hard brakes ,,,,HELP

adam01

Check/top up brake and clutch fluid reservoirs.

I have noticed other the last few days my brakes are getting a little hard.but when i went to check the fluid reservoirs the small one not the big reservoir.it was completely empty??!! i had checked alround for any leaks , but nothing no leaks at all.i then topped it back up to normal to see if the brakes were back to the way they were before. no still hard . it is hard to slow down at high speeds. what do you think has happened. do you think a seal has gone on the fluid reservoirs. as it went dry.
pls give me any of your thoughts.....ADs:
ps: please look at picture to see the fluid reservoirs. it's the small reservoir that was empty.............ADs

8~)

I wonder could the master cylinder seals be at fault and allowing fluid through - the hardness in the pedal is the fluid trapped in the master cylinder?

Another thought is that if the brakes are hard it could be the servo that's at fault and you've lost servo assistance (doesn't explain the fluid loss).

What's happening to the brake pedal? Is it going to the floor or just very hard?

How much does the resevoir hold; if quite a bit, then fluid must be leaking out somewhere... you sure it's not leaking into a brake drum and you've not seen it (assuming you've drums on the back of the Stag)?

adam01

8~) wrote:

I wonder could the master cylinder seals be at fault and allowing fluid through - the hardness in the pedal is the fluid trapped in the master cylinder?

Another thought is that if the brakes are hard it could be the servo that's at fault and you've lost servo assistance (doesn't explain the fluid loss).

What's happening to the brake pedal? Is it going to the floor or just very hard?

How much does the resevoir hold; if quite a bit, then fluid must be leaking out somewhere... you sure it's not leaking into a brake drum and you've not seen it (assuming you've drums on the back of the Stag)?

brakes not going to the floor just hard to touch.the resevoir onlys needs little fluid? and it has drums at rear. and also where the footwel is when you put your foot on the brakes it makes a sqeakey noise!!!!
thanks for your advise....ads

adam01

adam01 wrote:

brakes not going to the floor just hard to touch.the resevoir onlys needs little fluid? and it has drums at rear. and also where the footwel is when you put your foot on the brakes it makes a sqeakey noise!!!!
thanks for your advise....ads

i wonder if the small resevoir is for the rear wheels?? and thats why i,m not getting good braking. is it possible that this is the case?!! as it seems like the 4 wheels don'T seem to be braking all together. when i stop sudderly, the front wheels seem to lock but not the rear.maybe that small resevoir is faulty....help
ADs

okistag

adam01 wrote:

Check/top up brake and clutch fluid reservoirs.

I have noticed other the last few days my brakes are getting a little hard.but when i went to check the fluid reservoirs the small one not the big reservoir.it was completely empty??!! i had checked alround for any leaks , but nothing no leaks at all.i then topped it back up to normal to see if the brakes were back to the way they were before. no still hard . it is hard to slow down at high speeds. what do you think has happened. do you think a seal has gone on the fluid reservoirs. as it went dry.
pls give me any of your thoughts.....ADs:
ps: please look at picture to see the fluid reservoirs. it's the small reservoir that was empty.............ADs

Hi ADAM
I AGREE WITH 8~) THAT COULD BE FAULT OR YOU HAVE AIR IN THE SYSTEM. IF YOUR STILL LOSING FLUID CHECK FOOT WELL BACK OF FIRE WALL FOR SIGNS OF LEAKAGE THEIR. IF NOT BLEEDING THE SYSTEM IF IT EASY TO DO.
IF UNSURE EMAIL ME AND AND I WILL DIRECT YOU.

okistag

adam01 wrote:

brakes not going to the floor just hard to touch.the resevoir onlys needs little fluid? and it has drums at rear. and also where the footwel is when you put your foot on the brakes it makes a sqeakey noise!!!!
thanks for your advise....ads

ADAM
THERE CAN MAKE A SQEAKY NOISE IF NOT LUBED WELL IF SPRAY LITTLE BIT OF GREASE THERE ONCE A YEAR.
ALSO CHECK THE PART OF THE WIRE LOOM HAS NOT FALLEN DOWN AND BLOCKING THE PEDAL!!!

adam01

okistag wrote:

Hi ADAM
I AGREE WITH 8~) THAT COULD BE FAULT OR YOU HAVE AIR IN THE SYSTEM. IF YOUR STILL LOSING FLUID CHECK FOOT WELL BACK OF FIRE WALL FOR SIGNS OF LEAKAGE THEIR. IF NOT BLEEDING THE SYSTEM IF IT EASY TO DO.
IF UNSURE EMAIL ME AND AND I WILL DIRECT YOU.

BLEEDING THE SYSTEM IF IT EASY TO DO.
Please Explain
Adam

okistag

adam01 wrote:

BLEEDING THE SYSTEM IF IT EASY TO DO.
Please Explain
Adam

hi adam
ok, first insure that reservoir is full. Then start at the left rear wheel. On the backing plate of the brakes / back of drum you will see the bleed nipple.
Have some body sit in the car and pump the pedal around ten times not hard just push pedal up and down.
Then they must hold the pedal down, while you losen the nipple about 1/2 turn.
The fluid should shot out and the pedal will go to the floor.
Tighten nipple and do the same again till NO AIR.
NO AIR = JUST FLUID.
THEN GO TO THE REAR RIGHT AND DO SAME.
THEN LEFT FRONT AND SAME
THEN RIGHT FRONT FRONT AND DO SAME
PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON THE RESERVOIR.
DO NOT LET THEM PUMP WHILE NIPPLE IS OPEN. WHILE NIPPLE OPEN THEY MUST KEEP THE PEDAL TO FLOOR.
IF YOU OPEN NIPPLE AND NOTHING COMES THAT THE AIR, THEN NIP UP AND CONTINUE TILL FLUID COMES.
I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE. IF NOT LET ME KNOW. EMAIL ME AND I WILL SEND YOU MY PHONE NUMBER AND YOU CAN CALL ME

adam01

8~) wrote:

I wonder could the master cylinder seals be at fault and allowing fluid through - the hardness in the pedal is the fluid trapped in the master cylinder?

Another thought is that if the brakes are hard it could be the servo that's at fault and you've lost servo assistance (doesn't explain the fluid loss).

What's happening to the brake pedal? Is it going to the floor or just very hard?

How much does the resevoir hold; if quite a bit, then fluid must be leaking out somewhere... you sure it's not leaking into a brake drum and you've not seen it (assuming you've drums on the back of the Stag)?

Pls take a look at picture. this is the part that was empty?? nothing to do with brakes! i think.
but this not explain why i am getting hard brakes.
the normal brake resevoir was ok and was fully topped up? so why am i getting hard brakes<<<<HELP I WON'T SLEEP TONIGHT......Adam

Spit62500

Hi,

Possibility 1:
You should check the drums and disks for signs of fluid leakage - you might see it on the inside of the wheel rim on the backs or around the calipers on the fronts. If the fluid has contaminated the brake shoes or pads then you would get a hard pedal and ineffective braking. I'd expect the braking to be uneven with at least one wheel (the non leaking side) locking on heavy braking as they're unlikely to leak evenly on all sides.

Possibility 2:
I'm not familiar with Stag setup but that small resevoir appears to be sitting on the brake servo. If its emptying with no signs of leaking them its possible that the fluid is being drawn by vacuum into the inlet manifold and being burnt along with the fuel. You should see an increase in white smoke out of the exhaust in that case. If a seal was gone in the servo, you might get a lack of servo assistance giving a more unresponsive/harder pedal. On a lot of cars, you can feel the servo kick in as you start the engine with your foot on the brake - you'll feel it drop a little as the pressure increases - you could try that test to see if the servo creates much pressure.

There are probably other possibilities but these are the two that spring to mind now.

You'll get a harder pedal if your brake shoes are too close to the drums - this can happen for various reasons (other than adjusting them yourself) but a simple test is to jack up the back and make sure that the wheels revolve relatively freely and that the drums don't get very hot after a drive that doesn't involve heavy braking. You would still have effective brakes in this was the case.

Bleeding the brakes involves pumping out any air from the brake system. Its described in any workshop manual for the car. There may be a particular sequence for dual circuit brakes. It needs two people, or a brake bleeding kit such as Gunson's Eezibleed. The person applies pressure through the brake pedal, the Eezibleed pumps fluid through the master cylinder using your spare wheel as an air source. You need to loosen the bleed nipple at each wheel to allow fluid and air to be pumped out while the pressure is applied. The nipple is then tightened before the pressure is released. This is repeated until no air bubbles are visible in the expelled fluid.

Hope this helps....

Spit62500

Hi,

Where does the pipe from the small resevoir go? Does the Stag have servo assisted from brakes and non-servo assisted rears like the later GT6? (I'd assume that its more sophisticated than the GT6...)

adam01

Spit62500 wrote:

Hi,

Possibility 1:
You should check the drums and disks for signs of fluid leakage - you might see it on the inside of the wheel rim on the backs or around the calipers on the fronts. If the fluid has contaminated the brake shoes or pads then you would get a hard pedal and ineffective braking. I'd expect the braking to be uneven with at least one wheel (the non leaking side) locking on heavy braking as they're unlikely to leak evenly on all sides.

Possibility 2:
I'm not familiar with Stag setup but that small resevoir appears to be sitting on the brake servo. If its emptying with no signs of leaking them its possible that the fluid is being drawn by vacuum into the inlet manifold and being burnt along with the fuel. You should see an increase in white smoke out of the exhaust in that case. If a seal was gone in the servo, you might get a lack of servo assistance giving a more unresponsive/harder pedal. On a lot of cars, you can feel the servo kick in as you start the engine with your foot on the brake - you'll feel it drop a little as the pressure increases - you could try that test to see if the servo creates much pressure.

There are probably other possibilities but these are the two that spring to mind now.

You'll get a harder pedal if your brake shoes are too close to the drums - this can happen for various reasons (other than adjusting them yourself) but a simple test is to jack up the back and make sure that the wheels revolve relatively freely and that the drums don't get very hot after a drive that doesn't involve heavy braking. You would still have effective brakes in this was the case.

Bleeding the brakes involves pumping out any air from the brake system. Its described in any workshop manual for the car. There may be a particular sequence for dual circuit brakes. It needs two people, or a brake bleeding kit such as Gunson's Eezibleed. The person applies pressure through the brake pedal, the Eezibleed pumps fluid through the master cylinder using your spare wheel as an air source. You need to loosen the bleed nipple at each wheel to allow fluid and air to be pumped out while the pressure is applied. The nipple is then tightened before the pressure is released. This is repeated until no air bubbles are visible in the expelled fluid.

Hope this helps....

you are a genius. only a week ago i thought i had a worn rear bearing,as it was making a humming noise. i jacked the stag up in the air. and when i went to spin the wheel. but it did not want to move and making a rough noise. i wonder if this is the problem. do i need new brake pads or drums ??? adam

Spit62500

Not a genius - if you knew even some of the mistakes I've made - one of the most stupid ones was just this week - I adjusted the carbs, didn't bother to raise the idle speed - left that for later, and then set out for an important appointment last Friday. The car ran fine at speed but died in Dublin traffic (the carbs ran dry because the idle speed was too low and the fuel filters airlocked). Had to push it to the side of the road three times before it finally dawned on me what was going on.:D

I think that you said before that the noise got worse on cornering so that might well still be a wheel bearing problem.

If you've drums at the back, they should be adjusted until tight and then released until they bind very lightly. Usually that'll be an even number of turns of the adjuster on both sides. Often there'll be slight warping of the drum so the binding might not be quite even.

If you stick your head under the back of the car you might see a wet looking patch on the inside of one of the rims, indicating a leaking brake cylinder.

Trace the pipe from that resevoir and see where it ends up... That'll be your best indication as to where to go next. If its to the rear and there's no leak, you can still lose fluid if the brakes are binding and you're boiling the fluid. Check the drums for excessive heating and then go from there. It could be something as simple as the brake shoes not freeing themselves off after braking - you'll have to take the drums off to see what's up.

Edited:

The rear brake shoes probably 'float' on the backplate - sometimes this all gets rusty, they stick and it needs to be cleaned and reassembled with a little copper grease. Don't try operating the brakes with the drum off - study the workshop manual well and that'll show you how it should all work. The shoes should have a minimum lining thickness and should be replaced if contaminated with fluid or grease or if they're scored or damaged. Similarly the drum should be clean and dry. Be careful of any dust - if the shoes are very old they might contain asbestos. Modern ones won't. If there are any flexible hoses to the rear brakes, its possible for them to collapse internally, preventing the fluid from returning towards the master cylinder and keeping the brakes applied.

adam01

Spit62500 wrote:

Not a genius - if you knew even some of the mistakes I've made - one of the most stupid ones was just this week - I adjusted the carbs, didn't bother to raise the idle speed - left that for later, and then set out for an important appointment last Friday. The car ran fine at speed but died in Dublin traffic (the carbs ran dry because the idle speed was too low and the fuel filters airlocked). Had to push it to the side of the road three times before it finally dawned on me what was going on.:D

I think that you said before that the noise got worse on cornering so that might well still be a wheel bearing problem.

If you've drums at the back, they should be adjusted until tight and then released until they bind very lightly. Usually that'll be an even number of turns of the adjuster on both sides. Often there'll be slight warping of the drum so the binding might not be quite even.

If you stick your head under the back of the car you might see a wet looking patch on the inside of one of the rims, indicating a leaking brake cylinder.

Trace the pipe from that resevoir and see where it ends up... That'll be your best indication as to where to go next. If its to the rear and there's no leak, you can still lose fluid if the brakes are binding and you're boiling the fluid. Check the drums for excessive heating and then go from there. It could be something as simple as the brake shoes not freeing themselves off after braking - you'll have to take the drums off to see what's up.

excellent stuff.
I said before that the noise got worse on cornering , i was wrong it don't.
the humming is only when on a straight road?? i will check the shoes on the rear tomm,and i will take a picture of whats going on.
watch this space....Adam

8~)

Good advise here, but...

I'd advise against having a go at bleeding the brakes yourself if you haven't done it before.
Get someone who has done it to help/show you.

Also, I don't think bleeding the brakes is the cure to this problem. The pedal is hard and it's happened suddenly. That doesn't sound to me like air has suddenly got into the system. And if air has suddenly got in, then y'need to find out where and fix it before bothering with bleeding brakes.

Just reading that post about a rear wheel not spinning freely - sounds like the cylinder had siezed open, which led to the fluid 'disppearing' from the resevoir - as stated, it's boiled or maybe just sitting in the cylinder. You've topped up the fluid so now the system's overfull and boiled = hard pedal, little braking???

adam01

8~) wrote:

Good advise here, but...

I'd advise against having a go at bleeding the brakes yourself if you haven't done it before.
Get someone who has done it to help/show you.

Also, I don't think bleeding the brakes is the cure to this problem. The pedal is hard and it's happened suddenly. That doesn't sound to me like air has suddenly got into the system. And if air has suddenly got in, then y'need to find out where and fix it before bothering with bleeding brakes.

Just reading that post about a rear wheel not spinning freely - sounds like the cylinder had siezed open, which led to the fluid 'disppearing' from the resevoir - as stated, it's boiled or maybe just sitting in the cylinder. You've topped up the fluid so now the system's overfull and boiled = hard pedal, little braking???

Had a good result today:) that noise we all throught was the rear right wheel bearing. well i found the problem, it was the rubber boot on the drive shaft. it was bent inwards chatching the side of the shaft when spinning. pls see picture, NO more humming noise:)
Hard Brakes , still have them. i,v checked for any leaks on all the wheels ~nothing at all, no leaks. i took the rear rightside drum of to check the wheel cyl but looks ok and also the shoes are fine like new. so i then put it all back on and the wheel as well. when i went to drive the stag. the brakes were excellent, back to normal. BUT only for around 2 mins

---

when i was driving down the road they went hard again
do you think that the cylinder had siezed open. how do i check if this has happened......Adam

8~)

For the brakes to disimprove that quickly sounds to me like a master cylinder fault.

When they went hard after two minutes did you check for change of fluid levels in the resevoirs, if you could freewheel the car (to check for binding brakes)?

adam01

8~) wrote:

For the brakes to disimprove that quickly sounds to me like a master cylinder fault.

When they went hard after two minutes did you check for change of fluid levels in the resevoirs, if you could freewheel the car (to check for binding brakes)?

no change in fluid levels in the resevoirs. do i need a master cylinder or a wheel cyl

8~)

If the car rolls relatively freely with the brakes hard, soft or whatever, then you likely don't have binding brakes, so this implies your brakes cyls. are OK. Generally, I just open the driver door and give a push down a slight hill, run around the car listening for a grating noise at each wheel (I live on a quiet road...).

If it doesn't roll then you've got something siezed - likely a front caliper or a rear cylinder.

If it rolls and you've no brakes then suspect something else, possibly the master cylinder.

Before changing anything I would go over the cars braking system, take off the wheels and check for leaks in the drums around the calipers, in the flexible hoses, etc...

Where are you - Roscommon? I'm about 40 mins away if you wanted me to come and kick tyres one of the days.

adam01

8~) wrote:

If the car rolls relatively freely with the brakes hard, soft or whatever, then you likely don't have binding brakes, so this implies your brakes cyls. are OK. Generally, I just open the driver door and give a push down a slight hill, run around the car listening for a grating noise at each wheel (I live on a quiet road...).

If it doesn't roll then you've got something siezed - likely a front caliper or a rear cylinder.

If it rolls and you've no brakes then suspect something else, possibly the master cylinder.

Before changing anything I would go over the cars braking system, take off the wheels and check for leaks in the drums around the calipers, in the flexible hoses, etc...

Where are you - Roscommon? I'm about 40 mins away if you wanted me to come and kick tyres one of the days.

nice one.
i'm in boyle,co-roscommon
071 966 2468
adam
cup of tea or coffee awaiting you and xmas cake from my wife caroline... see you soon??? i hope adam......>>>>
and wisky if you and the wife can stay over and go out-out to the local pub......
adam

8~)

Boyle? About an hour away so.
If I have time over the Christmas I might give a shout - I have a car to get bits off of over that direction at some stage.

Being realistic though, I doubt there's a lot I could do to actually fix the problem. I'd check for siezed brakes, leaks, perished flexi hoses, check the servo (as suggested by a poster earlier - foot on brake, start car, feel for a change) and if all checks out OK, finally blame the master cylinder.

PS - anyone need BMW E12 spares? Hard to get now but I might have some!

adam01

any shows local to roscommom in the next few mths
ADs

adam01

8~) wrote:

Boyle? About an hour away so.
If I have time over the Christmas I might give a shout - I have a car to get bits off of over that direction at some stage.

Being realistic though, I doubt there's a lot I could do to actually fix the problem. I'd check for siezed brakes, leaks, perished flexi hoses, check the servo (as suggested by a poster earlier - foot on brake, start car, feel for a change) and if all checks out OK, finally blame the master cylinder.

PS - anyone need BMW E12 spares? Hard to get now but I might have some!

thats great.
i have a feeling its the servo????
Have a great xmas,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Adam

adam01

8~) wrote:

Boyle? About an hour away so.
If I have time over the Christmas I might give a shout - I have a car to get bits off of over that direction at some stage.

Being realistic though, I doubt there's a lot I could do to actually fix the problem. I'd check for siezed brakes, leaks, perished flexi hoses, check the servo (as suggested by a poster earlier - foot on brake, start car, feel for a change) and if all checks out OK, finally blame the master cylinder.

PS - anyone need BMW E12 spares? Hard to get now but I might have some!

Excellent.
I Will wait then,before i buy a brake servo. as who knows it might be something else?? ads

Spit62500

Hi Adam,

I agree that the entire brake system needs to be looked at - hard to know for sure otherwise.

If I understand correctly, you removed a brake drum, inspected the shoes and put it all back together and the wheel spun freely and the brakes felt fine. You drove the car and the problem returned. I assume that you backed off the brake adjuster to get the shoes away from the drum and adjusted them back after replacing the drum.

I'm assuming that the problem is only with the back brakes and that the front ones don't bind.

I'd guess that it could be one of two things: either pressure applied to the rear brakes is being maintained after the brakes are released, or else the pressure is being released and the brake shoes aren't returning to the original position. Normally, servos will release pressure when the engine is turned off. Pressure can be maintained if a flexi hose has collapsed internally so that the fluid can't return. The shoes have to be able to move freely but can get stuck due to rust, dust or a broken or stretched spring so that they don't release again. If the servo acts on all four wheels then you should have the same problem on all four wheels.

If you repeat what you did before and get the wheel to spin freely after reassembly, check that your handbrake cable isn't sticking and that the handbrake is releasing fully each time. If all is ok, apply the brakes and see if it continues to bind after the brakes are released. If it all works as before then start the engine, don't apply the brakes and see if the wheels bind once the servo is pressurised. This means that you need to raise the rear of the car with the engine running so be careful. If its still ok then apply the brakes with the engine running and see if the brakes continue to bind after you've released them. Do all this without actually driving the car and see what you find.

James Paddock in the UK sell reconditioned servos for £125 plus vat. I'd suspect that its a standard enough servo so you might be able to get one cheaper once you know the make of it.

Hope some of this helps...

adam01

Spit62500 wrote:

Hi Adam,

I agree that the entire brake system needs to be looked at - hard to know for sure otherwise.

If I understand correctly, you removed a brake drum, inspected the shoes and put it all back together and the wheel spun freely and the brakes felt fine. You drove the car and the problem returned. I assume that you backed off the brake adjuster to get the shoes away from the drum and adjusted them back after replacing the drum.

I'm assuming that the problem is only with the back brakes and that the front ones don't bind.

I'd guess that it could be one of two things: either pressure applied to the rear brakes is being maintained after the brakes are released, or else the pressure is being released and the brake shoes aren't returning to the original position. Normally, servos will release pressure when the engine is turned off. Pressure can be maintained if a flexi hose has collapsed internally so that the fluid can't return. The shoes have to be able to move freely but can get stuck due to rust, dust or a broken or stretched spring so that they don't release again. If the servo acts on all four wheels then you should have the same problem on all four wheels.

If you repeat what you did before and get the wheel to spin freely after reassembly, check that your handbrake cable isn't sticking and that the handbrake is releasing fully each time. If all is ok, apply the brakes and see if it continues to bind after the brakes are released. If it all works as before then start the engine, don't apply the brakes and see if the wheels bind once the servo is pressurised. This means that you need to raise the rear of the car with the engine running so be careful. If its still ok then apply the brakes with the engine running and see if the brakes continue to bind after you've released them. Do all this without actually driving the car and see what you find.

James Paddock in the UK sell reconditioned servos for £125 plus vat. I'd suspect that its a standard enough servo so you might be able to get one cheaper once you know the make of it.

Hope some of this helps...

Excellent.
I Will try that,,,,,ADs:cool:

franksm

Hey Ads

(been away from the computer for a few days, racking up some mileage)

The brakes on your car should be very fresh - including the brake fluid which was changed in October. I wonder if that has upset something, as the old brake fluid looked very "old" - you know the way when you change the coolant on a car that hasn't had it changed in 10 yrs, and then 2 weeks later the water pump goes ? I wonder if servicing it has opened up some seals in the master cylinder. Luckily it's easy to rebuild - and a service pack is quite cheap from Paddocks. If you don't fancy doing that, they sell recon units for just over 100 STG I think.

The only other thing I can think of is the brake proportioning valve - it's supposed to keep the fluid balanced between the front and back of the car (or something) and if the brake fluid isn't bled properly it can cause the valve to "shut" - but you would see an amber indicator on the lower right of the dash light up if that's the case. It's described here anyhoo: http://www.stag.org.uk/technical/page0159.htm

I didn't know that at the time I had the guys bleed the system, so *they* probably didn't know about it either ? Might be worth having a look.

F

adam01

8~) wrote:

Boyle? About an hour away so.
If I have time over the Christmas I might give a shout - I have a car to get bits off of over that direction at some stage.

Being realistic though, I doubt there's a lot I could do to actually fix the problem. I'd check for siezed brakes, leaks, perished flexi hoses, check the servo (as suggested by a poster earlier - foot on brake, start car, feel for a change) and if all checks out OK, finally blame the master cylinder.

PS - anyone need BMW E12 spares? Hard to get now but I might have some!

done all checks you said to do. and all is well.(01)foot on brake, start car, feel for a change) yes there is presure. and no leaks anywhere
so i,m thinking it has to be the brake master cyl....ADs:(

8~)

Good evening,
Adam, I didn't get time over the Christmas to do anything with my own cars, never mind go looking at someone elses, so apologies.... usual ting; I dreamed I'd have time for loads of things but the reality is that it flies by and nothing gets done.

I could still make time, but if you have done the basic checks plus other checks specific to your car and the problem is still there, then I reckon the master cylinder is to blame.

One final question - are the brakes fine when the engine is cold but start to worsen the warmer the engine (bay) gets?

If flexible hoses are looking rough then I'd change them first and see if it improves things. If not, then look again at the master cylinder.