Hello there, I’m trying to resolve an issue with my 2002 L322 Petrol. I had the front to rear brake lines replaced as they had corroded and split. The garage noted the rear callipers were not the best but had managed to bleed the braking system.

When moving to the lakes, my wife drove the car up and commented the brakes were awful and they never used to be.

Here’s the symptoms. Driving forwards, the pedal is very firm to press but it doesn’t feel like the brakes are biting. In reverse, the brakes bite really well and stop very effectively as expected.

I have replaced the rear callipers and bled the whole system. I have checked the servo hoses for cracks etc.. none present.

I checked the front callipers for operation with a wheel off and all seems well, even treated it to some genuine front pads whilst in there.

Any pointers on things to check will be appreciated.

Thanks 👍 2002 L322 4.4V8 - G4 Challenge Car - Australia leg
2003 Defender G4 110
2008 Discovery 3 G4
2009 Defender 90
1968 Series 2a

Servo hoses checked..How's the servo sounding when you check that?
From your description this sounds like there's little or no servo assistance/ diaphragm issues. 2014 FFRR Autobiography
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Previously 2011 D4 SDV6 HSE Santorini Black

Thanks for the reply.

Come to think of it, there is no servo noise/hiss/squeak. Below is a picture of the servo…

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

If you disconnect and plug the servo vac pipe (so there isn't a vac leak into the engine) you could / should be able to detect a difference in the pedal feel. Stationary, not moving! No change? Suspect servo.

Chris

Cheers Chris, I shall give that a whirl and report back. 2002 L322 4.4V8 - G4 Challenge Car - Australia leg
2003 Defender G4 110
2008 Discovery 3 G4
2009 Defender 90
1968 Series 2a

I pulled the vac feed into the servo and started the car, the pedal was noticeably firmer and harder to stop the car at even idle speed! The vac pipe was definitely sucking well! Pushed it back in and re-tried the brakes and better than without the hose removed but no better than when I started.
Guess this rules out the servo for now?

I’ll loom again at the front brake lines and hoses and maybe run the gap abs tests on the front brakes 2002 L322 4.4V8 - G4 Challenge Car - Australia leg
2003 Defender G4 110
2008 Discovery 3 G4
2009 Defender 90
1968 Series 2a

Puzzling!

Long shot, but you say you swapped the pads for genuine ones. They may require bedding in. They may have glazed due to gentle use in the new pads early life. A race car type bedding in procedure might help. Can't hurt it. Involves a series of increasingly heavy stops from increasingly higher speeds until be brakes are more or less smoking hot.

Chris