Speaking of brakes...

The GoldBrick (my 86 Syncro GL passenger Vanagon) had a brake master
cylinder that had been leaking, and was definitely in need of
replacement.

So I hunted up the info on the net BTDT (Been There. Done That.) from
Joel Cort had a nice straight forward right up. Since I already had
the replacement master cylinder I started in on the task last night.

Fairly straight forward. Except for the bleeding part. Since the
GoldBrick's brakes hadn't been touched in a while I figure it was time
to get change the fluid too.

I've SA Big Brakes on the front, but still have stock drums on the
rear. I got a power bleeder, but the problem with these is that you
suck in a lot of air from the bleeder itself, and not as much from the
brake line. My right rear brake line also seemed to be somewhat
clogged, but a good stomp on the brake pedal finally got the old crap
out.

Sure is going to be nice having reliable brakes again. :)

On Jul 12, 2009, at 4:47 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:

> I have to disagree a bit here. While some of this may be true for
> extreme
> conditions or panic stops weight distribution and other factors have
> a lot
> of influence. Most cars are front heavy and of course weight will
> shift to
> the front while stopping but the Vanagon has much more a of 50-50
> weight
> bias particularly when loaded. The rear brakes can do a lot. Most
> folks that
> complain about Vanagon brakes have rear that are nor working
> properly, the
> wrong shoes, and drums that are worn oversized. VW mad things a bit
> worse as
> both he adjusters and cylinders are on the same end so much of the
> shoe is
> not contacting the drum.
>
> Want a low cost brake upgrade? Here's how:
>
> Rear brakes. Make sure the drums are in spec. Go to the dealer and
> get the
> shoes set, 251698531LX, List price now only $60.00.
> Get the hardware kit there also 251698545, $29.10 list.  Get a pair
> of ATE
> wheel cylinders. (Dealers is not a choice here).
> Remove the lower shoe mounts and shim them out 2-3mm. Put it all
> together.
> Make sure the cables are properly adjusted. After they seat you will
> be
> surprised how much the brakes will improve.
>
> For the fronts, get the PBR metal master pads. After they seat you
> will have
> brakes. Be sure the rotors are also within spec. I recently pulled
> off a set
> machined under 10mm.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of
> Don Hanson
> Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 1:11 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Big brake conversion
>
>  Just some general comments on upgrading brakes...
>
>  Generally speaking, putting more stopping power on the rear wheels
> is a
> waste of time and money for most vehicles.  The major portion of your
> braking is done with the front...The 'harder' the stop, the more the
> front
> end braking load is...Period.
>  Your brakes are only effective as the traction of your
> tires...stomp down
> in a panic stop and the front of the van sinks, the rear rises.  The
> weight
> transfers to the front wheels...Once your rear wheels are really
> 'un-weighted' by this forward weight transfer, they have no traction
> to
> contribute to braking at all. All the brake pad force and disc size
> in the
> world won't stop you any quicker without any traction.  If you put
> big ole
> six piston Brembos on the front of a van you can probably lock up
> the rears
> even with the  meager stock brakes back there...So why bother with
> *more*
> braking power?  A locked up wheel is not a matter of degree..bigger
> won't
> lock it any more...  All you do by putting bigger brakes at the rear
> is add
> unsprung weight and spend some money that may have been better used
> for ABS
> or something.
>  Just my opinion, but supported by some research...If you want a
> visual of
> this 'front wheels do most of the braking' concept you should watch
> some
> Moto GP or road racing videos..Watch those guys going into a slow
> section
> with their back tires waving around above the pavement under hard
> braking..
>  Don Hanson
> On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 6:20 AM, Max Wellhouse
> <dimwittedmoose@cfu.net>wrote:
>
>> Mike and Crew:  The statement that the Small Car Big Brake Kit has
>> Chinese rotors and calipers is false according to the ebay "ask
>> seller a question " response I got from Small Car a day or two
>> ago.  The person responding said all parts were German-made.
>>
>> Mike, can you check with the person that told you about the Chinese
>> parts?  Collectively, I think the List would like to find out the
>> truth.
>>
>> I guess i have a hard time believing that he rear big brake kit is
>> $200 more than the front kit due to the additional cost of a rear
>> caliper set up for emergency brakes;  that's like $100/side.  There
>> must be a good reason though.
>>
>> DM&FS
>>
>> IO At 11:30 PM 6/30/2009, Mike Miller wrote:
>>
>>> Yeah what I've put out for brakes, pads, bolts and machining will be
> close
>>> to $600 if not more. But I got Brembo disks and the kit comes with
> Chinese
>>> made disks that are not good, or at least that's what has been
>>> reported
> to
>>> me.
>>>
>>> I'd drill the holes myself as was suggested but I think I'd be
>>> lucky if
>>> they
>>> would go on the van if I did.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>>
>>>
>>> On 6/30/09 7:16 PM, "Max Wellhouse" <dimwittedmoose@cfu.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> FWIW  I got a quote of $25 to get all 20 of my MB knock off alloy
>>>> wheel holes reamed out from 12mm to 9/16" by a local tooling
>>>> shop.  You ARE talking about 4 holes getting drilled right?  Maybe
>>>> there's welding involved who knows?
>>>>
>>>> For the time you've put into chasing down the new audi parts etc,
>>>> and
>>>> the $130 for this trip to the machine shop, that $600 kit is
>>>> sounding
>>>> better and better.
>>>>
>>>> YMMV
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> DM&FS
>>>>
>>>> At 07:42 PM 6/30/2009, Mike Miller wrote:
>>>>> Vanners,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm in the final stages of converting my '87 syncro to Audi G60
> brakes.
>>>>>
>>>>> Took the calipers to a machine shop to get the mounting holes
>>> rebored to the
>>>>> correct spacing. Guy says $130.
>>>>>
>>>>> This sound about right or am I missing something here?
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike
>>>>
>>>
>>