Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 They all do that sir - rear brake cylinder

Just a heads up

For a few weeks my handbrake has been sticking. Burning smell when driving.

I took it to the dealer today, and on the way I experienced a rear brake cylinder failure. The brake pedal went almost to the floor and I was left with almost no stopping power. It was a surprise to say the least. Luckily I was almost there, otherwise I think I would have had the car recovered.

The dealer told me that the rear cylinder is the same part number as a 4/4, and those are known to fail over time if the car is not driven enough. So I guess that others with low mileage 2012 cars will start to experience this soon. I have 6,000km and drive it +/- once a week, depending on the weather.

Replacement parts – cylinder and shoes – will be around 250 Euros, plus 2 or 3 hours labour. Annoying. But it’s the safety aspect which scared me! And I guess the problem will be back in another 4 years… they all do that sir..

Oh great! Another thing to look forward to! Sounds like they need to be exercised in order to keep the seals from drying out.

I'm sure the seals are only lovingly manufactured from the finest leather and natural cork.

They haven't been blessed by a Shinto priest, I bet. I participated in a blessing of the cassette decks in L.A. back in the day of HiFi nirvana. That didn't work, either. Damn things still died with regular precision...

Well Vspec/Michael, I've just gotton my 2012 back on the road. The rear wheel cylinder was locked up! A mixture of rust and dirt froze both pistons. The boots were intact. My car has never been driven in the rain, Northern California. I don't understand where this problem came from. I first noticed the car was not rolling (as up to a stoplight). Then I noticed the rear wheel very hard to turn. Checked the E brake and all is well. Finally tore it apart and found the seized cylinder and really worn linings as well. I had to replace the linings, but I found after I disassembled the cylinder all the parts were reusable. The rear wheel is a pain to get out and this is the second time, the firs time was to change the hub. The bottom line: The car should push easily on flat level ground with one hand

If these are the same rear wheel cylinders as the four seaters this is a known problem.

It is best to change the brake fluid every 2 years to avoid ingress of moisture and rusting.

Another permanent solution is to have the cylinder sleeved in stainless steel.

hbatts how many miles do you have on your M3W?

I have 10,000 on mine, so far the brakes are working good, knock on wood!😀

So Morgan have fitted a cylinder with known deficencies! This is bordering on criminal!!!!

All brake cyclinders will rust if not treated as designed (brake fluid changes etc.)

I don't know if this still applies but I had heard that Morgan used the brake master cylinder from an early Mini that had front disks and rear drum brakes. On the Mini they developed a system with a valve that maintained a light pressure on (if I recall correctly) the drum brake cylinders to stop them retracting completely. This was intended to limit corrosion on the exposed cylinder when the piston retracted. On the Morgan they had apparently reversed the connections so that the rear brakes were actuated by the circuit originally intended for the front brakes on the Mini.

As I said I have no idea if this still applies to the 4 wheeler let alone the 3 wheeler.