Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:56:17 -0400
Reply-To: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Soggy brake pedal
In-Reply-To: <C08600B5-ECBB-4D5D-AE61-01C43AACE700@mac.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Sounds alot like what i had.....
If your confident that your brakes are well bled, check your adjustment in
the rears. That's always a good place to start, as it can have a big effect
on the pedal. Once your confident with your adjustment in the rears and your
bleeding, i'd say master cylinder.....
I'm only doing my master because my mechanic said as he failed it for
inspection "It's your master cylinder. Replace that and you'll be good". I
had thought this all along, so.... yep.
The job itsself isn't that hard. The dash just sortof "falls apart in your
hands" when your good at it. It also does the same when your bad at it : )
The removal of the instrument cluster though is all you need to do, and it's
not that bad. You just pull the cover off the top, then unscrew the 4
philips head screws that hold it in place, pull the swtices off, unplug the
speedometer cable, and carefully pull upwards on the whole unit, to reveal a
plug on the bottom that attaches to the instrument foil, that you probably
forgot about before carefully pulling upwards.
Then, it's off. It goes back together just as simply, but in the opposite
order.
The master comes off rather simply. I took it off with the tank still in
place. I just unplugged the hose that leads to the clutch master cylinder,
unplug the two electronics connections at the bottom of the master cylinder
(remember which ones which), and then i jam the entire area under the master
as full of rags as possible, before removing the two thread in brake lines.
They are 11mm each. Then you pull out your trusty 13mm socket with a 6 inch
extension on it, get in there and pull it off of the vaccuum booster. Now
pull the whole assembly out carefully, and reassemble as necessary after
replacement. DON'T FORGET TO BENCH BLEED THE MASTER!
Just fill it up with fluid when it's all assembled, and bleed it like you'd
bleed brakes, from the two thread in brake lines (with your rags there to
soak up the brake fluid).
Brake fluid is evil. It eats paint so fast you can see it work (if the
paint's fresh, such as on my calipers), it leaves your hands dry and seems
to produce some warmth when it comes in contact with skin. I've seen moths
fly into a puddle of brake fluid and die instantly, i think you want to be
as careful with it as possible.
-Craig
'85GL
Fresh master cylinder.
On Sat, Jul 26, 2008 at 8:20 PM, Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@mac.com> wrote:
> Okay, I've bled the brakes. My Westy Syncro still has a soggy brake
> pedal. If I pump, it gets a little better, but not much. Sometimes I
> hear a buzz, and it gets to be the best. If the engine is off, it
> feels better, but with the engine running, it feels really mushy. A
> friend suggested the brake booster might have a vacuum leak.
>
> Don't believe I've seen this come up before. Master cylinder, yes, but
> not the brake booster. I haven't yet looked in the bentley to see
> what's involved. Half afraid the dash will have to come out.
>
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