Date: Mon, 27 May 2013 01:30:01 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Causes of Brake Pull at Highway Speeds? UPDATE
In-Reply-To: <CAB2RwfjFZGNifL3Lz+TVL_MWjfgrvLW0ZtfAiM38QxAzYAX38A@mail.gmail.com>
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The e-brake cables do not get adjusted to compensate for wear or whatever.
Check the archives. I have written a procedure for proper adjustment of the
brakes. The e-brake cable has to get set properly and in order to do this
the drums have to be off so you can see the lever and set the cables for a
small gap between the levers and the adjusting rod. After that all
adjustment is done with the rod and they should automatically adjust.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
neil n
Sent: Sunday, May 26, 2013 2:22 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Causes of Brake Pull at Highway Speeds? UPDATE
So another shop checked out my '81. The owner took a pry bar to the front
end, did a visual inspection and found no issues (excessive play etc.). We
don't think my radius arm hole repair is the issue. He thinks a faulty
rebuilt caliper may be causing the pull. He has found that with some rebuilt
calipers, the piston O ring (seal) may cause the piston not to move
properly. I have far less experience than him so don't see how this would
cause a pull while braking HARD at ~ 50 MPH + but......
How would a caliper piston O ring cause this? Like even if braking hard, can
the O ring hold the piston firmly enough that (in my case) it won't allow
the driver side pads to move as well (push as hard on the rotor) as the
pass. side pads?
A side note. He adjusted the brake shoes and noted that the e-brake was
adjusted as far as it can go. I may have worded my question to him poorly,
but I asked if backing off the e-brake adjustment would allow more
adjustment at the shoes and allow the e-brake to be adjusted properly. He
said "no".
AFAIK, all the rear brake parts are still serviceable. If I slack off the
e-brake adjuster, will this allow the shoes to re-position slightly further
in (away) from the drums which in turn would allow me to adjust the shoes
then properly adjust the e-brake?
As have others, I've seen first hand how caliper rebuild quality can be
poor.
Image of a rebuilt "new" pass. side caliper on my '81. A leak sprung at the
halves: http://tinyurl.com/pdbv7zn
As such, I can see that a big brake kit might be a good investment.
OTOH, for my '81, this means new uprights (knuckles) and possibly ball
joints etc.
Neil.
On Fri, May 10, 2013 at 10:39 AM, neil n <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:
> At ~ 50-60 MPH, if I brake hard hands "off" the wheel, the van pulls
> to the right. Not severely but quite noticeably. Doesn't happen
> braking hard from ~ 30 MPH. Like I almost have to make the nose dive
> for the pull to happen.
> A shop checked the brakes, steering-front end components before this
> trip. Brakes checked out ok but they noted "upper ball joints have
> very very minimal play. Not a concern at this time." and that the sway
> bar bushings are cracked but "no safety concerns noted at this time".
> In spite of that, they said the front end was tight and ok.
> Almost all front end and brake parts have been replaced in recent
> years and don't have a lot of miles on them.
> I repaired the passenger side radius arm hole at the frame.
--
Neil n
Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca
'88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p
'81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco" http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
Vanagon VAG Gas inline-VR Engine Swap Group:
http://tinyurl.com/d7gd5ej