Braking on and off

[MY95]

At low engine speeds my HDI doesnt stop like it should anymore. Especailly if ive just started the engine and given it a few seconds and hit the brake pedal. If you brake quite hard a few times at any speed whether its 30 or 70 the same thing then happens, the pedal seems to go hard 1/2 of the way down and it doesn't brake anywhere near as well as it should/used to, also in emergency stops which isnt ideal, any ideas? 

[philpemberton94]

Vacuum lines all good?

[MY95]

Not sure about vacuum lines going to brakes but still got a good amount of suction from pump on the engine 

[philpemberton94]

Sounds like it could be something to do with the vacuum, if you brake a few times with the engine off does it feel the same?

[MY95]

I was thinking that yes, It does yes

[philpemberton94]

I'd say something to do with the vacuum system then, mine does it with the engine off but if you hold it down when its hard and turn the engine on, it softens up and feels normal

[Toms306]

Probably is a split vac pipe tbh.

Also if you removed the EGR pipe, did you blank it off?

[Jonny81191]

Not sure about vacuum lines going to brakes but still got a good amount of suction from pump on the engine 

There's just the one from the pump to the brake servo, just to clarify. That's your most likely culprit, it's probably just perished and split.

[MY95]

Tom: EGR unplugged but not blanked by previous owner a few years ago
Jonny: Cheers! Will take a look at it later on and see if it is split somewhere  

[Poodle]

Make sure the vacuum take-off for the egr solenoid is properly blanked, that's a fairly common mistake.

[MY95]

Just checked this, vacuum lines all good, egr only unplugged (blue plug), I havent got an air doser to my egr system, which plugs do I pull out and blank?

[MY95]

Unplugged and blanked pipe running to egr unit and made no difference with a short 2 min drive, put pipe back into place in unit, what do people think it is?

[Poodle]

How did you test the vacuum lines? Other option is a stuck caliper.

[MY95]

Looked at them all and also tested the suction from the pump
Stuck caliper is possible as the drivers side carrier bolt is stuck in (spins when you turn it but doesnt come out)

[Poodle]

Try actually leak testing them lol, you'd know if they were broken enough to be seen by looking as you wouldn't have any brake assistance at all.

You can't check the caliper by looking at it either, you'll need to actually jack it up and take the wheel off. Check the sliders move freely as they're a prime suspect, could also be the piston seizing up or a blocked brake line, you'll need to have the caliper off to check it properly.

[MY95]

Cheers Piggy  
How would I leak test them?
Had the car jacked up and wheels off when I found out the 2 caliper carrier pins were stuck on, one came out eventually but one was just spinning and not coming out

[Toms306]

They're supposed to spin... You need to counter-hold with mole grips.

[Jonny81191]

They're supposed to spin...  You need to counter-hold with mole grips.

Or preferably the correct sized spanner.. 

[Toms306]

No chance of mole grips slipping though.

[Poodle]

The name's Poodle, but you're welcome lol. You can usually hear the leak hissing, but can check with leak seek spray, or wd40 does the job tbf. Ideally you want a smoke tester, but i doubt you've got one of those kicking about lol.

[MY95]

Sorry Poodle, my head was somewhere else at the time of writing that im sure haha, will do a hearing test and see if that works first, nope don't have access to a smoke tester aha, cheers!