71 super beetle brake problem

I have changed everything on this car. Master cylinder, metal lines, rubber hoses, wheel cylinders and still have the same problem that I started with the pedal goes to the floor if I pump quikly they will get tight I can even move back alittle on the pedal and push forward and it will hold but when I let it go and push again there is nothing.I have bleed several bottles of fluid through the system. what am I doing wrong? anyway I am ready to light fire to this thing.

Thanks Adam

Reply to
xeon19
Loading thread data ...

How are you bleeding your brakes, through a piece of hose or just opening and closing with the pedal down? I read about a guy with a ghia that put his calipers on incorrectly (bleeder valve on bottom) and air got trapped in his system. Spent hundreds on parts before realizing he put the calipers on upside down. Sounds like there is air in the system definitely, maybe someone with more knowledge on the group can give you better insight.

-Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Holzer

..............There's been a lot of talk over the years that many of the replacement aftermarket master cylinders are defective. If you can rebuild the original one or locate a new German one, it would be money well spent in my opinion. Aircooled.Net might be able to provide you with a good one.

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Been there, done that!

I'll tell you what worked for me and hope it helps you.

Get some small clear tubing that with snugly fit on the bleeder screw, about 3 feet worth. Fill your reservoir with fluid and go to the right (passenger side) rear cylinder. Have some one pump the pedal about 6 times and hold it and then you crack open the bleeder screw. Have the end of that hose you attached to the bleeder screw in the bottom of a bottle with a little fluid in it. If you've used several bottles already, use one of them. Do that wheel about 6 or 8 times and then move to the other rear wheel but go re fill your reservoir first. Next is the right front and finally the left front. Make sure you fill the reservoir often or you'll be starting over.

I bleed mine for 2 days before I finally got really good pedal. I even built a pressure bleeder and bleed them from the wheel cylinder back to the reservoir but never got it as good as the old fashion way I and others will describe. I'm told the key to this is in the tubing. As you open the bleeder screw without the tubing in place, you are still letting small amounts of air in at the wheel cylinder. The tubing keeps that from happening. I bought a 10 foot roll of the stuff at Home Depot back with the ice maker kits for refridgerators. The stuff I got is real soft and says "do not use for icemakers" but thats where I found it.

Keep after it, you'll get there. You can even re use the fluid you catch from the bleeders if it looks clean. I've seen guys pour stuff back in that looked like weak coffee and even though I didn't think it was a good idea, they had solid brakes.

Good luck! < TC

Reply to
tcrdn11

I am bleeding by just opening and closing with the pedal down. as far as the master cylinder, I bought a german one thinking that was the problem.

Reply to
xeon19

well I'm gona give it a try.

adam

Reply to
xeon19

They worked when you got the car, right?

Reply to
Kevin Holzer

I went through the same frustrating process. Turned out there's very little room for error on VW brake shoe adjustment. Adjust both adjusters, turn the wheel, readjust. Do this several times to each wheel. I was convinced that there was a more serious problem, but that's all it took..... good luck...

Reply to
JeffRens

I've had the same problem before. I think part of it is bad rebuilt MCs, part of it is the remote resevior (the fluid dosen't drain down properly). I solved the problem on Annie by using a '65 Baracuda master cylinder. :-) Of course, you have to fill it behind the tire, but that's not a problem 'cause there is lots of clearence with it raised so high. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

If guns cause crime, all of mine are defective.

Reply to
ThaDriver

hello TC, did the above and now i have great brakes. thanks however, my 79 convertible is now incredibly hard to steer. is this coincidental, or can you recommend some other adjustment? there's hardly any play at the steering wheel, but it is really really hard to turn at slow speeds and parking etc.

also the steering wheel shakes or shimmies at 60 mph (did this before the brake bleeding). do you think the probable cause would be bent rims? thanks, jim

Reply to
jim

The first thing that would help here would be a little punctuation. The run-on sentence above can be parsed several different ways and we can come up with several different meanings. That said, given my guess at the most probable meaning:

I think some of your shoe adjustments are still too loose, maybe all of them. I don't think bleeding has anything to do with this.

-

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

-----------------------------------------------

Reply to
Jim Adney

The shimmy is probably the steering dampner. Looks like a slender long shock absorber and it's attached in the front linkage, you can't miss it. I haven't had any trouble out of one lately but I had a '74 Thing once that ate them for lunch. Went through half a dozen before I got one to stay on the car long. They aren't very expensive.

That could be related to your other steering problems but I doubt it. Get out your grease gun and lube everything up good then drive it again before you start swaping parts. Then start a new thread here if needed about the steering.

I finally got to help somebody! The rest of the guys here have helped me so much, nice to give a little back.

< TC
Reply to
tcrdn11

well after playing around with your suggestions I managed to get a somewhat stiff pedal. About how much play should I have in the pedal?

thanks

Reply to
xeon19

There should be about .5-1" of completely free play, then the pushrod should start to actuate the MC. After that it should move an inch or 2 with slowly rising pressure that starts to increase rather quickly and get hard after a total of about 3"-6" of travel.

-

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

-----------------------------------------------

Reply to
Jim Adney

I just could not help this but coming in on this late and reading this you would think that you were talking about sex. :') ;')

Reply to
PHILLIP COYLE

I don't think I'm ever going to be able to look at the satisfaction of a good brake job the same way again.... ;-)

-

----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

-----------------------------------------------

Reply to
Jim Adney

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.