Generation Cyb

One of the problems on the jobs to do list was the rear wash wipe which refused to function. There was no sound of the pump operating on pressing the button, so that was obviously broken. A trip to Aldershot Car Spares allowed me to salvage a new pump, the donor car being an A reg 1.3L (all Maestros use the same washer setup). I also took a new door locking solenoid from an F reg MG 2.0i to see if it would sort that non functional off side rear door lock. Aldershot Car Spares is an example of the now increasingly rare “pick your own” type yards, where the customer is free to enter the yard. The advantage here is that parts are slightly cheaper, so I paid £5 for both items.

 Getting the brakes in working order!

At last I am in a position to report on the beginning of repairs the brakes of the Maestro, one of the points on which it failed its last MoT. If there is one thing vital to the safety of a car it has to be the brakes, and those on D428 CHO were certainly not capable of satisfying this requirement efficiently. Restoring the braking system to its full working condition has surprisingly not been problem free!

The first problem came after having fitted the new shoes and wheel cylinders to both rear brake assemblies (a simple job shown in the picture sequence). There was no way the brake drums were going to fit over the newly fitted shoes. I put this down to the new linings being unworn and therefore thicker than the originals. I tried (as you should in this situation) adjusting the handbrake cable, checking the auto adjuster was fully retracted and checking I had the correct parts and that they were fitted correctly. The cause of the problem turned out to be the brake shoes not locating correctly onto the end of the automatic adjuster.

Unfortunately while trying to refit the offside rear drum (it was a very tight fit) I managed to knock the wheel bearing out. I was not pleased, but proceeded to remove the bearing, clean it up, inspect it, re-grease it, and then refit it. The bearing was in good condition, but a new oil seal should always be refitted. Unfortunately these are virtually impossible to source individually, and since a new bearing is £20+ I simply ‘repaired’ the old seal and refitted it (It wasn’t too badly damaged and is capable of performing its job). I wouldn’t strongly reccomend doing this, but I’ll tell you if the bearing goes as soon as I get the car back on the road!

With this sorted I turned my attentions to the corroded brake pipe. Before removing any pipe it is a good idea to form an air tight seal over the brake fluid reservoir to minimise leakage of oil. Having removed the old section of pipe my local Rover dealer was happy to supply me with more pipe bent to shape with unions fitted for a reasonable price. Any garage or motor factor should be able to supply the same service. The new pipe was fitted ensuring the pipe was joined securely to the body at all clips and unions tightened fully.

After a month of battling to get the brakes sorted, I now have a few more weeks of it to look forward to! I am now confident I have a car that, in a couple of hoses time, will be perfectly capable of bringing itself to a stop quickly and safetly. There’s a hint for what’s going to be in next month’s report…