Why are my brakes so sh**e ?

[Martinez]

Well, seems most opinion is along the lines of what I suspect myself. Servo or pump or something in between. Got the chance to take it round the block tonight after stripping the front brakes yesterday. First noticeable thing was the travel on the pedal. It wasn’t solid anymore but braking was noticeably more progressive. Before I started off I did hold my foot on the brake n start the engine, the pedal went down as it should. This is all positive, but the brakes are still s**t ! I had same system on my old 306td so know it should be better. I’m thinking of doing some tests with the spring on the compensator after GMAB kindly provided the testing info. Can’t do exactly what it says but I may get it nearer than it is at moment. Trouble is, it’s a real bugger to get to !
Oh, I didn’t notice a servo under the master cylinder, perhaps I need a better torch ?

[Doo]

It's looking awfully like it will be on the left side of the vehicle. Master cylinder should be mounted on it. Looks like a frying pan

The vacuum pumps are normally mounted on the end of the cam so the pipework should be in between.

Being a camper, the engine bay will be fairly tight I imagine. Do they still mount the spare wheel in the engine bay?

[Martinez]

No spare was under the back as per normal Bingo. I’ve dumped that idea after having to replace rear crossmember and I’m looking at using a space saver which I can fit in the toilet area. I was looking for the ‘frying pan’ but can’t see anything like it ! I thought perhaps it could be a remote servo hidden somewhere but not found it yet. I’ll see if I can get o/s rear wheel off today n slacken the adjuster n see what difference that makes. Or do I need to tighten it up ? I’ll check previous advice on here.
Had a bad day yesterday, went to see GP and mentioned some pain in my chest, next thing I’m carted off in an ambulance and spent rest of day having tests in hospital. Outcome is it’s muscular. Friday 13th strikes again. All that good weather n me stuck on a bed with wires attached. Bugger !

[Gibbo2286]

Here's what your servo should look like and the master cylinder:

[GiveMeABreak]

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking for... but here are the brake related components for the servo: (These are for your specific Berlingo).

Brake Servo Unions	Brake Vacuum Pump

Removing / Refitting the Brake Servo

Removing
Remove:

• The battery
• The battery tray
• The ECU

Disconnect the vacuum pipe (1) from the servo. Remove the master cylinder.	Remove: The bottom trim (2), Latch(es) 1/4 turn(s) The cover (3)

Remove : The pin (4) retained by a spring clip The nuts (5) The brake servo

Refitting
Proceed in the reverse order to removal.
N.B.: Use a new spring clip .
Tighten the nuts (5) to 2,3 dan.m.

[Martinez]

I can see it hidden behind the mater cylinder. Looks like a pig of a job to do. Think it’ll be my last resort !

[Gibbo2286]

You are right to go there last, although they do fail it's rare and more often than not it's the hose leaking or squashed flat, occasionally the vacuum pump but also rarely.
A vacuum gauge would tell you right away, if you have access to one.

[Doo]

Reason I suggested it may be on the left is because so many are!

Most of these are specifically designed as left hookers initially, although I see some Euro stuff is either or nowadays...

Anyway, as suggested, it is rare for the master cylinder or the frying pan to die as usually the rubber on the pipework goes due to the stress of living under the bonnet and being made to a fixed cost.

[Martinez]

Well, took the van out for a spin last week. I’ve been tied up fixing other people’s stuff since. Anyway, the brakes were miraculously better than ever. Progressive and stopping power greatly improved. But by the time I got back 30 miles later, they didn’t seem quite as good. I’ll have to monitor things over time. Either my strip of the front calipers fixed something (which I’m not convinced of) or the servo is sticking. The only thing I did different was that before I drove off I pumped the pedal and held it down and then started the engine. This allowed the pedal to drop down when the servo kicked in. So I’m thinking sticky servo ?