Brake and engine power issues

[Peter-T]

So i've just got back from a 1600+ mile round trip to the South of France to see the Tour De France. 95% of the trip went without issue but I did have a couple of problems.

Firstly, a slight issue with my brakes. On a 460 mile drive from Calais down to a camp spot for the night, my brake pedal went from being quite firm with good feel of the brakes at the top of the travel (what I consider to be 'normal'), to the pedal going almost to the floor before they engaged, and then having very little effect. When this happened, I pulled over and left everything for a bit to cool down then when I resumed driving, they just sort of came back.

This happened again on the 400 mile drive back up France (in 32 degree heat), and again, after a cool-down everything seemed to go back to normal.

I should mention that the route was avoiding toll roads, thus a lot of the route was going through smaller towns and villages. This meant lots of roundabouts and junctions. Now I'm no mechanic, but this seems to me like the brake fluid could have been over heating maybe?? Before I get it booked in at a garage I thought i'd see if any of you had any idea what it might have been?

Another issue I had, was on the M25 about 40 miles from the end of this epic journey. I'd done 300 miles to Calais for the ferry, then just from Dover to Basingstoke left to do. Driving along quite happily between 55 and 60mph when the road pitched up ever so slightly. Not enough of a gradient for even my 2.0 Aircooled engine to struggle with, but struggle it did. I was dropping in speed, down to 45, then 40 so I changed down to 3rd gear but the engine still had a distict lack of power, this wasn't just a hill.

I pulled onto the hard shoulder and came to a stop. The engine seemed to be idling fine (though I have a loud tappety noise when the engine is really hot), I gave it a quick rev and it seemed fine. I decided to have another go and if the problem came back, i'd stop and ring the AA for recovery. I pulled back onto the motorway and accelerated up to my cruising speed of about 55 quite happily and stayed there until about 30 miles later where I had another perceptible loss of power. This only lasted for a minute before going back to 'normal'.

Any idea what this could have been?

Many thanks for your help.

[Smcknighty]

Sounds like you boiled the brake fluid - when did you last have it changed?

[Peter-T]

Pass. I only bought it in February, it passed it's MOT just last month without issue so I didn't feel the need to check things like that.

What would be the solution, just replace the fluid and it's done?

[Oldiebut goodie]

Could be that you have a slightly binding brake which is boiling the fluid on a long run. Although I would expect the MoT to pick up on that if apparent.

[marlinowner]

Yes change the brake fluid, if it is old and has absorbed water its boiling point will be lower. If it does it again stop and see if any of the wheels are hot, could be a sticking calliper or rubbing brake shoes overheating the brake fluid.
Engine problem could be fuel starvation due to a blockage, either at the tank outlet, at the inline filter, or at the carb.

[Peter-T]

Okay, cheers for the responses guys.

Come to think of it, I had noticed an occasional brake squeak so that could well be behind the brake issues.

As for the engine issues, my first thought when it returned to normal that it could have been a fuel issue. I'll have to get it into a garage for it to be looked over. I'm supposed to be going to the T3 Bus Meet this weekend, I doubt i'll get it in anywhere before then. :/

[Oldiebut goodie]

ER - kids are off school again!

[Peter-T]

OK, the bus went into the garage this morning. They've looked into my brake issue and come back to me saying that both front calipers are binding (the off side worse than the near side). The guy explained that they've had a play, repositioned the piston etc, but when they tested them again, they were still sticking. He's told me that he thinks both front calipers need to be replaced and is waiting on some prices before going ahead.

I had a quick look online and they seem to cist about £100 each, it looks like this is going to be quite an expensive job

Hey ho!

[Oldiebut goodie]

£60 -£70 ish at Brickwerks depending on which ones.

[Peter-T]

Aahhh, I'd completely forgotten about Brickworks! Just looked them up now, easily the cheapest I can find! Cheers for that