I can't see how air would get in by what you did.  Although I have replaced
pads (not shoes) and found that the caliper failed soon after-I assume that
the new pads put the pistons into a different and damaged part of the
cylinder.

One way you could test to see if the shoes are somehow retracting would be
to:

jack up a wheel or both
press and release the brake pedal
spin the wheel to get a sense for how much drag or shhh sound you get
try again later

Used to adjust air brakes using the shhh method.

Ray

On 9/18/07, Shawn Wright <vwdiesels@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Thanks for all the suggestions so far... I forgot to mention that did a
> full
> brake flush and bleed (as I do every 2 years) at all 4 when I replaced
> calipers in the spring. I didn't open the rear hydraulics this time, so
> didn't
> bleed anything as a result. I will do a quick bleed and see if it helps
> though.
> I'm pondering replacing the cylinders anyway, even though they're not
> leaking. Also, I did adjust manually before putting the drums back on,
> making as tight as possible without dragging. Pedal feel is good after the
> first pump - it's just the first pump if the pedal hasn't been used in a
> while.
> The parking brake is properly adjusted and works great.
>
> I'll bleed tonight and see if anything changes.
>
> On 17 Sep 2007 at 22:25, Shawn Wright <vwdiesels@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > Tonight I replaced the rear shoes on my '88 Westy, which were last done
> by
> > the dealer about 100k km (60k miles), but more than 10 years ago. I have
> > receipts from the PO showing all new drums, cylinders, shoes, etc were
> > used. The rear wheel cylinders show a fair bit of corrosion, but no
> weeping
> > under the seals, and they do seem to have the springs to prevent
> creeping, as
> > they extended slowly on their own when shoes were removed. With
> everything all
> > back together, I still have the soft pedal syndrome, where one or more
> pumps is
> > required to get a firm pedal. I was hoping this was the rear wheel
> cylinders
> > lacking those elusive springs. Front pads and calipers are new in the
> spring. So
> > the problem must lie in the booster or the master cylinder, right? Tips
> on
> > narrowing this down appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks.
> > Shawn Wright
> > http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels
> > '88 Westy 1.6TD 5 speed
> > '85 Jetta Diesel 1.6NA
>
>
> Shawn Wright
> http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels
> '88 Westy 1.6TD 5 speed
> '85 Jetta Diesel 1.6NA
>