My original posting said:

> The "things" that squeeze the brake pads onto the disks
> apparently block in a closed position causing the brakes
> to get very hot and to loose braking action.

I was told by a few of you that it was worth changing just 
the hoses that feed the fluid to the calipers. Unfortunately
I can't confirm that this would have solved the problem. We
changed the hoses but couldn't bleed the brakes because the
valves were rusted in place. Ex-S.O. managed to get one of them
off using Pepsi (this was recommended by a local garage), a wire
brush and vice-grips, but the other one broke off. When he tried
to drill it out, he drilled the hole smooth. :-(  So he
bought me new calipers. :-)

Having changed the hoses and the calipers, the van now does
135 km/h! I can't stand to think of how long these brakes have
been blocked! The van has been in Switzerland since September
and I don't remember being able to do more than 105 km/h under
4000 rpm since then at least. I even changed the pads a couple
of months ago. Luckily I don't use the van very often! I just
assumed it was poor performance.

Thanks for the helpful tips.

Darie
'86 Westfalia