First job this week was to install the batteries removed from the MW and attempt to spin the engine over. Second try was a success, but there was smoke from the starter motor, hopefully the engine was just stiff to turn over. That was all for this week, as other matters intruded.
All posts by Nigel
5/10/2025
Some real progress at last. On Monday I managed to lock the handbrake swing arm bracket screw with a blob of weld, so I could undo the nut and move the bracket out of the way. This gave me enough access to undo and remove the pipe screw that connects the O/S front brake servo and the reservoir pipes. I was also able to undo two of the rearmost servo bracket fastenings, the third should be straightforward too, leaving only the front mounting. This could be a problem if I can’t undo the sing large nut and bolt that holds the front of the servo to the bulkhead bracket, however this did in fact come undone reasonably easily – but I couldn’t separate the servo from the bracket, so the servo had to come out with the bracket attached. I also had to undo the two fastenings holding the rear servo mount bracket, through which I had stupidly routed the main cable conduit to the boot. However, once the oil dashpot bracket was undone, the servo came out, lowered on the trolley jack. Wednesday was spent collecting all the tools up and putting them away and generally tidying up, before starting to clean the exterior of the servo. In the course of this, I removed the oil dashpot and discovered it had been packed with green brake grease, so no oil had been able to reach the servo innards via the drip feed. Starting to remove the grease was the last job of the week, as other matters are pressing now.
28/9/2025
A slow start to the week again, with just time to remove the brake pedal spring on Monday – this took 45 minutes of wrestling before I could see a way to unhook it, by twisting it through 90 degrees with mole grips. The next day I was able to remove the pin from the fork on the rod from the pedal to the rear brakes servo, but this took several rounds of heating and cooling to achieve. The next job was to remove the vacuum pipes from the servo, but access is tricky and involves removing the handbrake rod lever bracket from the firewall bulkhead. This hit a stumbling block when I found the final nut eas turning but not undoing. Acces to the bolt itself was obscured by the upper pipe feeding the O/S front brakes and the vacuum gauge. Removing this included removing the pipe to the vacuum pump that also joins the pipe to the reservoir tank. The two pipes were fairly easily removed, although I didn’t realise this soon enough so this incurred considerable delay. The problem with the third fixing for the handbrake bracket was then revealed, it is a countersunk screw, half-hidden by the servo itself, and it is rotating. So I will attempt to stake or drill and pin it in place; if these options fail, a dab of weld may be the only option. To enable access for this, I unscrewed the brake pedal rod from the servo. This also gives access to the nut on the bolt that supports the front of the servo.