Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 11:50:25 -0800 (PST)
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Beth Young <young@sherlock.sims.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Re: Rear Brake Job, Observations.
On Tue, 14 Jan 1997 vince_pappalardo@om.cv.hp.com wrote:
> Item Subject: Text_1
> Hi All,
>
> I just completed the brake job on my '85 Westy this weekend. [snip]
> I have some observations that may help others who are doing this job.
Yes!!!! This is one of the things that make this list REALLY useful. Even
with 3 different Vanagon manuals I find with every job that there are
little "tricks" that make the job go easier or possible problems you
might encounter which the manuals never mention. I'll add my 2 cents worth.
> 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.
Although pulling the hub requires special tools (puller, socket to fit
axle nut and wrench capable of turning axle nut at 300+ foot-lbs.) which
mean most of us just take off the drum. I've found that needle-nose
locking pliers and a wife willing to wield a long screwdriver are
invaluable here. Sometimes the drum is "stuck" to the hub. Since there
is really no way to get a puller on just the drum, you might have to
resort to a large hammer on the face of the drum (this technique was
covered in prior posts) to get the drum off, although sometimes it comes
off as easy as anything. Although you shouldn't have to do it, backing
off the star adjusters (counterclockwise as viewed from rear on left,
clockwise on right) is sometimes necessary to get the shoes away from the
drum.
> 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've noticed this too in my brake jobs on my van. 2-person team HIGHLY
recommended.
>
> I hope this helps others. Sorry for being so long winded about a
> somewhat mundane subject.
Hey!! Since most of us on this list aren't full-time mechanics, even the
mundane stuff can drive you crazy!! I know someone will find this helpful.
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Tom Young young@sherlock.SIMS.Berkeley.EDU
Lafayette, CA 94549 '81 Vanagon
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