Help 84 Vanagon brake problem
The =
next
installment
Well,
It’s been awhile =
since I got
back about my ’84 Vanagon brake problems. (pedal pushed
hard =
goes to
the bottom without stopping well) But there have been some major =
changes
happening. Not only has work been very hectic and not allowed time =
to work
on the van, but I now have an interesting story to tell. Let =
me spin
it for you….
We were traveling down the 405 =
freeway here in
LA when a loud bang came from the
back of the van.
While we =
wondered what
the hell was that? another car came up along side and said we
were =
spewing
fluid so we pulled over to check and found coolant coming out from =
under the
motor. Not wanting to work on the freeway we limped to the nearest off =
ramp
and popped open the engine compartment.
A quick examination =
revealed
nothing major looking, no burst hoses or major pieces
missing.
We =
poured
water in the fill bottle and started the motor. Soon the water was =
pouring
out of a small hole on the right rear cylinder. Not sure at the time =
what it
was I thought
maybe a freeze plug of some sort? Well
lets plug it =
and see
if we can get to the nearest VW shop. Taking out a piece of
mahogany =
I had
aboard I whittled a wood plug , cut it to an appropriate size and tapped =
it
in to the hole with a hammer.
A little more water and we were off to =
the
shop.
Upon arrival at the VW shop I told the owner of the problem and =
asked
if there were
any freeze plugs on
the waterboxer motor to which =
he
replied “No” why don’t you show me on this motor =
in the
back where
it’s leaking from. One look at the motor and I =
clearly
knew…the cylinder head nut and
stud had blown out!
The =
dreaded
electrolysis had struck again! I had never heard of this =
symptom
before
(usually leaking heads) but the stud had disintegrated and =
blown out
from the pressure in
the cooling system. My motor had reportedly had =
the
heads replaced before but the
previous owner didn’t know when =
it had
been. 170,000miles are currently on the
speedo without a rebuild and =
the
last time I checked the compression it was low in two
cylinders. It =
was all
stacking up to be a very expensive week. After talking prices and =
parts we
left it to be fixed.
Rebuilt engine, all labor, new clutch, rebuilt =
rear axle
assemblies, hoses, a few broken
parts and 8 cylinder studs later =
(and $3200)
the Westy is back on the road and
humming. And oh yeah, they =
couldn’t
figure out my brake problem either! (weak brakes
when pushed =
hard).
After getting the van back I decided I’m going to fix these damn
brakes before they kill me. I went to the nearest pick your part =
junk yard
and removed
from an 84 Wolfsberg the brake booster and pedal =
assembly and
brake regulator (and a
strait as an arrow rear bumper and rubber =
strip) for
about 78 bucks!,
Thanks to all who wrote in about my problem with
suggestions, Michael Radtke, Ken
Wilfy, John
Lauterbach, Robert =
Keezer
and others, I hope to let you all know some good news =
soon.
P.S. I’ve now =
installed the
vacuum booster and brake regulator with no difference in
the feel at =
all and
pumped at least a gallon of DOT 4 fluid through the lines. One thing I =
have
noticed that the brakes seem to work better if I increase the =
engine RPM
(at a
stop one foot on gas one on brake), it takes more pressure to =
bottom
them out
I have to believe more people have had similar experiences =
with
this. A vacuum leak
seems like a possibility still. Oh
Well!
Victor Valenti
84 =
Westy
“The Baked
Potato”