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