Date:         Tue, 14 Jan 97 18:50:40 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         vince_pappalardo@om.cv.hp.com
Subject:      Rear Brake Job, Observations.

Item Subject: Text_1
     Hi All,
     
       I just completed the brake job on my '85 Westy this weekend.  I have 
     done many brake jobs on American, Japanese, Italian, and German cars.  
     This was me first VW.  The brake job took 8 hours (next one will only 
     take about 4--see observations below).  I have some observations that 
     may help others who are doing this job.
     
     Ob. 1)  VW really meant you to pull the hub when doing this job.  The 
     upper return springs are virtually inaccessible with the hub in place. 
     Solution:  After trying for an hour to get at these springs ( I like 
     to use finesse not brute force when working on mechanical systems) , I 
     decided to try removing the wheel cylinders since I had to replace 
     them anyway (they leaked).  I discovered you can easily use the 
     adjuster bar to spread the shoes apart, unbolt the wheel cylinder and 
     (after breaking it free with a light tap with a soft blow hammer) 
     rotate it 45 degrees and remove the wheel cylinder.  After that you 
     can back the adjuster bar back down and get at the springs with ease.  
     Reverse the procedure to reassemble the brakes.
     
     Ob 2)  Bleeding the brakes is not as straight forward as other jobs I 
     have done.  At first the bleeding went as expected, lots of bubbles 
     then clear fluid. However, the brakes still had a few bubbles in them 
     after about ten bleeds on each wheel (I use the old fashioned two 
     person method because, as others have posted, the one man check valve 
     bleeding systems are susceptible to ingesting air into the system if 
     the nipple is out too far and air leaks in past the threads). 
     Solution:  I'm not sure exactly what out of the following sequence did 
     the trick but here's what I did.  I let the car sit a night because it 
     was getting cold outside.  The next day I did a few bleeds on each 
     side--still air trapped some where.  Since the breaks were mostly 
     firm, I try just one pump on the break pedal instead of the standard 
     three.  I do this about four bleeds per side--still some small amount 
     of air is present.  I then go back to the standard three pumps for the 
     heck of it.  In the next two bleeds on each side lots of tiny bubbles 
     come out of both sides.  I check the brakes and wala--a firm pedal.  I 
     ended up using almost two of the small (I think 1 pint) cans of DOT4 
     fluid.
     
     I hope this helps others.  Sorry for being so long winded about a 
     somewhat mundane subject.
     
     Vince.
     '85 GL Westy (next up--repack the CV Joints, Replace rusted exhaust)
     '90 Mit. Eclipse GSX