OK the caliper can be a pain to get out of the way because there is a metal bracket that is held in place by the lower nut on the upper ball joint. Unless you have an air gun or are very good with a ratchet that lower nut is rough to remove ( nut will start to loosen and then ball joint shaft will spin). One way around this is to remove the two bolts that hold the caliper in place and the bend the bracket slightly to allow the caliper to move out of the way just far enough to remove the rotor. The two bolts that hold the caliper are different and it matters which is which so pay attention. Let me know if I can help you further. Ken On Mon, Jul 6, 2015, 12:25 AM Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote: > A sinking pedal indicates a leak or a failed cylinder. If no leaks and the > fluid level is good then you need to look at the rear brakes or a bad > master cylinder. The MC can fail internally causing a low pedal with no > outside leakage. Calipers only leak or seize. They don't suddenly cause a > low brake pedal without one of those issues. Dragging or over heated brakes > can cause the fluid to boil causing a vapor condition. Your questions seem > to indicate a lack of knowledge. You may want to get some help so you can > things fixed and continue with your trip . > > Dennis > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf > Of Vincent Dow > Sent: Sunday, July 5, 2015 8:17 PM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: anybody done the brakes on 1982 gas westfalia? > > Howdy, > Had the braking power seriously diminish on my 82 westy. What a bummer, we > were headed to San Luis Obisbo county, to bring the dog up to a beach (and > ourselves) > > Had to turn back to L.A. at Thousand Oaks. > > The brake pedal felt tall in the morning when we started out. 50 miles > into the drive, I felt the pedal bottoming. A couple pumps with my foot > would do the job, but I knew I was losing pressure. > > I got the wheel off, and am looking at the caliper. The flexible brake > line is attached to a bracket, that's under huge nut for the main big > suspension piece whose name alludes me. The one that's under spring tension. > > I'm thinking I have to open up the brake line and drain before I can even > get the pads out. Haven't come across a caliper like this before. Don't > like it. > > I'm wondering if I shouldn't rebuild calipers now. I'm seeing lots of pics > of nasty old ones. Brakes are important. Does this ring true to experienced > owners? Bit the bullet and rebuild the caliper? Or is that going overboard? > |
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.