On Thu, Sep 3, 2009 at 4:07 PM, pdooley<psdooley@verizon.net> wrote:
> Neil,
> My experience with wheel cylinders is they last about 5 to maybe 7 or 8
> years, regardless of mileage. (Unless vehicle is inop, in which case they
> fail much sooner).
> Sure, heavy stop-n-go traffic will wear them out faster, but the real
> problem is moisture in the brake fluid settling on the bottom of the
> cylinder and eating away at the metal.
> Every wheel cylinder failure I have seen was due to this effect.
> My recent repair work includes Fords, Buicks, VW's and a Dodge Neon, and all
> the cylinders failed that way.
>
> Even if you change the fluid, some old fluid still remains in the cylinders
> unless you physically strip them down.
> Sure, the new fluid will mix with the old residual and help absorb some
> moisture, but the damage is usually already done.
>
> Having said all this, I think less than 3 years on a new set of cylinders is
> a bit short.  Maybe check with your vendor for an explanation.
>

Thanks Jake, Zoltan and Pat. Jake. Looks like my vendor sells Meyle
(has for a while now).

Anyone else used this brand? I know they're German and recognize the brand name.

Pat. Thanks for the "how/why". Didn't know that. For sure. Yes. Just
got off the phone with my vendor. NOT pissed at them, as they are good
to me. I double check receipts, but they will likely give me a great
price for the new Meyels. FWIW people, from what little I've read,
Vargas *may* not be the same level of quality as some other brands,
but as we say, YMMV.

I'll be doing this and the long front to back brake line job myself.

Thanks to this list, I read that one can replace wheel cylinders while
leaving brake shoes/hardware in place. That helps.

Thanks again guys.

Neil.

--
Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"

http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines