Category: Brakes & Suspension
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Bleeding the Brake System
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue Brake performance is poor. Car not stopping as expected. Brake pedal “spongy” or there is a lot or travel before brakes engage. Brake pedal needs to be pumped to obtain best brake performance. Brake fluid is DOT4 hydraulic oil (I think originally it was DOT3 but this is no longer…
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Front Suspension and Anti Roll bar
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue There are 4 mounting points: Bushes do go soft and need replacing periodically. There is a bush at each attachment point. The anti-roll bar exists to assist in getting around corners without losing traction. Soft bushes result in poor steering as the antiroll bar stiffens up precision of the steering.…
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Rear Suspension and Dampers
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue This article is focussed on the standard estate car rear suspension and does not apply to modified vehicles. The rear suspension on most Mk1 Cortina’s is not dissimilar from that of a horse drawn carriage. The modern addition of a damper does take some of the bounce out of the…
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Rear Axle and Differential
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue My knowledge of rear axles is limited. The rear axle comprises of a differential unit that transfers power from the prop shaft to each half shaft. The differential performs two functions: A differential unit is required to balance wheel speeds when cornering i.e. enable the wheel on the outside of…
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Front Disc Brakes
Date: 26 Oct 2021 Issue Before starting to work on the brakes of any vehicle, decide whether you are competent and confident enough to complete the work. Brakes are pretty important so you do not want to get this wrong. The early Cortina’s pre-62 had drum brakes all round. The later Cortina’s 63 onwards have…