Severe Braking Problem
 

Hi All!

I am a new owner of a 96 Disco that I picked up for a song and a dance. I knew going into the deal that I was taking on a few risks, and a few of them revealed themselves quickly. ;) Nonetheless, I must push on to get them fixed.

I bought the Disco today, but I have been lurking on this site for a bout a week looking for tips etc before I buy. However, I still need help with a few rather major problems.

I was driving the car home, and I had braking problems already..... I stomped on the brakes and I had absolutley NO BRAKES!!!! :mad: Good thing the parking brakes work...

The brakes felt a little "spongy" to begin with and it looks like at least the front brakes could use some new pads and rotors. However, this would not explain a complete loss of brakes. FYI.. The ABS light is on steady.

They came back later and seemed to stay tight so long as I kept giving the brake pedal some quick pumps.

I figure I will start with common sense trouble shooting like inspecting for leaks, new pads and rotors, inspecting calipers, and a full flush and bleed.

However, are there any common issues with the brakes that I should consider?



Thanks in advance!

Full flush all four brakes before starting on other repairs, of course check fluid levels. Hope master cylinder or vac booster has not given up the ghost. Spongy could be just air, but from where? The ABS light won't stop the regular brakes from working in a conventional old skool way. ABS sensors on each wheel are expensive - be gentle with them and download the factory manual for diagrams and instructions.

BTW - don't plan on resurfacing Disco rotors - too much truck to stop, and ones that have been shaved will usually warp much faster.

Welcome to the grease and mud caked universe of repair of Rover's.

First open the hood, locate the under hood fuse box, remove the ABS Pump fuse, close fuse box, close hood.
Does this problem continue?
If no problem solved.
If yes then flush out all of the old brake fluid.
If it still continues it could be the master cylinder or the rubber brake lines at the wheels, when they go bad they "balloon" while braking can cause reduced brake pressure.

Thanks guys!!! I will do a full bleed this weekend. I should have mentioned that the resivior is full, but the fluid looks kind of dark.

I didn't think the ABS woud have anything to do with it. Good call on the master cyl and the rubber brake lines. Hope it's not the cyl.

btw--- When you mention that ABS sensors are expensive, what exactly are we talking about in terms of dollars?

At one web site, Atlantic British, they are about $329 each. At the dealership, at least one half of the mortgage payment for the parts manager. But ABS is not required to carefully drive truck, and like Spike says, you can unplug it pretty darn quick with the fuse. And it may not be a sensor, it could be a cheap relay or a very expensive pump.

BTW, don't look for the parking brakes at the rear. They are shoes inside a single drum behind the transfer case and rear drive shaft.

not to scare you or anything, but i had the same problem. and it was the master cylinder. I had just driven from TN to SC and on the way there i noticed the brakes were getting spongey. I arrived and was driving around in town and went to hit the brakes and they went to the floor and ended up using the brand new mercury in front of me to stop. I got it back to the hotel. checked the fluid, bled the brakes in the parking lot. edid everything i could and finally threw in the towel and took it to a local shop and it was the Master Cylinder. It was only $378 for parts and labor. I wish you luck

I will try to be the voice of reason here -

Please attempt to figure out what is wrong before you simply disable the ABS and drive on. It is an important safety feature and could potentially save your skin but more importantly it could save the guy you are gonna hit, too.

Do a search on "blink method" and ABS and you will find the methodology for extracting the ABS codes without paying anybody anything. You simply remove a relay from the relay tray under the glove box, short two pins on your ODBII plug with a paper clip and count the blinks of the ABS light and look up codes.

Your system was produced by WABCO, and if you cant find the code list one of us can help you out.

so please PLEASE figure out what the problem is before you just disable the system. I'm not saying there aren't reasons to unplug but know what you are doing before you do so.

Also, I bought a set of four sensors guaranteed on Ebay for $40. Keep a sharp eye out and you might get lucky also.

Thanks for the heads up!

I don't think anyone was suggesting that I eliminate the ABS system all together, it was more or less to isolate weather I was having an ABS issue, or more likely, a hydraulic issue.

ABS has proven to be an excellent system for stopping cars etc, but I have been around long enough to know how to stop a car with "standard" brakes ;) I plan on getting to the ABS system, but first I need to solve a few more immediate issues.

You are correct. With the ABS light on, it has already turned itself off, to help prevent improper operation of ABS related parts. Pull the ABS main fuse to take that system out of the equation for the most part. You have standard brakes now, and that is where the immediate (no pedal) problem will be found. Could be MC, bad old fluid, calipers, leaky/swollen hoses, etc. Since you did not indicate pull to one side, problem might not be something that tends to be wheel specific. But on Rovers, all things age at an exponetial rate. If you find one brake line wimpy, the others are not far behind.

Be sure to get your RAVE download, the workshop manual section is good to have. See link below.

The problem with the D1 ABS is it's an utterly asinine design. It can/will fail without warning and leave with no brakes at all.
A well designed system would only allow failures that result in no ABS, not no brakes.
Personally I consider always having functional brakes more important than occasionally functional ABS.