p6 and sd1 brakes
- Thread starter garethp6
- Start date
sdibbers
Well-Known Member
I Agree, P6 brakes are far superior to SD1 brakes. I would check that the rear calipers are adjusting themselves first. Jack up the rear end, release hand brake and grab each caliper and wiggle to see how well adjusted the pads are to the discs. Another clue to the rear break calipers needing help is if the hand brake needs to move more than 5 clicks to engage. If its travelling further my bet is on the adjusters failing or the pads being at the end of their life and the adjusters being at full wind out.
When I got my P6 some monkey had tried to take play out of the rear brakes by adjusting the handbrake cable. If that happens the adjuster mechanism doesn't have enough freedom to wind out the pistons and take up slack. so before you check the calipers you might want to take out a clevis pin for the cable to caliper link and see if you calipers have play.
Couple of pointers there, maybe that'll get you there nicely.
When I got my P6 some monkey had tried to take play out of the rear brakes by adjusting the handbrake cable. If that happens the adjuster mechanism doesn't have enough freedom to wind out the pistons and take up slack. so before you check the calipers you might want to take out a clevis pin for the cable to caliper link and see if you calipers have play.
Couple of pointers there, maybe that'll get you there nicely.
garethp6
Active Member
well u pull my hand brake up and its hold on 3 clicks i have been all throught my system and it all workin correct i have spoken to a few people and they brake are great and some people say they are ok my friend as a series 1 v8 and his are the same like mine a nice hard pedal but when u touch the brake it dont feel like to be working to hit it a bit more then its really stop at you so dont know if it just the way it is
Hello Gareth,
I remember seeing an article in a car magazine many years ago where they tested a variety of cars in various ways. One of the tests involved emergency braking from 100kph (60mph). The car that required the shortest distance in which to completely stop was....you guessed it..the Rover P6, and by quite a number of metres too. The brakes on this Rover can be totally superb without doubt.
If your brakes are less than satisfactory, and I know I have experienced the same with mine...back in the late 1980s a company that rebuilt my servo made a botch of it, the pedal felt aweful and the braking was much less than satisfactory, so the booster had to be replaced....again.. :evil: .
If your calipers are not leaking and the pads are not contaminated with fluid, flexible hoses all in good condition, then the booster is the likely suspect, assuming of course that your master cylinder is not leaking.
Ron.
I remember seeing an article in a car magazine many years ago where they tested a variety of cars in various ways. One of the tests involved emergency braking from 100kph (60mph). The car that required the shortest distance in which to completely stop was....you guessed it..the Rover P6, and by quite a number of metres too. The brakes on this Rover can be totally superb without doubt.
If your brakes are less than satisfactory, and I know I have experienced the same with mine...back in the late 1980s a company that rebuilt my servo made a botch of it, the pedal felt aweful and the braking was much less than satisfactory, so the booster had to be replaced....again.. :evil: .
If your calipers are not leaking and the pads are not contaminated with fluid, flexible hoses all in good condition, then the booster is the likely suspect, assuming of course that your master cylinder is not leaking.
Ron.
garethp6
Active Member
everything thing on mine is all new dont get me wrong if u really hit the brakes they are great the all the pedal is great all the time its just if you touch the brakes to slow down just feels like there is nothing but if you go down a bit more then they start working great i drove my m8 p6 and they feel the same as mine but when i had my 2000 they were really great so dont know if its just the series 1 setup but i think they are all the same
Assuming that there is no air in your system then the booster is the key to delivering good or great braking. Don't be swayed by the fact that your booster is only new,..like I said above,..that means nothing. When the brakes are rebuilt if they are done properly, then that will make all the difference. It will be akin to pulling up in a different car.
Ron.
Ron.
chrisw
Well-Known Member
garethp6 said:
The SD1 brakes are bloody awful compared with the P6, which is why SD1 owners tend to fit Jaguar XJS calipers to the front end if they want to improve their braking ability.
I'd look at your booster as some people have suggested.. make sure it's working properly. Try driving an SD1 sometime, and you'll see how bad they are. I used to drive my dad's '82 s1.5 SD1 V8 around the Port Hills in Christchurch, NZ when I was younger, and by the time I reached the bottom of the hills, they'd be red hot and barely responding. You certainly didn't want to try towing a caravan unless you used the caravans' brakes to help slow you down!!
I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but you seem to be having a lot of problems with various aspects of your car, yet rather than actually figuring out what it wrong and correcting it, you seem to spend more time contemplating changes and playing around with it. The best thing to do is figure out what the problem is at each stage, then correct it before moving on to the next thing.
Pilkie
Active Member
Dont for one minute try to compare a P6's braking with a modern car!!
When you drive a modern car everyday,it will not feel as good!
ie You cant do the same speed in a P6 as say a Saxo/Clio, and hope to stop as quick as any modern motors!!
Check your servo to manifold pipe hasnt partially collapsed,or has a leak,its dead easy to renew,and replace jubille's,also check the valve between the pipe and the servo body is working properly,these can get a little sticky if contaminated.
chrisw is right really!
You need to concentrate on fixing 1 problem at a time,otherwise you are in danger of not getting round to any of the faults you have,and I am most concerned about your wheel alignement issues!
Just look at what nearly happened to another member,with his P6's SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS :shock: bulkhead rust!
I have a feeling after seeing it and thinking more that it is related to the bushes on the top mount to bulkhead area,and as you seem to be contemplating a front spring change,then do them and also check for corrosion or flexing of the bulkhead area!!
When you drive a modern car everyday,it will not feel as good!
ie You cant do the same speed in a P6 as say a Saxo/Clio, and hope to stop as quick as any modern motors!!
Check your servo to manifold pipe hasnt partially collapsed,or has a leak,its dead easy to renew,and replace jubille's,also check the valve between the pipe and the servo body is working properly,these can get a little sticky if contaminated.
chrisw is right really!
You need to concentrate on fixing 1 problem at a time,otherwise you are in danger of not getting round to any of the faults you have,and I am most concerned about your wheel alignement issues!
Just look at what nearly happened to another member,with his P6's SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS :shock: bulkhead rust!
I have a feeling after seeing it and thinking more that it is related to the bushes on the top mount to bulkhead area,and as you seem to be contemplating a front spring change,then do them and also check for corrosion or flexing of the bulkhead area!!
Dave3066
Well-Known Member
Interestingly, whilst I was at the Strathaven Classic Show on Sunday I was chatting to a guy who owned a p6 many years ago and said he didn't rate the brakes at all. "I always made sure I kept a good distance behind anything and thought the brakes were very poor" he said.
I've never had any problems pulling up sharply with the brakes on my car, but as Pilkie says they are nowhere near as good as a modern cars braking system.
I've never had any problems pulling up sharply with the brakes on my car, but as Pilkie says they are nowhere near as good as a modern cars braking system.
NickDunning
Active Member
Dave3066 said:
There is a difference with modern brake pad materials. My 2200 auto is still running the good ol' asbetos type ones on the back and the brakes are superb.
I had to put the anchors on fairly heavily on the 3500S yesterday afternoon, I'd say that it brakes at least as well as my 1998 BMW 3 Series.
Cheers
Nick
Pilkie
Active Member
Still better safe than up the arse of a bus or lorry.
Driving within the capabilities of your car is a MUST,never trust it will be as good as a modern,it could catch you out! :wink:
If you dont stop its your fault,and not the guy in front for stopping quicker than you can!
I normally adapt the 2 second rule to the 3 second rule!!
Driving within the capabilities of your car is a MUST,never trust it will be as good as a modern,it could catch you out! :wink:
If you dont stop its your fault,and not the guy in front for stopping quicker than you can!
I normally adapt the 2 second rule to the 3 second rule!!
garethp6
Active Member
hey guys yea tr right i am going to keep with the system i got now yea i know they will be never as good as a modern car but theey do work but not as good as i would like but at the end of the day yes the car is 41 years old now drove my m8 triumph herald 2 day and compare the brakes from the triumph to my p6 the p6 are great so i am going to keep them the way it is and pilkie year yr right i am going to keep 1 with job at a time starting off with the camper problems dont know who wants to do it at the moment i got all brand new bushes for the top link just needs to be all replaced
Believe it or not, you could get them. I have an article somewhere of a kit being fitted to a P6. They basically consisted of a small pulsing valve fitted in each of the front brake lines. Don't know how effective they were, seemed like you'd be better off just pumping the brake pedal!
chrisw
Well-Known Member
KiwiRover said:
Believe it or not, you could get them. I have an article somewhere of a kit being fitted to a P6. They basically consisted of a small pulsing valve fitted in each of the front brake lines. Don't know how effective they were, seemed like you'd be better off just pumping the brake pedal!
Try the calipers from an '89 onwards XJS.. they'll certainly fit on an SD1..
The feel that the pedal translates is largely due to whether or not the booster is operating correctly. The difference between one that is and one that isn't is very noticable indeed. Pad material, tyres, shocks, springs, flexible hose condition, caliper seal condition, correct steering settings and type of brake fluid and whether or not the system has been bled correctly will all influence brake feel and stopping distance.
A P6 set up correctly will pull up extremely well indeed and in my opinion equally if not better than many modern cars. Where the P6 will lose out though is if the front wheels lock, then a car fitted with ABS will have a clear advantage.
Ron.
A P6 set up correctly will pull up extremely well indeed and in my opinion equally if not better than many modern cars. Where the P6 will lose out though is if the front wheels lock, then a car fitted with ABS will have a clear advantage.
Ron.