Brake Saga

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:35 pm

Ever since I bought my Jetta I've always thought the rear brakes were a little weak. The park brake only worked barely and since I could see the left cable broken below the handle I figured that was why the park brake hardly worked.

Along with some other work I decided to fix the rear brakes. I'm used to working on old cars with lots of problems but this was ridiculous.

Goal #1
inspect Left & Right rear brakes and install left park brake cable.

Here's what I found on the left. Right was OK.

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:54 pm

I fixed the brakes pretty easy (cheap too!) I had saved the backing plates complete with brakes, wheel cylinders and park cables off my parts car and I just transfered the whole backing plate. Wish I'd have saved the grease cap and washer. Looks like the Previous owner (hereafter referred to as PO) lost the washer that goes under the bearing nut and the grease cap.

On the right in the pic above is the "stuff" he used to replace the washer. Notice its all jacked up from spinning and the nut shows wear also. On the right is the new "keyed" washer. In order to get that washer I had to buy a bearing kit (28 bucks) but it came with the grease cap, the washer and a inner grease seal. Oh hell if I'm replaceing the grease seal on this side I guess I should replace the grease seal on the other side. (4 bucks)

Here's the wheel bearing kit

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:05 pm

As is the norm with old cars all of the bleeders broke in the wheel cylinders, except one. So I buy a wheel cylinder. (9 bucks)

So I'm bleeding and bleeding and bleeding but still getting no fluid to the rear wheels. I've seen some brake flex hoses clogg of in the past and mine were very weathered and cracking so I order 2 new ones (2 hoses at 15 bucks each)

While I'm changing those hoses I notice the proportioning valve is locked up the arm is rusted all the way to the pulled (suspension uncompressed) position. Hey! Maybe thats why I got no brake fluid back there! So I pull it off and a bolt breaks off in the proportioning valve in the process. So I drill and tap, free up the arm, and reinstall it.

Still no brake fluid to the back brakes! What the @#$*!

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:15 pm

Next check is to see if master is pushing fluid out or not. I pull the two lines off that go to the rear of the car and I find.......

What is that??

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:21 pm

How 'bout a close up of that last pic?

Some one had put these two nails in the brake lines to block pressure to the rear wheels.

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:30 pm

List of reasons someone may want to block pressure to rear brakes.
1. pads were grinding and they wanted to drive on front brakes
2. Wheel cylinders leaking and they wanted to stop leak.
3. Proportioning valve stuck or leaking.

They wanted to sell the car to some sucker (me).

After removal of nails the back wheels got good brake pressure! Yeah! Uh, oh....

Proportioning valve leaks terribly! Well lets get a new one of those. (99 bucks) Little hard to get too.

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:39 pm

Well I bled out the brakes and they worked nice!

So I get to installing the park brake cable. I end up pulling the seat and the rear carpet to do it and I find some rust. Here's a link to the rust thread..

viewtopic.php?t=6255&start=0

Oh no. Wait a minute! Now the pedal just slowly sinks. Guess I need a master too! (41 bucks). Maybe more pics after that. Hopefully after that the brake work is done. I guess I could still need work in the front. But I dont think so. Front must be ok since I have obviously been driving on only front brakes for almost 2 years now.

Come to think of it, rainy and snowy weather really were slick with that car and once this year on snowy roads I slid into a ditch! Previous owner (PO) really makes me pissed off (PO'd).

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:16 pm

Excellent work.

The first picture said it all...shoes worn right down to bare metal and yet somehow rusty...

Andrew

PS Are you going to give those nails back to the PO?

Post by **Fatmobile** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 11:32 pm

Only thing left to change is the brake lines, ha. Only reason I've seen the rear brakes blocked was because of leaking/broken brake lines. Never thought of trying nails.
The rear brakes are due on my '91 Golf... well they are due to be opened up and looked at, something I haven't messed with since I got the car. I have bought most of the parts you listed but being a shade tree mechanic in the winter is a freezing pain.

.
Thanks for the great pics.

surfcam · Post by **surfcam** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 1:33 am

I was thinking to myself that the PO had crimped the rear brake lines. But he really knows how to hide this tracks. It would be niece to get a picture of him. We could post it under a listing of dead beat curbers.

4BTA 3.9 Cummins Stepvan
86TD Golf
91TD Jetta

Quantum-man · Post by **Quantum-man** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 6:01 pm

libbybapa wrote:Excellent work. The first picture said it all...shoes worn right down to bare metal and yet somehow rusty...

Andrew

PS Are you going to give those nails back to the PO?

I think you need to use those nails as extra frets on yer banjo Andrew

Quantum-man · Post by **Quantum-man** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 6:12 pm

Anyone ever cured a slave cylinder leak by packing under seal?

Does anyone agree that part of a slaves reason for leaking is due to a low shoe pad allowing excess travel into an unused area of the cylinder?

CoolAirVw · Post by **CoolAirVw** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:36 pm

Oh one more pic I forgot to post.

Here's the new proportioning valve installed and a new brake hose and a newly installed used park cable.

libbybapa · Post by **libbybapa** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:47 am

So, now that your brakes work, how's your coolant looking??

Andrew

Post by **Fatmobile** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:27 am

I was looking around the last few pages and thought this would be a good one to bump back up