Rear brakes do a lot more ten just keeping the rear in place, especially on the Vanagon. Those 10" diameter X 2" wide shoes offer a lot of surface area.
New Drum shoes will take a while to seat and provide full braking action. If the drums are worn oversized there will be less contact area until the shoes wear at the top so more of the material can contact the drum. As I've mentioned in the past most of the aftermarket shoes now available for the Vanagon do not have the proper lining thickness so only part of the shoe will ever reach the drum. The fix is to shim out the lower shoes rests. Today I tried a set of Raybestos shoes, (new). Along with new drums I was only able to add 2mm of shims to the lower rests. Usually I can add 3 or 4, more with worn out drums. Check the archives. I have written about the proper set up of the rear brakes a number of times. Set up is critical for the brakes to work properly, especially for the self-adjusters. Dennis -----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Stuart MacMillan Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2013 10:38 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Rear Brakes Rear brakes are there just to keep the rear end from passing the front end when you brake. Don't know the exact balance, but it's probably over 60% in the front, that's why they only put discs there. There is also a lot more metal in the drum to dissipate heat. Sounds normal to me. Others will comment. Stuart -----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Robert Clemmer Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2013 6:35 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Rear Brakes Ok, so I replaced both rear brake cylinders, bled both front and rear. Have a nice solid pedal. Only problem is now it doesn't feel like the rear brakes are doing their fair share. In 15 minutes of local traffic, the front brakes heat up to the point the wheels feel hot while the rears are luke warm at best. Fronts are not dragging. Going to the UP of Michigan in two weeks and the car will be heavy. They need to be right.
Car is a 91 2.1 automatic with 258k. Any suggestions or comments. I don't want to replace parts just for the sake of it.
Thanks,
Bob Clemmer Perkasie, PA |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.