Adam, a proper brake bleed is the place to begin.

To access the brake fluid reservoir -- which also serves the clutch -
simply remove the cover over the insturments. Get yourself a clear,
flexible, plastic tubing that can be pushed onto the bleed nipple, and a
large plastic coke bottle. Put one end of the tube n the bottle, the
other on the bleed nipple, and open  the bleed screw. have your helper
pump the brakes. Bleed the fluid into the coke bottle until it is clear
and free of bubbles., then tighten the nipple.  You will be amazed at
the water and gunk that will come out if this has not been done in a while.

Do this on all wheels. The clutch may or may not need bleeding. For the
rear wheels you will need to get underneath, but for the front wheels
you can get to the nipples just  by turning the wheels to the stops.

Before you do this however, adjust your rear brakes first, then bleed
the brakes.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Adam B wrote:

>Hey everyone,
>
>After I got my front rotors and pads and rear wheel cylinders replaced (all
>OEM parts) a couple months ago, my brakes are doing this wierd thing. When I
>press the brake pedal in, it goes down quite far and the brakes do not grip
>as
>they should. When I push the pedal down, bring it up, and push it down again,
>the brakes grab real hard. My friends suggested that it was the master
>cylinder
>(I sure hope not because of the price), and that was also my mechanics first
>impression. I took it back to him and he bled the system again, and then said
>how it was my emegency brake cable not functioning properly. My knowledge was
>that the emergency brake is a mechanical device and not related to the
>hydralics at all.  Anybody know what this could be? Or maybe just an
>explanation of
>how the e-brake works? Or how I could service it myself?
>Thanks a lot
>
>Adam
>1986 Vanagon GL
>
>
>