404 Brakes

[robduff]

Hi,

I have a 1971 404L (Estate) with dodgy brakes.  It has been in a classic car garage for 12 months & they have failed to resolve it!  Can anyone recommend someone who knows about the Hydrovac brake system used on the 404 in order that I can get the car back on the road?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards Rob

[oldpug]

What`s the fault?

[miketippett]

If the rubber hoses are more than 25 years old, change them all. If the Hydrovac is not newly rebuilt or never has been rebuilt, it probably needs it. Those general comments should be supplemented with a technical description of the problem.....

[oldpug]

Mike,we try to offer help but get no response,what is the point of starting a thread then disappearing. bit frustrating isn't it. I`m afraid it happens a lot on here.

[siossios18]

Hi,

Sorry about the lack of response, I have been very busy & then on holiday in France. I did not know that the Forum does not email me when a response arrives & therefore I was not aware of the responses.

The problem is that my 404 has been rebuilt before I bought it & not completed, but seemingly with the wrong brakes!

My car is a RHD 1971 L (Estate) that was imported into the UK in 1973: I do not know where it came from.

From reading online it should have a Mastervac & Disc Brakes at the front.

However, it has a Hydrovac & Drums at the front that do not work!

All the brake lines & hoses have been replaced, but the front Brakes do not hold pressure: Pump them up & they work, but pressure is then lost so next time you brake you have to pump them up again! It seems to brtake okay going backwards, but loses pressure going forwards?

I simply do not know what the correct brakes for a 1971 L should look like or whether on some markets Drums were fitted in 1971.

I have the car in a garage, but because 404's are so rear in the UK they have not worked on one for many years.

Could anyone please advise what brakes the car should have and, if it has the wrong ones, whether the parts can be obtained to put it back into the correct state?

Sorry again for previous lack of response.

Regards

Rob

[miketippett]

It should have drum brakes I think. Only some sedans/saloons had the discs, and then only in LHD form.

Have the front (and rear) drums been adjusted as per the owner's manual? That could well explain the lack of bite in the forward direction.

What country did the car come from? What is the chassis number? That would really help with determining what brakes the car should have.

[robduff]

Hi,

I have taken your advice & have searched the chassis no. (6.889.536) online.

The car is a 404L XC7 TH (Thermostable Drum Brakes).

The garage has advised that the rear brakes work fine, but the fronts lose pressure & have to be pumped up for each use!

As they do not know how the brakes shoudl look they are a tad stumped:  It would be great to be able to take a similar 404 to them to compare:  The Garage is located in Ottery St Mary, Devon.

I have owned the car for over 12 months & have not even driven it:  Very frustrating!

Any advice would be appreciated.

[miketippett]

If that's literally the case, the front cylinders will be the cause.

Single or double master cylinder?

It's not possible really to have "front brakes not working and rear brakes working fine" in a single circuit braking system. They're all connected. It does sound like a very basic problem.....

Hydrovacs are notorious for needing a rebuild after about 25 years. So there could be that and other issues to look at. Any competent shop should be able to easily diagnose something like this.

[robduff]

Thanks Mike,

I will speak to the garage agan today.

Regards
Rob