[Vwdiesel] The sad story continues..... Brake problems

[Craig Osborn]

I have decided to replace the rear hoses, wheel cylinder, and master
cylinder.  The parts (with the exception of the hoses) are not that
expensive and while I have it apart I might as well do it all.
I found out that the pickup truck rear hoses are only available from VW and
they got me for $83.00 !!
Question - When I went online to order the master cylinder, I found one that
said for ATE servo and one that said for BENDIX servo.  My local parts store
also had multiple selections for the diesel PU truck.  How do I tell which
one I need?

Craig 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tony and Lillie [mailto:tonyandlillie1 at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 11:09 AM
> To: Craig Osborn
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] The sad story continues..... Brake problems
> 
> Craig, I'd start with replacing the flexible brake hoses that go to the
> rear
> brakes, both sides. We see this a LOT at our shop on older cars. In fact,
> it
> happened to me about six months ago on one of my 4000Q's also. What
> happens
> is, the line sooks fine on the outside. But, it starts colapsing on the
> inside. It doesn't allow the fluid to release back to the MC. To check
> this,
> when the brake is hot and sticking (it doesn't have to be very severe)
> loosen the bleeder screw. If fluid comes out, the hoses are the most
> likely
> culprit. We've seen MC's do this also, but lines do it about 10 to 1 over
> MC's.
> 
> Let us know when you get it resolved, or if you need more help.
> 
> Tony Hoffman
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Craig Osborn" <cosborn at epix.net>
> To: <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 12:25 AM
> Subject: [Vwdiesel] The sad story continues..... Brake problems
> 
> 
> > You may all remember my story last week about the bad drum brake job and
> > the
> > "cooked" wheel bearings.. IF NOT the story goes like this,
> >
> > A few days ago, I heard a thumping noise coming from the rear passenger
> > side
> > wheel of my '81 pickup.  Never having messed around with drum brakes, I
> > went
> > to a franchise muffler/brake shop to have the noise investigated.  I was
> > informed that my brake shoe had broken into pieces.  I authorized a
> repair
> > that included brake shoe replacement on both sides, and a new wheel
> > cylinder
> > on the passenger side (because the bleeder screw was broken off).  I
> > additionally requested a brake system flush (power bleed) since I have
> > only
> > owned this vehicle for around 10,000 miles of it's total 200,000 miles
> and
> > I
> > was not sure how old was the brake fluid.
> >
> >
> >
> > I paid the bill and proceeded to drive the 50 mile commute to work the
> > next
> > day and immediately noticed a drag that felt like the brakes were on all
> > of
> > the time.  I also felt a vibration and heard a faint whining noise.
> Upon
> > arriving at work, I felt the wheel and noticed that the wheel was very
> hot
> > on the driver's side rear, but not on the passenger side rear.  It
> didn't
> > seem so bad as to prohibit driving, so I elected to drive the 50 miles
> > home.
> > When I arrived at home, I noticed smoke coming from the "hot" wheel,
> that
> > I
> > assumed was bearing grease burning off or brake shoes smoking.  I
> > immediately took the car back to the shop.  They put it on the lift and
> > announced that the bearing was "fried", but that there was nothing wrong
> > with the brake job that they had done.  He said that the mechanic may
> have
> > over-tightened the wheel bearing and caused the problem so he agreed to
> > replace the outer bearing.  He said the inner bearing/race was OK. He
> also
> > said he "backed off" the nut so as to loosen the pressure on both back
> > wheels so the problem wouldn't reoccur.  I drove about two miles home
> and
> > felt the same drag and noticed the wheel smoking again.  I took it back
> to
> > the shop and they said they will look at it tomorrow.
> >
> >
> >
> > NEW INFO STARTS HERE ...
> >
> > After a bit of arguing with the shop manager he agreed to replace all
> the
> > bearings.  When I called him later that day to see how the job was
> > progressing, he said that he discovered a problem with the brake
> hardware
> > and that he replaced all of the springs with yet another new set.  He
> said
> > that this was the source of my brake overheating problems.  He also said
> > that after disassembling the drum and bearings that he cleaned and
> > inspected
> > all of the bearings and found that only the outer ones were damaged.  He
> > said that there would be no benefit to replacing all of the races and
> > bearings.  I agreed to this.  When I picked up the truck he said that
> the
> > wheel was spinning freely and that he test drove it for about 5 miles
> and
> > everything was fine.  He did not charge me for anything.
> >
> > When I drove it home, I immediately noticed a bearing whine coming from
> > the
> > rear.  The brakes did seem to be fixed.  I thought - That's it I'm done
> > with
> > this shop! - I will renew the bearings myself.  Today, I did renew the
> > inner
> > and outer bearings/races/oil seal on both rear wheels.  I took it for a
> > test
> > drive and it was very quiet.  I thought that everything was great until
> I
> > went about 20 miles then I noticed a vibration coming from the rear
> > wheels.
> > I pulled over and found the driver's side rear wheel was smoking and
> very
> > hot to the touch.  I let it cool a while and drove home very slowly.
> >
> > I need some help to try to figure out my next move!
> >
> > What would make one drum brake self adjust to the point of engagement
> > while
> > the other doesn't?  Should I try adjusting (loosening) the hand brake
> > cable
> > as it seems to engage after one click upwards?  Could the fact that
> there
> > is
> > a new wheel cylinder on the trouble free side and an old one on the side
> > that is giving me trouble cause shoe engagement?  Does the self
> adjusting
> > wedge hardware ever go "bad"?  What happens if I disconnect the self
> > adjusting spring?
> >
> > Any other suggestions welcome.
> >
> > Craig
> >
> >
> >
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