As I recall, the spring across the plate between the shoes was upside down
and would bind, also I believe I had the plate backwards. The Bentley does
cover this but the diagram is not exactly clear on re-assembly.  Once that
was corrected, all better.
jon

-----Original Message-----
From: Raymond Markett [mailto:raym02@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 10:17 AM
To: jondvo@GMAIL.COM
Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: 1981 Brake Caliper Decision

Hello,

I also had a problem with incorrectly assembled rear brakes. I purchased my
Vanagon thinking it needed brakes because it had a bad pedal feel and
marginal stopping power.  However when I got it home and saw good pads and
shoes, and good hydraulics I was stumped and took it to the Van Cafe.  They
found that the back brakes had been assembled incorrectly and fix the
problem.

Raymond

> On May 18, 2015, at 8:51 AM, jondvo@GMAIL.COM wrote:
>
> Excellent advice, i did my rear brakes and initially had problems because
one of the parts were installed backwards - the rears make a big difference
in pedal feel.
> Jon
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On May 18, 2015, at 9:08 AM, kenneth wilford (Van-Again)
<kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET> wrote:
>>
>> Neil, I have done many, many full brake system refurbishments over
>> the years.  One of the first ones I did was on an early Vanagon like
yours.
>> Everything was brand new, yet I could tell that the pedal feel was
>> low and soft.  Someone on the list recommended adjusting the rear drums
properly.
>> That is where all of the problems were.  I have seen the rear brakes
>> put together incorrectly so many times, that will do it as well.  I
>> would pull the rear drums, use the diagram from the Bentley to be
>> sure that the adjusters and springs are all installed correctly.
>> Then you want to adjust the drums until the rear shoes are just
>> kissing the drum (you will hear a little rubbing when you turn the
>> drum but not dragging and the wheel can still turn easily).  Do this
>> and see if this helps your situation.  It should bring your brakes up
>> to par without spending any more money (unless you find something
>> missing or broken).  If this helps you out and you want to donate to
>> us, we have a paypal link on our site.  I know you don't buy parts from
us so I thought I would mention the donation button.
>>
>> Let us know how you make out.
>>
>> Ken Wilford
>> John 3:16
>> www.vanagain.com
>>
>>> On Sun, May 17, 2015 at 7:34 PM, Neil N <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi all.
>>>
>>> The back ground info is below, but here's the bottom line; I need to
>>> improve the braking on my '81 Westy. I suspect the rebuilt calipers
>>> I installed several years ago, never worked 100% correctly due to
>>> poor quality assembly or parts. i.e. one leaked right away. Image:
>>> http://tinyurl.com/lqsx4gf
>>>
>>> My choices:
>>>
>>> - upgrade steering knuckles, install a "Bigger Brake Kit"
>>> - upgrade steering knuckles, install new '86 + calipers etc.
>>> - rebuild a spare set of Girling calipers.
>>>
>>> Is rebuilding the old style calipers a waste of time? Most of those
>>> cores are pretty old now, have likely been rebuilt at least a few
>>> times, and I've heard that some rebuild kits may not be of good
>>> quality. However. I have what may be a decent set of calipers I
>>> could clean up and rebuild.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Neil.
>>>
>>> Since I'd been driving my '88 Westy the last while, I've since
>>> discovered that the brakes in my '81 Westy pale terribly in
>>> comparison. I had a Vanagon mechanic road test the '81 brakes. His
>>> first comment about them was something akin to 'they're crappy'.
>>> He also suggested it could be a caliper issue; I'd installed rebuilt
>>> calipers several years ago (along with doing a bunch of other brake
>>> work) The brake system is in otherwise good condition but the brakes
>>> just don't "bite" as well as my '88 brakes, there is considerable
>>> fade, pedal doesn't feel as hard as that on my '88.
>>> Rear shoe were is normal and even. I'm certain no air is in the
>>> hydraulic system.
>>> The mechanic said he'd run into a problem like this before. He
>>> removed the pads, and carefully pushed the brake pedal down to move
>>> the pistons further out in an effort to (reseat?) the piston O ring.
>>> He said this improved the brakes and that the issue had to do with
>>> either the piston position or the O ring itself (not flexing
>>> enough?)
>>>
>>> --
>>> Neil n
>>>
>>> Blog: Vanagons, Westfalia, general <http://tubaneil.blogspot.ca>
>>>
>>> 1988 Westy Images
>>> <https://picasaweb.google.com/musomuso/New1988Westy>
>>>
>>> 1981 Westfalia "Jaco" Images, technical
>>> <http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/>
>>>
>>> Vanagon-Bus VAG Gas Engine Swap Group <http://tinyurl.com/khalbay>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Thanks,
>> Ken Wilford
>> John 3:16
>> www.vanagain.com