[Laney760]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

To test for the master cylinder :

Engine off, pump the pedal slowly a couple of times to exhaust the vacuum assistance from the servo.
When the vacuum is exhausted, pedal should feel fairly firm with minimal travel. Put a lot of pressure on the pedal and hold it. If the pedal starts dropping, however slowly, it's almost certainly the master cylinder.

To check for the servo working correctly :

Start the engine (preferably after the above test) and let it idle for a couple of minutes to build up a good vaccum. Switch off.
Wait 3-5 minutes and there should be enough vacuum left to give at least one vacuum assisted press of the pedal.
Once the vacuum is once again exhausted, maintain the pressure on the pedal (not necessarily full presssure, just what was used to check for vacuum assistance) and restart the engine.

As it starts, vaccum assistance should return and the pedal should move down a little to allow for the assistance. It should stop at that point but if it continues to sink towards the floor with little or no reserve travel, it's the master cylinder.

Hi

I ran these checks and the car passed! Does this mean we have eliminated the ''vac hose'' and valve from the servo?

Should I bother getting the brake fluid changed, last changed about 60 thou ago but they tested it and said no water in it?

Next step I am wondering. In a nutshell, excellent brakes but not near enough the top of the pedal like they used to be. (Not because the caliper was siezed on before, definitely wasn't, I know siezed caliper symptoms well!)