hymer1942 Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Morning all, the brakes on my Hymer based Sprinter are very good, exept for the pedal travel and I know Mercedes say this is normal, and members on here say they are all the same, I have had three and yes they have all been similar. My question is has anyone had the rubber brake pipes replaced with the metal type to reduce expantion, and if so was there any improvement and was it worth it. Barrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Hi Barrie, The pedal on our Sprinter is fine, no softness or excessive travel. I have heard comments on this issue but never experienced it. I was going to suggest changing your brake fluid to see if this helps but on second thoughts you'd then need to change it again if you repaced the brake hoses so maybe worth doing it all in one hit. I replaced the fluid on our MH earlier this year as there was no record in the service book of it having been done before and it's now 6 years old. I can't say that I could detect any change in pedal feel afterwards though but feel better knowing it's been done. For those who want to change their fluid you will need to flush 1 litre through each rear brake and a half litre through each front. The procedure is simple, start at rear left (furthest from master cylinder) and attach a length of pipe to the nipple, put the end in an empty bottle, open the nipple and slowly pump the pedal while topping up the reservoir. When the required amount has gone through, close the nipple and move on to the next. Order for a RHD is Rear Left, Rear Right, Front Left, Front Right. Simples! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer1942 Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 Hi Kieth, been there bled them myself. And the complained to Mercedes when big service they said I could not doit as they had to be under pressure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, they changed fluid and said this was normal for my Sprinter. Barrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 hymer1942 - 2010-06-25 11:27 AM Hi Kieth, been there bled them myself. And the complained to Mercedes when big service they said I could not doit as they had to be under pressure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, they changed fluid and said this was normal for my Sprinter. Barrie Well you seem to have proved them wrong on your van, but many modern vehicles don't like the 'old' way of pumping pedel to flush throu, found this out the hard way, I now have a pressurised brake bleeding kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer1942 Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 Hi Colin, the point is it did not make any difference, as said before the van brakes fine even towing our car= 1 ton its just the long travel.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred22 Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Hi I had this problem on my Mercedes Sprinter and like everyone was told this was normal. I had one pipe replaced and also a brake cylinder and this improved it a lot but it was still excessive in my opinion. I don't think you will get a Mercedes garage to OK it but I was told by a mechanic that the vehicle up from mine (I had a 312) had the same brake master cylinder fittings but the bore was bigger and thus a larger amount of fluid was compressed . Never tried it and don't understand the logic, you may increase the pressure but the fluid still had to travel through the same diameter pipes doesn't it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 fred22 - 2010-06-25 1:59 PM I don't think you will get a Mercedes garage to OK it but I was told by a mechanic that the vehicle up from mine (I had a 312) had the same brake master cylinder fittings but the bore was bigger and thus a larger amount of fluid was compressed . Never tried it and don't understand the logic, you may increase the pressure but the fluid still had to travel through the same diameter pipes doesn't it??? Here's the deal on master cylinders in general, smaller cylinder greater pressure more travel, larger cylinder less pressure less travel. Then we get onto leverage from brake pedal and how much power assistance is applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Hi Barrie, Have you got ABS? I wonder if this may be the cause. We unfortunately don't and the pedal is really good with very short travel. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymer1942 Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 Hi Kieth, No ABS Barrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 That rules out that theory then! Anyway, to answer an earlier post, my friend is a mechanic at the local Merc commercial dealers (one of the reasons we bought a Merc) and helped me change the brake fluid earlier this year and we did it without any pressure bleeding equipment. Whether this applies to vehicles with ABS I'll have to ask. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Sprinters with ABS and especially ESP need to be bled with the assistance of a diagnostics connected service tool when replacing brake fluid as otherwise the shuttle valves in the ABS unit don't get opened and dirty fluid remains trapped in it. If no ABS fitted then they can be done by the traditional method. In my experience Sprinters do generally have a longer pedal travel than say Transits or Ducatos but it does give a more progressive feel to the brakes. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Apart from its VW engine my VW LT is mechanically the same as a basic Sprinter. The non ABS brakes are in good order but pedal travel is long and I have yet to lock any wheel no matter how hard I shove. My guess is they are designed this way to prevent loss of control due to skidding. Locked rear wheels and 3500kg sideways = soiled underpants.. There is excellent feel under normal braking but I would prefer more assistance when fully loaded to deal with very steep hills and emergency stops. The pad disc combination used on the Sprinter is reputed to last well. I suspect the discs on mine are original at 60,000 miles ( 35,000 in my hands) and seem barely worn. When pads are eventually required I intend to investigate if softer pads are availiable. Its probably a matter of trading durability for a lighter pedal. Brake fade on long descents can be dealt with by using the gearbox but there is a need to make one emergency stop from 70 mph before fade sets in When bleeding brakes by pumping the pedal the seals travel further into the cylinder than normal. If cylinder corrosion has occurred the seals may be harmed. I bought a pressurised bleeding kit about six years ago and it soon paid for itself as well as making it a single handed job.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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