Brake servo bypass

[Europaforever]

Hi,

Quick question, I have a UK spec S2 with the single servo in the front compartment.

The original pipe work goes from the MC into the servo booster, then a pipe out goes to the 3point brake union on the chassis.

To bypass the servo can I just take the pipe that goes into the servo from the master cylinder and re-route it instead
to the 3 hole joint on the front of the chassis?

Page 6 in the manual - section J braking system.

Many thanks, rgds Mark

[EuropaTC]

Hi Mark,

I don't see why not, the remote servo on these cars is just a straight "in-out" sort of thing. Personally I'd make up a new line to see how it works minus the assistance. You might like it, you might not because it will feel like a lot of pressure to stop compared with modern cars.

I don't have a servo fitted but I did change the front pads for Greenstuff which claim to have a better feel. It's ok and you do get used to it, but there is a steep learning curve.

Brian

[Europaforever]

Thanks for the info- it will be a steep learning curve because I've never driven a Europa before

I'm not quite doing the brakes yet, just working out what's needed. But, I have been doing something-
removed the chassis closing plate, in the process of fitting a new one and painting the inner nose tidying
that area etc. That's when I saw the servo, looking very past it and thought bypassing it would save a bit of cash
and time.

[EuropaTC]

Thanks for the info- it will be a steep learning curve because I've never driven a Europa before

In that case it makes a lot of sense to try the car without a servo and see how you get on. If you have a working servo and get used to the car's brakes then removing it will (trust me) give you that "ohmygoditsnotgoingtostop" moment the first time you brake with an non-servo system. 

But if you try without having no previous knowledge and think "that's not too bad", well you've just saved yourself a few quid and made the car both simpler and lighter. Win-win-win as the politicians would say.....

Brian

[Grumblebuns]

I don't believe that federal S2 Europas came stock with brake boosters or actually need them. Both of my S2s brake just fine without boosters.  Since you have not driven your Europa with a working brake booster, bypass it and see how you like it.

As Brian stated, going from a boosted Europa to non boosted one without changing MC bore sizes or brake pads can be a huge pucker factor. I bypassed the boosters on my federal TCS and the first time braking experience without the boosters almost gave me a heart attack. I was pressing on the brake pedal as hard as I could but the car was not slowing down as quickly as I needed to. Luckily, I managed to stop before running into the car ahead of me or bending the brake pedal. 

[LotusJoe]