Servo hose - urgent question

[Gazmania]

Hi folks, I've spent the evening adjusting the back brakes & handbrake cables on my '72 crossover, & all was fine until I went for a test drive & on pressing the brakes the pedal went straight to the floor. Pumping the pedal rapidly did give me some braking. There are no obvious fluid leaks from the system, & the master cylinder is still full. On checking the vacuum hoses I found one that didn't seem to be attached to anything, following it back, it terminated at the pedal side of the servo. I can't find any reference to this hose in the Haynes book so I thought I'd ask on here. What makes the problem worse is I'm on the Isle of Man - & we are booked on the ferry for Thursday night to go to Camperjam. Here is a picture of the offending hose which I drew on the servo page in the Haynes book. Any advice will be gratefully received.

Cheers
Gaz

 

[Trikky2]

That hose is only the air inlet for the servo. It doesent work the servo itself.
Most vehicles just have a simple filter on it to exclude dirt and dust entering the servo.
On T2 vehicles the filter is replaced by a hose that inserts into the body cavity above the wheel. This also enables the vehicle to wade through deeper water without damage.

If your hose is missing you can fix a temporary filter on there using for instance some foam rubber and some old stockings.

 

[Gazmania]

Thanks Trikky, that's one thing I can tick off my list. The loose end was near to a hole in the chassis leg - so that's probably where it came from. Luckily I have a good length of new servo hose & a non-return valve in the shed so tomorrow nights job will be to replace the hose from the the other side of the servo back to the inlet manifolds & hope it gives me my pedal pressure back. Fingers crossed.

Cheers
Gaz

 

[Trikky2]

If your brake pedal goes to the floor its a hydraulic problem rather than a servo one. If there's no leak then its either adjustment (too much free play - maybe adjusted the brakes wrong) or you have air in the line.

Re check the brake adjustment first. If you turned them the wrong way then the shoes will be backed off the drums too far.

If the servo stops working then the pedal will be solid but lacking assistance meaning you have to press it very hard to get any braking effect.

 

[Gazmania]

Just a little update. After stressing out all day thinking that the master cylinder might have spat its guts out, and getting home, jacking up the van, checking the first hub, finding that I'd adjusted the shoes properly. On checking the other side, it seems I'd backed those adjusters right in & after winding them out my brake pressure returned.
Relieved is not the word

Many thanks for your advice Trikky - it's much appreciated.


Cheers
Gaz

Camperjam here we come.

 

[Trikky2]

Glad you got it sorted.

Those adjusters are very confusing.