my original question - temporary loss of brakes - was posted on 28 may. to which i received many answers. i have replaced the master brake cylinder about 4 to 6 weeks ago (nearly �300) and thought my problem cured. alas on saturday night i'd driven about 20 miles and my brakes disappeared. as it was late and the road quiet i nursed the car a further few miles to a safer area. during this time i started to get some of the brake back, about a third i'd guess. once again after leaving the car for a few hours the brakes had fully returned and no problem since. i'd previously driven to cambridge & back, a round trip of some 170 miles ,with no loss. can anybody throw any more light on this problem. when i rang round suppliers to price up a master brake cylinder, one did ask if i meant the abs one ? could this be the real problem. t.i.a
If your car does not have ABS it will have servo brakes, if the vacuum pipe from the inlet manifold, or pump if a diesel, could be collapsed internally. This would give the effect of temporary loss of brakes, the pipe would be in effect blocked. You could try feeling along the pipe to see if it has a soft area along it. A new pipe would not cost very much, but could be difficult to fit.