GS Brakes

[brian woodcock]

My car is unusual in having a brake accumulator. I wish to get rid of it, it is cluttered enough in this part of the car plus none of my books mention it! Fortunately I have a complete spare parts car, just wondering if anyone has tried this or any advise welcome.
Brian

 

[sparkey]

Brian – pretty sure there was a significant thread on this matter at some stage. Try searching it & avoid reinventing the wheel (trick is finding the right search words)

When working on Daniel’s GS, I was fascinated by this additional sphere. According to Aust Design Rules (I can be corrected) it was required after 1976?

It was the first time a sphere membrane failed in my presence. It went off like a gun. I thought a rap gangster had rocked up to the garage & was offended by my resto skills

 

[David S]

I'd think it's best to keep it, but if you must eliminate an extra accumulator (as fitted to the inner guard on a CX) and want a very easily reversed solution, take a dead welded sphere and cut through the welded end in a hexagonal pattern, weld the hole in the middle closed (even tap and bolt) and screw it on. It mimics a dead sphere that would other wise just fill with LHM but will give you back the room the sphere occupied. You only have a single piston pump in a GS, so it is then critical you have enough stored braking capacity from the remaining accumulators. If in doubt, don't eliminate it as this braking system is unlike anything with a master cylinder and no reserve pressure means no brakes. You can just get away with all dead accumulators and still have brakes on most of the cars with multi-piston pumps, but the pump is worked too hard. I once drove a Xantia in that state and the brakes worked, but the brakes and pump didn't feel at all happy. Also essential is that the handbrake works!

 

[DoubleChevron]

I don't htink you will find it that easy. I'm pretty sure its a diagonal braking setup as required by the standards of the time, so two circuits, two accumulators, you can't remove one as then half of the brakes would have no storage. Can you compare cars and see if they can easily be swapped over? they are a bugger of a thing to bleed with no bleed nipple on the front calipers.

 

[Ken W]

and there is a bake pressure regulator on the back axle which transfers the rear axle suspension ressure to the rear brakes calipers that you would need to deal with as well.

Cheers, Ken

 

[sparkey]

Here is some brake accumulator feedback from an earlier thread:

GS Hydraulic

Just like to ask if anyone knows how different the early hydraulic system is to the later system with the extra brake sphere. Was this extra sphere to meet local ADR requirements? If so was it installed in Australia by the importer or fitted in France at the factory. Our GS has some doggy...

www.aussiefrogs.com

 

[brian woodcock]

Thanks everyone, I am much better informed now. At this time I suspect that I have too many Cits, perhaps I will have to get rid of one(or maybe 2.) However I am now confronted with another GS problem, see above.
Brian