Anyone had problems with 205 diesel rear brakes failing a 'computerised' MOT (being rolled out at the moment - see http://www.motester.co.uk/completter.html
for some of the issues.....[:(]).
After new cylinders and shoes, ours reads '~50' at the rear vs '~180' at the front (which sounds OK to me as a front / rear bias, especially with the inbuilt 'compensator' (=pressure limiting) valve in the rear cylinders). Yes the drums are worn (a bit - mileage = ~80k) but not ridiculously so and the handbrake (new cables) works fine - easily locking the rear wheels, which makes the point about pressure limiters!
HELP!!!
205 rear brakes failing 'computerised' MOT
Moderator: RichardW
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Homer
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I had the same problem with my 205D - but the car was so far gone in other departments, I got rid and never retested it.
I found the Bendix drum set-up a pain to adjust, not only was it weak but it was difficult to balance the two rear brakes with each other to make the handbrake effective.
My drums were original, and very shabby, which may have added to the problem. But if you replace the drums you'll have to fit new bearings too - so the cost would add up.
I can only suggest you rough up the drum braking surface with a file and adjust the shoes so they are dragging when the handbrake is off, for maximum effect.
Also, you may have some air trapped in the system, so you could try bleeding the rear brakes with a pressure kit, such as a Gunson 'Eezi-bleed' thingy.
I found the Bendix drum set-up a pain to adjust, not only was it weak but it was difficult to balance the two rear brakes with each other to make the handbrake effective.
My drums were original, and very shabby, which may have added to the problem. But if you replace the drums you'll have to fit new bearings too - so the cost would add up.
I can only suggest you rough up the drum braking surface with a file and adjust the shoes so they are dragging when the handbrake is off, for maximum effect.
Also, you may have some air trapped in the system, so you could try bleeding the rear brakes with a pressure kit, such as a Gunson 'Eezi-bleed' thingy.
Think you might be on the right track with 'friction' Ralph, although the auto adjusters seem to be working OK. I guess that the new shoes are not quite the same profile as the old drums, so (despite being able to lock the rears on the road using the handbrake) I need more friction to make better use of the (limited = "compensated") pressure from the hydraulics.
Out with the 'rough bastard' and some coarse emery it is then....
Out with the 'rough bastard' and some coarse emery it is then....
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fastandfurryous
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It may help as well to put some load in the back of the car. That way, the rear compensating valve will allow more fluid pressure to the rear brakes, and put them on harder. I've experienced this problem before with a very lightly loaded back of a car. Put a couple of bags of sand, or maybe some chunks of concrete etc. in the boot, and hey presto, an MOT pass.
Thanks to all for your suggestions / tips.
Seems the tester had been regarding the rear brake performance as subjectively 'below par' and had not put all the figures into the computer...
A bit of cleaning up of the rear drums (emery + degreaser) and shoes (rough file) got the rears up to '60', and when the output from all the brakes was fed in, it passed OK. [:)]
Seems the tester had been regarding the rear brake performance as subjectively 'below par' and had not put all the figures into the computer...
A bit of cleaning up of the rear drums (emery + degreaser) and shoes (rough file) got the rears up to '60', and when the output from all the brakes was fed in, it passed OK. [:)]