Brakes nightmare.....

[David_17]

I'm having exactly the same issues. Think i'm gonna try replacing the master cylinder next.

Is there was a simple way to test it?

[Enoch]

I had exactly the same issue on my car, replacing the master cylinder did the trick. My car had ABS so I had to source a m/c, I found one locally on ebay. When I first fitted it I found exactly the problem you describe. I stripped it, cleaned and used an old stock service kit, it is now fine. I think that the seals don't like to be exposed to air or something. I would suggest that it's a good idea to service a part that could well save your life anyway.
Enoch.

[Bonzo]

I would imagine the easiest way to test a master cylinder would be to blank the outlets off.

This could be done with the assistance of 3 suitable sized bleed nipples ( Don't tighten them too much as you will risk damaging the sealing faces in the mc )
You could also make up dummy brake pipes, very short & either solder the ends or crimp them a couple of times in the vice.

Provided that you have not trapped a massive amount of air in the master cylinder, if all is well with the master cylinder, the pedal should be rock hard when pressed.

As someone said, it is not uncommon for the master cylinders seals to fail after a long period in storage, I have personaly come accross this situation a number of times

[snapper]

Had an issue with several master cylinders until I bought a new one.
I tested master cylinders 2 and 3 using bleed nipples in the 3 outlets, bleeding all 3 one at a time but never getting a firm pedal.
Tried the same with the new master, firm pedal and helps to bleed the master before attaching the pipes.
I put the first pipe on leaving bleed nipples in the other 2 ports, shortest pipe to the front and bleed till firm, then longer front, then single rear.
If you can't get a firm pedal when bleeding the rear, check the 3 or 4 way joiner, nip it up well, it often leaks a tiny bit, then bleed, nearest rear brake /shortest pipe to the joiner.
If there are issues at the rear you can use the bleed nipple method on the rear joiner.
Doing it this methodically will help you isolate a problem while having confidence in the previous work.

[geeman]

Well i tried what bonzo and snapper sugested this morning, and i couldnt get one of the pipes out of the m/c as i seem to have rounded off the connector at some point in the past(this was the one to the offside front caliper), however with bleed nipples in the other 2, i managed to get a firm pedal that i could no longer get to the floor, however it still did go quite a way. the offside front caliper did lock up as well.

Now, i connected the front nearside caliper, but the pedal now the pedal has no resistance and can be pumped many times with still no effect. this suggests something is up with the front n/s caliper i would think.

Ill give it a go to see if i can get a firm pedal with just the rear and offside calipers connected. Thanks

[geeman]

some good news, with the front offfside and rear brakes attached to the m/c, and the front nearside blocked off, i am getting a very hard pedal after about 2 pumps of the pedal, which suggests just some trapped air somewhere, however when the front nearside is connected, i can pump forever, so something must be up with that caliper, any ideas as to what could go wrong with the caliper? Thanks