Leak from new Tilton Brake Bias valve

[ArthurH]

Hi,

I hope someone has knowledge of the internals of these valves and can help me out.

First a couple of sentences to set the scene: My son races in Classic Stock Hatch; his 205 was fitted with a Tilton bias valve when he bought the car, it has always worked as it should, but he never really exploited it, as it was a faf to count the number of revolutions of the knob. He was given a Tilton lever-controlled one as a Christmas present. For various reasons, we have only just fitted it 3 months later. Unfortunately, as soon as we started to bleed the brakes, we spotted it was leaking fluid from around the 'top' of the main shaft. Externally, both old and new bias valves look identical apart from the actuating mechanism on the top (knob vs lever), so we thought we may be able to swap some parts, but when we checked further, they are similar but different inside.

It would appear that the main seal against leaking from the top of that shaft is an O ring - but it looks perfect and is a nice tight fit in its bore, paradoxically unlike the old one which is quite loose in its bore, but has never leaked.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Or have any advice? I'm doubtful we will be able to return it after this time.

TIA

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

I can't really help you other than the Tilton lever type bias bars are to be avoided. I used to have one in my car but swapped it out for an AP racing one.

[GreenV8S]

If you've bought it within the last six months you are protected by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and have the right to return it if it is not of satisfactory quality. I would suggest contacting the retailer's support channel as the first step since any claim will be against them, although they may pass you back to the OEM for support.

If that was me I wouldn't mention having dismantled anything unless the user manual advises you to.

PS I had one of the Tilton lever type bias valves, and it seized up after being left alone for a year. Since I don't tend to fiddle with brake adjustments after the initial setup, it was pretty inconvenient to find it was no longer adjustable.

Edited by GreenV8S on Sunday 4th April 20:04

[ArthurH]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, the person that bought it as a gift didn't keep any record of which supplier it was from, so would be very difficult to return.

I guess I'm trying to understand if it is that larger O ring that is failing, or have there been problems with the bore size/condition?

Thanks again