On 8/27/06, mad madeline <mac10wv@yahoo.com> wrote:
> After purchasing my '87 Westy, I drove it home 350 miles.
>   At the beginning of the trip, I accidently left the emergency brake on for about 5-10 miles at freeway speeds.
>   Didn't realize it until I used the brake pedal to slow down, and found there was no pedal!
>   The brake pedal  worked after I pumped it a few times.
>   I pulled off the freeway (brake pedal barely worked), and read the manual, which
> seemed to indicate this brake fade might  happen when the emergency brake is left on
> while driving and things heat-up.
>   After the car cooled off, the brakes worked again.
>   However, I notice driving the van that it does not come to a stop easily.  I don't
> remember how it felt before this happened, and its been a few years since I've driven a
> vanagon.

I did pretty much the exact same thing on vacation a few months ago,
with the same end result. Adjusting the rear shoes took the "slack"
out of the brake pedal. I guess running with the brake on took enough
off the shoes so that, multiplied times four, a lot more throw was
required in the pedal to reach the drums.

--
John Bange
'90 Vanagon - "Geldsauger"