Some experimentation shows that there is a problem with air in the master cylinders not getting out of the exit ports. I had a peek down the inside of the master cylinder I’d nadgered and indeed the exit port is a pretty small hole at the top of the cylinder. Experimentally, I loosened off a couple of the master cylinders and jammed it in in a horizontal position, as in the photo.
In this position, I managed to get a lot more air out of the two circuits left. However, this doesn’t seem like a sensible approach in the long term. The only sensible thing would be to tilt the car at a stupid angle, but that doesn’t really seem feasible.
I did wonder, though, whether I’m supposed to have a different sort of master cylinder, one with the exit port 45° around the bore. I’ll see what I can find out tomorrow.
In the meantime, I’ve booked the car in with Andy to have an exhaust system made. I’ll take it up there later this week.
emilymgb says:
hi, good progress on the car. i bet firing up the engine was a great boost. it.s a pitty about the hydraulics. is the pedal box a bought in item? perhaps thay can help. alternativley try jacking up the front of the car or even better lift it with a engine hoist then push a caliper piston back to force air out of the cylinder inlet. i’m sure you’ll come up with somthing.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 7:32Tim Hoverd says:
Yeah, the pedal box was bought in from OBP. As such, you’d imagine that it’d be possible to bleed it! It may be that they sell special master cylinders with the exit port drilled in a different place. I’ll phone them soon and check. To be honest, I’d already mentally put “making the pedals work better” on the over-winter to do list. I may end up making my own pedal box…
Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 8:22DB says:
The photos on OBP’s website show standard Girling MCs fitting, and indeed sold with, that model of pedal box, so I suspect it’s just a funamental design flaw…
Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 22:06Tim Hoverd says:
Yeah, I suspect that that’s the case. I was intending to phone them today but forgot to take my phone to London with me. I’ll ask them soon. Another correspondent reckons that if I reverse bleed it, then it will be OK. I’ll try it…
Tuesday, 25 May 2010, 22:43