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Early '70's Midget Brake System Question

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U

urchin

Jedi Trainee
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Hi from a Triumph TR-7/Land Rover Series II-A owner,

I'm a refugee from my MGB [2] and MG Midget days [1, but for 7 years and 80,000 miles]but a buddy is working on an early 70's Midget and has a question.

He spent an hour trying to get a good pedal on this Midget. Of course, while checking the wheel cylinders and bleeding them a brake line snapped - the one that runs along the transmission tunnel.

So he replaced the line [he's good at this stuff] and then continued his bleedling. Still, he has a soft pedal, and it goes to the floor.

I'm suspecting a bad master cylinder. He's wondering about what appear to be two bleed nipples per caliper. Is there a proper sequence for the Midget? From my ownership days in the '80's of my very used Midget, I don't remember bleeding brakes to be a problem unless there was a defective part.

What's your advice, please?

Thanks,

Jeff
 
Are the bleed nipples at the top of the calipers?

Bleed longest line first the next longest, ending with the shortest.
 
ditto. Sounds like the MC. FWIW, I bleed my midget: Back Left, Back Right, Front Right, Front Left, which is, as stated above, Longest to shortest.
 
Also, having just rebuilt my brake system last year, I can tell you that there are only single bleeders on my cylinders and calipers. I have a 1977 w/ disc front and drum rear.
 
on a '77 midget, the front calipers have one bleeder and one "plug". I'm not sure of the reason for the plug, as I haven't gotten into bleeding my brake system yet, just finished rebuilding the calipers last night. I do know the plug has something to do with the outside piston fluid passage. Before rebuilding my brake system, I too had the same problem as you described. I'd try bleeding the MC first. It's not necessarily bad, might just need bled. Then move on to bleeding the wheel cylinders/calipers. Bleeding the MC first solved my problem.
 
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