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Griling Remote Servo 120-130

Hi,

After a week of standing my brakes have failed on the Amazon Estate. I have no pedal pressure at all. The master cylinder has no fluid in it - so must have leaked out. I have checked all ines and there is no evidence of a leak and most of the system is new anyway. I have looked at the 4 wheels closely but not removed them or the drums and again can see no eveidence of a leak.

This led me to look at the servo. No obvious leaks, but when I removed the metal plate on the cast body of the servo, where the vacum pipe joins the front and back of the unit together, a small amount of what looked like brake fluid leaded out. Is it possible for the servo to fail in such a way that you suck brake fluid onto the intake manifold and hence I have used the brake fluid up with no external leaks?


If so - my servo has the pressed vacuum bowl on the front not the bolted one - can I still repair this?

Thanks for your help!








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    Griling Remote Servo 120-130

    Here is a bypass that I made up to use when I was working on my servo projects. the scale is hard to see in the photo but indicates a length of 3.8" center to center on the fittings. This is all 1/8 NPT stuff except for the brass fittings which should fit your existing female flare fittings, yours may be different. I put the 'T' in to make bleeding easier, but after using it I think two ells would have worked OK. Be sure to secure this to the old booster bracket as it will subject the lines to vibration if you don't.




    .
    .
    Cheers!
    OK
    PS Be careful when removing the old servo it is full of brake fluid!
    PPS I would NOT refill the fluid and drive a car that has just done what your's has in traffic! Just MHO.








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    Griling Remote Servo 120-130

    That kind of problem is why most of the servos on 122s were disconnected and
    a large portion of those were removed and thrown away...

    Yes it is absolutely possible! Not sure about repairability. If the servo
    is new I'd contact whoever sold it to you. If it is old you should either
    replace it or bypass it. New ones run about $300 from RPR, which is probably
    about as good as you will do.
    --
    George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!








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    Griling Remote Servo 120-130


    What you are describing is the typical failure mode of these servos. I would guess that you have a Girling MK IIb from what you are describing but I would have to see a photo to be sure. Often these have been replaced with a variety of othere remote type servos.
    If it is a IIb it can be rebuilt though I think that it is much more difficult than the IIa because of the 'clamshell' nature of the vacuum pot.
    You should also be aware that the kits currently available are often of poor quality, or if NOS so old as to be useless (if you can find one).
    There are several things you can do, IMHO the two best are to replace the servo with a remote lockheed (expensive), or simply remove the existing servo and replumb(cheap).
    When I get the chance I will take a photo of what I used to bypass the servo and post it to this thread ...all the parts are available at any decent hardware store and are inexpensive.

    Good luck & Cheers!
    OK








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    Griling Remote Servo 120-130


    I've been told that the failed servo can lead to no pressure at all in your brakes, but losing all your fluid... not sure.

    I guess it's possible that there was a serious failure inside the servo and the vacuum sucked the fluid into your intake. However, I'm not sure what happens to your engine behavior when you burn a cup or two of brake fluid in your cylinders. I would guess that the car would run poorly.

    I'd recommend that you refill the reservoir and work your brakes for while. It's a bit more likely that you have a failed brake line somewhere or you're losing at the calipers.

    I can just about guarantee that everyone else that posts a reply will tell you to get rid of the servo and get something better. They seem to be quite hated in here. I believe that you can have the servo repaired, but it's costly. You'd probably save money if you got a lockheed unit or worked out a mod for an aftermarket pancake-type booster.







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