mushy brakes

[garnerdog]

I have a 2000 Discovery II. Very pleased with it, except for mushy brakes. they don't really bother me (I used to drive old Jeeps, so I think mushy is normal) but other family members are not happy. The manual and a Rover's North column seem to say that only a Land Rover dealer can properly bleed the brakes, as you have to cycle the valves in the ABS to get the air out. Any ideas?, i had a friend that is a Toyota tech give it a go but could not get it any better. I am pretty far away from a dealer and really want to learn to fix it myself. I would be disappointed if LR made an off road vehicle that a person could not fix something as basic as the brakes in the field. Other things i have worked on have all turned out to be easy. Any ideas would help!

Steven G.
2000 Disco II
1965 Series IIA(project)

 

[nhveedub]

Mushy

I also have a 2000 Disco with mushy brakes. As I understand things, our brakes are undersized for our vehicles. The previous owner of my my Disco had the rotors and pads replaced by Land Rover at 48k miles because he thought something was wrong due to their mushyness. I got the Disco at 59k and they were as mushy then as they are now. The normal operating characteristic for Disco brakes is 'mushy.' I would describe them as having horrific fade. I find letting off them and re-applying does wonders, if you can given your situation. I would like to know if there are any replacements or upgrades you can do to help or solve the problem.

 

[garnerdog]

Thanks for the reply Nhveedub, your experience echos mine, except that even a LR dealer apparently did not improve it. We may be talking about two different aspects of the same general issue (poor braking) I don't think undersized brakes would make them feel mushy, but could have the fade and poor stopping ability. I would also think that drilled and slotted rotors and high performance pads would help stopping ability if the brakes are a bit on the small side.
Like yours, My brakes are also much firmer on a second pump, with no losing of the firmness as I hold them. I had been told that getting a harder pedal on the second pump indicated air in the lines. I was wondering that if I used a three person system, with one bleeding, one pumping and one pouring fluid in the resevoir, all while the Rover is actually running (safely on a lift) if that would cycle the abs and get the air out. In the first attempt (with my Toyota Tech friend) he worked alone, with the vehicle turned off and using the vacumn style bleeder so no one would be pumping the brakes. he did follow the proper bleeding sequence.
I also have a bit of a PR issue here, as the Disco is our first daily driver LR and the wife is concerned about our seeming inability to work on it(she loves it otherwise).
Thanks ahead of time for any ideas!

Steven G.

 

[nhveedub]

Brakin it

I would love to know if you get anything to work. My first pedal push is usually quite loose and can sometimes take a split second before the brakes feel like they've been applied. Sure is quite a bit different than brakes in a sports car

 

[john65b]

I think your 3 person approach - one in truck applying brakes on running engine, one at wheel well minding the brakes, and one under hood at opened brake fluid reservior - may not work as you plan...as I fear that the guy under the hood will get a face full of brake fluid.

 

[DirtyDisco]

Try upgrading to slotted Brembo rotors and some high performance pads like those "green stuff" pads, I forget the company name, it starts with an E. I'm probably going to be upgrading my brakes pretty soon.

 

[joey]

Those may help your brakes not get so hot, but they will not alleviate any mushy brake issues.

 

[DirtyDisco]

Oh, I thought slotted rotors and good pads would decrease stopping distance as well

 

[Bpedersen]

I am working on a solution to the mushy brake issue, when it was time to replace my brakes I used EBC slotted rotors front and rear with the 6000 series pads, once they warm up they work great, but the mushy feeling was still there. so now I'm looking at the other parts of the braking system, when I have a solution I'll post it.

Bryan

northwesteuropeanautoworks.com

 

[joey]

My guess is if you buy a brand new rover i.e. D1 or D2 off the lot it will have the mushy brakes you speak of. I may just not notice it... I drive all kinds of vehicle of the course of a year (work related or just out test driving), and I can say every vehicle has different braking and driving characteristics not to mention handling.