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divethedeep



Member Since: 17 Sep 2014
Location: sussex
Posts: 32

United Kingdom 2003 Defender 90 Td5 HT Arles Blue
Poor brakes
Hi my dec 03 defender 90 has poor brake efficiency
It always passes mot but I feel brakes could be better
It is fitted with bfg muds 255 85 16 No abs
It is impossible to lock wheels on a dry road
The servo is working

Any ideas ??
Post #801411 8th Nov 2019 9:33pm
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markb110



Member Since: 22 May 2010
Location: Guildford
Posts: 2505

England 2002 Defender 90 Td5 HT Epsom Green
Worth just replacing all the brake pads. I do mine at 50% worn. That way the pistons are not out to far as they wear down.

Cheap to do so worth a try.

I to have a TD5, no ABS. It locks up under heavy braking but I try to avoid this especially in the wet. I have also swapped the front single discs to vented 110 versions.
Post #801413 8th Nov 2019 9:49pm
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divethedeep



Member Since: 17 Sep 2014
Location: sussex
Posts: 32

United Kingdom 2003 Defender 90 Td5 HT Arles Blue
I did think about new pads as it’s all down to friction The ones fitted at present have probably done about 5k miles. Front discs are the vented type
Post #801415 8th Nov 2019 10:17pm
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grafty99



Member Since: 15 Aug 2012
Location: North Devon
Posts: 4784

United Kingdom 2002 Defender 90 Td5 HT Caledonian Blue
Although the servo on my 2002 90 was working, my brakes felt a bit 'wooden'

I replaced the servo and sharp and powerful brakes were restored Thumbs Up 2002 90 Td5 Station Wagon
1990 Vogue SE
Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200
Td5 90 Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic50767.html
Tdi 110 Thread https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic69562.html
RRC Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic54492.html
Instagram http://www.instagram.com/george_grafton
Post #801421 8th Nov 2019 10:32pm
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DefenderJon



Member Since: 01 Dec 2012
Location: Sunny Ulster
Posts: 68

Northern Ireland 2000 Defender 90 Td5 CSW Epsom Green
Re: Poor brakes
divethedeep wrote:
Hi my dec 03 defender 90 has poor brake efficiency
It always passes mot but I feel brakes could be better
It is fitted with bfg muds 255 85 16 No abs
It is impossible to lock wheels on a dry road
The servo is working

Any ideas ??


Check around the area where the two nuts are on the front of your brake servo - there’s a good chance the servo casing is cracked which will mean you’re losing vacuum. As said above, if this is your problem , a new one will transform your brakes.

Jon. Defender 90 TD5 CSW - The longer I own it, the newer it gets!!
Post #801438 9th Nov 2019 6:43am
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lightning



Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 2158

United Kingdom 
I’ve got a 2004 TD5 90 XS

The brakes are in good condition, just had new discs and pads. It’s very hard to lock the wheels on a dry road, ours has ABS and even in the rain it’s a job to get the ABS to kick in.

It certainly stops quickly enough, so there’s nothing wrong with the brakes or servo.
Post #801491 9th Nov 2019 1:33pm
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divethedeep



Member Since: 17 Sep 2014
Location: sussex
Posts: 32

United Kingdom 2003 Defender 90 Td5 HT Arles Blue
Re: Poor brakes
DefenderJon wrote:
divethedeep wrote:
Hi my dec 03 defender 90 has poor brake efficiency
It always passes mot but I feel brakes could be better
It is fitted with bfg muds 255 85 16 No abs
It is impossible to lock wheels on a dry road
The servo is working

Any ideas ??


Check around the area where the two nuts are on the front of your brake servo - there’s a good chance the servo casing is cracked which will mean you’re losing vacuum. As said above, if this is your problem , a new one will transform your brakes.

Jon.
Thanks Jon I have found the cracks you were talking about. And ave ordered a new servo
Post #801672 10th Nov 2019 7:18pm
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TJH1985



Member Since: 22 Aug 2016
Location: Midlands
Posts: 238

United Kingdom 
Exactly the same with mine, always passed a MOT but didn't feel right. My servo was also cracked, replaced it last year and the improvement was unbelievable, I actually locked them up at the first junction Embarassed
Post #801706 10th Nov 2019 9:49pm
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divethedeep



Member Since: 17 Sep 2014
Location: sussex
Posts: 32

United Kingdom 2003 Defender 90 Td5 HT Arles Blue
Looking forward to new servo arriving. I will report on improvement
Post #801825 11th Nov 2019 7:07pm
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divethedeep



Member Since: 17 Sep 2014
Location: sussex
Posts: 32

United Kingdom 2003 Defender 90 Td5 HT Arles Blue
New servo arrived today. From rubble valley 4x4 on eBay. £69.99 inc carriage

Fitted this afternoon about 30 mins handset bit was getting split pin out

Brakes are transformed

Thanks all for your recommendations and definitely check around master cylinder mounts for cracks in servo body

It would have been the last thing I would have thought
Post #802136 13th Nov 2019 8:13pm
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DefenderJon



Member Since: 01 Dec 2012
Location: Sunny Ulster
Posts: 68

Northern Ireland 2000 Defender 90 Td5 CSW Epsom Green
Glad you’re sorted. It really does make an amazing difference!

Jon. Defender 90 TD5 CSW - The longer I own it, the newer it gets!!
Post #802404 15th Nov 2019 10:44pm
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Alon



Member Since: 02 Jun 2019
Location: Windsor
Posts: 13

United Kingdom 
What are the symptoms of a foiled servo? I was under the impression that of the servo is bad then it always feels like there’s no power assist. My 2003 110 abs has good braking power but a pedal that isn’t high and it creeps down. Yes, it’s been bled twice and the last time was with my local tech’s diag tool to bleed the abs block / master...it’s got new lines from the abs unit all the way to the calipers - everything is new. I was suspecting the master itself might be letting in air but now wondering about the servo
Post #804022 29th Nov 2019 7:23am
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jst



Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Taunton
Posts: 7664

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Stornoway Grey
Most modern efficient braking systems have pedal creep with engine running so it's no necessarily a sign mc is faulty. Cheers

James
110 XS Utility
130 Puma Station wagon/camper (in the making)
90 Puma Hardtop
Post #804108 29th Nov 2019 10:20pm
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Alon



Member Since: 02 Jun 2019
Location: Windsor
Posts: 13

United Kingdom 
Well...I’ve now had my defender bled by my local tech who used their computer to bleed the abs system and pedal height was much improved...for a few days. While it still stops ok, I really don’t like the pedal travelling down as far as it does when braking. Need to look at the master I guess as I don’t think this can be caused by a bad servo. I’m praying my abs regulator will not need replacing as they’re a fortune.
Post #804132 30th Nov 2019 7:25am
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4RF RDS



Member Since: 19 Jul 2015
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 890

Canada 2000 Defender 110 Td5 XS CSW Epsom Green
Alon wrote:
What are the symptoms of a foiled servo? I was under the impression that of the servo is bad then it always feels like there’s no power assist. My 2003 110 abs has good braking power but a pedal that isn’t high and it creeps down. Yes, it’s been bled twice and the last time was with my local tech’s diag tool to bleed the abs block / master...it’s got new lines from the abs unit all the way to the calipers - everything is new. I was suspecting the master itself might be letting in air but now wondering about the servo


My 110 CSW with ASB does the same creep but the brakes are still awesome! Thumbs Up 2010 Range Rover MkIII Autobiography Super Charged (Idris)
2003 Range Rover Mk III (Desmond FitzWilliam)
2000 Defender 110 CSW TD5 (CTX)
1992 Range Rover Classic (Lizzy)
1972 Series III 300 Tdi (Stanwood)
1967 MGB GT

Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.
H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Post #804196 30th Nov 2019 3:29pm
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