Date:         Mon, 13 May 1996 08:44:00 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      siezing brakes (was: '68 front-end into '59 Bus? Disc brakes?)


>The discs will go straight onto the '68 beam as well. Although you
>should really change the master cylinder for the one with the pressure
>release (Jim (BB) might be able to advise.). Any conversion from drums
>to discs requires the corresponding master cylinder. This is because
>the hydraulic system for discs means that the pads are in, almost,
>constant contact with the discs. In town driving the hydraulic fluid
>can expand, and without compensation for this expansion, the system
>can become pressurised into locking the pads on and you get to a
>seized state.
>
>The point is whilst I know a lot of people that have done the disc
>swap thing, none of them have experienced the seizing problem but I
>have heard about it several times on beetles.


I have run into this several times, on '66-older beetles. Never seen
it on a bus, although maybe that's because I'd finally gotten it through
my head that I shouldn't adjust the shoes right up next to the drums, and
so never caused the problem any more by the time I got into buses.

Is this why it happens on older beetles, but (apparently) not on '67-newer
ones? Do newer beetles have such a pressure-relief doohickey? Where- in
the master cylinder? From your post, I guess buses had the same problem,
and solution? In what year did the pressure-relief start, for buses and/or
bugs?
 ______________________________________________________________________
           _                                            ______________
    ______//________    Steve Maher    smaher@gi.com   //__][__||____\\
   /o _   |  -| _   \   San Diego, CA     75461,1717  (o _-|       _ o|
   `-(_)=======(_)---'                                 '(_)-------(_)-'
 '66 Mustang Coupevertible      '89 Son Sherwin        '80 VW V6anagon

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  "There are plenty of jobs available-- I have three of them myself!"
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