Conference terri::cars_uk

       A friend of mine had a problem similar to this with his Rover 90.
       Sometimes the brakes would apply themselves without any pressure
       on the pedal. (It happened once when I was giving him a tow start 
       and nearly pulled the backend off my MGB). 

       I'm pretty sure the problem was with the servo. I'll try and
       remember to ask.

       Ian.
    
    
      P.S. Nice car!

    I had a similar problem with my Beetle front brakes, It turned out thet
    the flexible pipes had corroded inside, and were blocked, I tried
    pumping 65 psi of air down them when they were off the car, with
    nothing coming out. It appeared that the master cylinder was
    sufficiently powerfull enough to push the brake fluid through, but
    not back the same way when the pedal was released. Thus the front
    brakes would stay 40/50% on after they were put on. 
    
    Carl.

     
    We have found an air leak in the servo unit due to an incorrectly
    installed gasket.  The servo unit was reconditioned about four months
    before I bought the car.  However the brakes still lock on, so we
    will be taking the servo apart to see if anything else is wrong.
    
    Thanks for your help
    
    Frances

    I assume that the servo was taken off the car when it was
    reconditioned, have the brakes ever worked correctly since it was
    refitted?
    
    I had a similar problem when fitting a servo to a Mini, I ended up
    connecting it up the wrong way round, ie I connected the pipe from the
    brake master cylinder to the output end of the servo. This gave me the
    same sort of problem, (ie press brake pedal..brakes come on...release
    brake pedal...brakes stay on!)
    
    Best of luck
    Neil

    The previous owner bought a reconditioned servo and connected
    it himself, when we brought the car it had failed the MOT on the
    brakes.  He had connected the servo the wrong way round (checked
    the workshop manual) and we have since corrected it, didn't make
    any difference though.
    
    We bought this Rover for spares for our first one, but it was in
    too good a condition to be sat idle.  (Bar a few dents).
                         
    Frances
    
    

    The master cylinder needed adjusting, which has seemed to have released
    the rear brakes, though they stick slightly.  However the front
    brakes remain locked on.  We will try the hoses as suggested.
    
    Thankyou for the suggestions, but if this doesn't work any more
    ideas?
    
    Frances

    We have found the problem.  The piston in the servo was stuck solid,
    the brakes seem to be working ok now.  Thankyou for all the help.
    
    Frances

    Not to confuse the old Rover 100 with the latest offering (the restyled
    Metro), I wonder if anyone else has noticed that all the cars in the
    Rover ads on TV have "UVO" on the licence plates.
    
    I just happen to notice this as it is the building code for the CSC
    where I work.
    
    What is the significance of UVO and Rover ?
    
    Check out the latest 'Metro' ad with "111 UVO".
                                                   
    Royston

�    Not to confuse the old Rover 100 with the latest offering (the restyled
�    Metro), I wonder if anyone else has noticed that all the cars in the
�    Rover ads on TV have "UVO" on the licence plates.

	I've noticed this before on previous Rover adverts.
        
        One thing that springs to mind is that the numbers and letters are 
        all vertically symmetrical (i.e.they appear the same when reflected 
        in a mirror).  

        Take a look - all Rover adverts, and some other manufacturers
        too, use *only* alpha-numerics that are symmetrical. I don't know 
        why it matters though.
	
        Ian (also @UVO)

    I think it is fairly common to take pictures of a left hand drive car
    and reverse them for marketing material used in a right hand drive
    country. There are occasionally little things that show this was done.
    (exhaust pipe, tie-down bracket, or some other assymetrical feature of
    the body work).
    
    Andrew

    What about the name of the car. Would a reversed or mirrored name give
    the game away?
    
    Simon

 �   I think it is fairly common to take pictures of a left hand drive car
 �   and reverse them for marketing material used in a right hand drive
 �   country.
        
        I reckon you've hit the nail on the head.  Things like badges are 
        usually too small to show up on TV ads, but the number plate is
        always noticed.
        
        Ian.

But aren't we one of the few (only?) countries that have front=white,
rear=yellow number plates, so the ads would be no good elsewhere.

mb

p.s.

All this talk about vertically symmetrical letters reminds me of the
old style Toyota MR2 where the TOYOTA logo reflecting in the rear
window (when seen from behind) still reads correctly!

    RE: .13
    
>> But aren't we one of the few (only?) countries that have front=white,
>> rear=yellow number plates, so the ads would be no good elsewhere.
    
    No it's becoming popular over here in France - pretty much all the new
    cars are having them fitted. You can still ask for the old french
    (silver letters on black) style but it appears that by default you get
    the new ones.
    
    I can't remember what I had in Germany - I think it wasn't the
    white/yellow type because when buying a new car I was asked what I
    wanted and they said that the white/yellow type meant that the police
    could see your number easier - I said no way I wanted this style then
    :-)
    
    Dave

    May be they keep the same photo setup, and just swap the plates to take
    a new picture for each different kind of plate. It still reduces the
    cost of taking the pictures.
    
    It is not only the yellow/white plate which vary from country to
    country. A valid french plate would immediately stand out as wrong in
    the UK as the number of letters and digits is different.
    
    Andrew