Scarab the Rover..

[GRTV8]

A tight place to work in. Fond memories from doing the ignition/steering lock on the other side.
The soldering looks a little like how I do stuff. Could be good -could be shite.
I would look at tiding up those raw joins. In the past Ive used a liquid insulation in tight places to great effect. Comes in a small tube, semi fluid and hardens off upon contact with air, making a nice insulated join and giving peace of mind.
All fuses have been upgraded to blade type - a good move.

 

[harveyp6]

Re the handbrake it sounds as though you haven't adjusted the calipers up properly when you fitted the pads. All I would do is put the handbrake on, and then look at the quadrants on the calipers and see how far they have travelled. If both are nearly full travel the calipers need adjusting, if one is going full travel and the other one isn't, the chances are that the one going full travel isn't adjusting up.
Beware who you get to look at it, because most talk a good job, but haven't got a clue.

 

[ampwhu]

Re the handbrake it sounds as though you haven't adjusted the calipers up properly when you fitted the pads. All I would do is put the handbrake on, and then look at the quadrants on the calipers and see how far they have travelled. If both are nearly full travel the calipers need adjusting, if one is going full travel and the other one isn't, the chances are that the one going full travel isn't adjusting up.
Beware who you get to look at it, because most talk a good job, but haven't got a clue.

I wouldn't disagree with you. 1st time I've seen or worked on anything P6 related. Not happy I've been beaten. I'm lost with this. If I took the whole lot off the car and dismantled it all to see how these calipers work, I'd have a better understanding. But I'm not doing that.
Fancy one last swansong on my P6 before you ride off into the sunset?

 

[jp928]

Dont give up! Put "rover p6 rear caliper operation" into google and watch some/all of the youtubes that come up. Note that these calipers are used on Mk IV zephyr and other cars as well. Get them fixed once, you will be good for lots of miles.

 

[ampwhu]

I've had a bit of time away from the car to have a think. I remember about 6 months ago that I'd stumbled across a pair of rear calipers for these wonderful cars. They were heavily corroded and probably seized. So into a bucket of white vinegar they went. Fast forward 2 weeks.

If I remember rightly the offside rear caliper clicked as it should but the nearside didn't. I think that's where the issue maybe. So it is time to look at how these calipers work. I've started with the nearside as I think this is the way to learn.


I've started to dismantle it and it isn't as bad as I suspected. I left the piston until last as I couldn't budge it with an airline. So I blanked off 1 port and fitted a grease nipple to the other. The hydraulic pressure of grease move the piston out slowly. I have now got to this position.

Both bores look OK. So I think new seals will be sufficient. I'm waiting for the postman.

Plan is to fit this refurbished caliper to the nearside Nd then following Harvey's advice, adjust the handbrake BEFORE bleeding the brakes again.

I'll need some free time again......

 

[ampwhu]

Completed

Getting the spring in is a little tricky. I've worked the handbrake lever and the piston moves out slowly. Wind it back in and repeat. Once I'd worked out that the inner cup of the piston rotates anticlockwise as the rachet wheel turns, the rest is rather straightforward.
However I think it's over engineered for a simple caliper.

I just need to find time to swap it over onto the car now.

 

[sdibbers]

However I think it's over engineered for a simple caliper.

Bear in mind that there wasn’t that many examples of rear calipers at the time. Especially those that needed to use with an handbrake. It happens often with new technologies. I remember working on front hydraulic brakes for a Duesenburg Type A. The wheel cylinder was incorporated into the front swivel! As a friend commented: “No one had made hydraulic brakes before, so this is what they went for”.