my wife and I'm a perfectionist and I have brand new 110% brakes on all our cars for her and my daughter..can't be too safe..this has been a blooming nightmare people bring me cars to fix all the time I've never been Beaton by any mechanical problem ever..so it's not only hugely frustrating but also embarrassing!! That adjuster caught my eye when I replaced the master cylinder but as there was no mention in the Haynes book I left it figuring it was factory set..I did try to free off the adjuster last time I was tinkering but it seemed solid..which made me think ..yeah it's factory set leave it alone..but what you say makes perfect sense and it has been in the back of my mind for ages..since you replied I have done looked it up on Google and you tube and am now convinced that this is it.. So thank you so much I will give it a try this weekend but will just do quarter turns ensuring there's no brake bind...I did see a way of measuring the depth of the travel etc which I can reproduce quite easily with some trickery it'll tell me straight away how far the rod is from the piston.. I will let you know how it goes like I said it's embarrassing as I'm the guy that all my colleagues and family bring their cars to for fixing...as once upon a time in a previous life I was a mechanic...oops!!! Thanks again I will keep you informed... BTW if you want to have a look at what I've been doing to the old girl (car) I have lots of short videos on you tube.. Springy2112 is my channel... In fact it's my user name on everything.. Cheers I appreciate your kind help.

Thank you jinks I wondered what the adjuster nut on the servo pushrod to master cylinder was about..just got some Goodrich braided hoses all round ( last ditch thought the rubber of one's might be swelling) haven't fitted yet... That adjuster in the mcservo is not mentioned in the Haynes book I have no Base line settings for it..I suppose I should try to make the rod longer was gonna try just about 5mm ?.. how much did you adjust yours ...Cheers Paul..

Forgot to say it's not abs And doesn't have the load valve things at the rear... Just compensators in the rh front inner wing ..Cheers...

OK when I got the cab a few months back the brakes were rubbish having passed an mot the day before ! The pedal or brakes start about 2/3 down ... So I have replaced front discs and pads rear drums and shoes and wheel cylinders (there were no leaks but thought I would start with new) ..full bleed in the correct order from Haynes manual as it's diagonal split system.. Still rubbish.. So new master cylinder ..bench bled.. Fitted and fully bled system .. Rubbish .. Got easibleed pressure bleeder bled all again Rubbish Jacked up car on 4 stands level in case the compensator valves in the front inner wing needed to be level..bled again.. Rubbish.. Tried bleeding from furthest away working back.. Rubbish.. Bled again the Haynes way Rubbish.. Changed all bleed nappies bled again Rubbish.. No air coming out anywhere I've checked the servo it's fine and doesn't help with getting the pedal anyway ..and I'm making sure when I bleed to release the vacuum air from the servo as per Haynes.. So far I've spent 8 full days on it over 6 weeks or so and still have the worst brakes ever just like when I got it.. Any ideas it's driving me nuts. Mk3 1.6 cvh 1984 un modified.. 5 litres of brake fluid so far.. Thanks in advance..

I'm going through the engine sorting all the bits valve stem seals done hydraulic tappets done new plugs leads oil oil filter air filter various gaskets and o rings and seals...got a weber 34 ibf carb to replace the vv..and a new lucas dizzy in case the existing botch one is faulty (it was free with my spare engine) So I will fit the carb and check the timing...only thing is what timing? Haynes says 12 btdc... But does my 1984 run on unleaded ? Do I need lead additive and what timing changes if it will run unleaded...if any ?.. Help would be much appreciated...apparently on the head above no 1 exhaust port it will say lpg if it's got hardened valve seats ...haven't seen yet but wasn't looking... Cheers Springy..