TR2/3/3A TR3A no brakes

[Andrew Mace]

I think I'm going to bleed the brakes first, just to get the hang of it. Then, if they come up to where they were previously, I switch the cylinder connections. I suppose I'll have to bleed the clutch hydraulics as well then.

Frankly, if you're going to bleed, you might as well swap the connections first, IF you're sure they've been reversed and -- in fact -- the brakes are feeding off the smaller clutch reservoir part.

 

[mrv8q]

Buy a shop manual.

And use it.

NFI, here's an example of the service manual....
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...em=120552887546

 

[TR3driver]

+1 on brake failure not being any fun; I lost a TR3A that way.

But the split system found on later TRs is no guarantee either. On my first Stag, not long after I got it, the MC totally failed while I was literally on my way to the shop to have it rebuilt/replaced. Fortunately the handbrake worked, or so I thought ... after using it just a few times, the rear brakes faded to uselessness and I sailed through the intersection when exiting the freeway. Fortunately no one was coming, so after a brief break to recover my aplomb (and wring out my shorts

), I continued to the shop without further incident (using engine compression as much as possible to slow down!)

 

[NutmegCT]

Randall - that's an excellent point. If we adjust our hand brakes to spec (whatever that is ...), how well do they stop the car at speed?

I didn't realize the rear brakes would "fade" so quickly as yours did. Granted that's only using half the system, but I'm surprised yours dissolved into nothingness on one exit ramp.

Tom

 

[Andrew Mace]

I remember my long-gone TR3A's handbrake as being quite effective, more so than most other Triumphs I've had. I attribute that as much to the mechanical advantage of the longer lever on a TR3A as to anything else. I wouldn't want to have tried to run an autocross or so any sort of "panic stop" with a TR3A or any other Triumph, but all the others I've had, including my current Herald, are reasonably good at slowing and stopping the car.

 

[Twosheds]

Isn't there a story in which someone (Richardson?) running a TR2 or 3 in rally in the Alps (Monte Carlo?) loses the brakes and the navigator brakes with the fly-off handbrake for the rest of the stage? Down the Alps!

 

[TR3driver]

On the TR3, that big lever and it's position gives you plenty of force, you can get all the braking that the rear wheels are capable of. And the car is pretty well balanced front/rear, so I'd call it perhaps 40% of a fully working system.

The Stag is more nose-heavy, and has a shorter handbrake lever in an awkward position (at least for me), so I couldn't lock the rear wheels even with the brakes cold. I'd guess perhaps 25% of a fully working system (which is still a lot better than the Audi 100LS I used to own).

Of course, how quickly they fade depends a lot on shoe material and condition; it's quite possible that the rear shoes had been contaminated or something. I changed them the first chance I got, for 'Kevlar' material that should be much more resistant to fade. The Stag is also quite a bit heavier than even a TR6, which of course puts more load (and heat) into the brakes for the same stop.

And just for clarity, I had used the handbrake several times before taking the exit ramp. A saner driver probably would have also slowed down, but I was reluctant to drive much slower than traffic, so I was probably still doing 60 when I yanked the brake for the steep downhill ramp. I never said I was smart!

 

[vivdownunder]

I've found on my early 3A with 10" rear drums the handbrake will easily lock the rear wheels in the wet. Not quite as powerful on later TR's I've had with 9" rear drums, and thus less braking area. All have had 165 x 15 tyres.

Both 9" and 10" rear brakes faded equally quickly on the steep descent from nearby ranges, but wire wheel equipped cars seemed to recover earlier due to better cooling around the drums.

Viv.