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Can't bleed the front brakes. Air in MC?

So here is what happened.

A week or two ago my brake pedal starting feeling mushy and I had to pump to stop. After inspecting all my brake lines for leaks etc., I found that I had a brake hose ballooning on me up front. This hose looked different than all others so I think the PO might have replaced it by itself at some point. Everything else seemed to be in good shape. Lots of rust, but no leaks. I plan on doing all new lines and hoses in the summer, so I am putting off replacing anything I don't have to (my wife is ready to kill me while I am spending the Christmas budget on brake parts). Just trying to get through the winter!

After I replaced the front line, I went to check the bleeder and I found that it was not coming off - period. I tried the heat gun and PB blaster approach. In the end, I leveled it clean off with vice grips. So I ordered a pair of new wheel cylinders and installed them to both my front tires. They were cheap enough that the wife didn't kill me.

Now with new cylinders in place and good lines/hoses I went to work at bleeding them.

Here is my problem. I didn't plug the line well enough when I removed the first wheel cylinder and the front half of the reservoir ran dry overnight. And now it seems that no matter how long I bleed them, I still have absolutely no resistance on the pedal.

I have adjusted the "stars" and I had my daughter pump the brakes for me while I checked the wheels inside and out. The cylinders seem to be doing their jobs and show no sign of leakage. With the wheel cap on, the pedal seems to stop the wheels from turning. But - I still have no pedal push, it just sinks to the floor. Also, if I listen carefully I can hear a squishing noise.

What the heck is going on here? I don't see any leaks, and I have been through a tall bottle of brake fluid doing the back and forth pedal bleeding. I don't see any air bubbles coming out. I had the "champagne bubbles" at first, but I ran those out in the first 20 pumps or so.

I have read that I might have air in the MC. Is that true? If so - what is the EXPERT opinion on how to resolve this? Bear in mind, I am barred from spending any more money on this. ;-)

Thanks guys,

-Steve Ballantyne

68' Bug
Reply to
steve.ballantyne
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It is strange that you went through a whole quart or two of fluid and saw no leaks. The stuff has to go somewhere. The whole system doesn't take that much.

Your MC might be shot. But I'd look to see where all that fluid went.

Reply to
John J

Well, it went into a bucket. I should have included that information. :-) I used one of those one man bleeder kits and kept the tube submerged in fluid. So it didn't vanish. It was just pushed through the bleeder tubing while I looked for leaks.

Reply to
steve.ballantyne

Quick experiment: Adjust the stars so tightly that the wheels can't be turned. If that makes the pedal feel "harder" or higher, then the problem is due to piston travel in the wheel cyls.

Do one more test: Loosen the brake switch for the front circuit. Watch for fluid to begin dripping out. After it delivers a stream with no air bubbles, re-tighten and try bleeding the front cyls again.

If no change, it's possible that a seal has gone in the M/C.

Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

Awesome tip.

Feeling better, Speedy? Best, John

Reply to
John J

Much better. Thanks.

I can do a little fiddling on the car now which relieves the boredom some...

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

this link might help:

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Reply to
Jim347a

I use one of these power bleeders for my 1973 Beetle when I replace the 2 stop light switches every 3 years. It makes the job a lot easier.

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Product SKU Description Price

Air Cooled Vw 0104 Works on most Air $59.95 Bleeder 0104 Cooled VWs

Works on most Air Cooled VWs, including Bugs, Buses, and Square Backs and Fast Backs (Adapter 1104). All bleeders come with a full 1 year warranty. Appplication notes:

1100 - 45mm -- bus 1950-1967 1104 - 27mm -- bug after 1963, bus after 1967 1101 - anything with push on caps

Phone no. 877-59-BRAKE

Reply to
Jim347a

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Very nice! Pricy but very nice..

J.

Reply to
P.J.Berg

Jim, thanks for the good advice.

Before putting the wheels back on, I adjusted each side so that the hub just drags on the pads. In other words, one slight turn of the stars locks up the tires. But I will try the "lock em up'" to check for piston travel.

If I am understanding this process right - you are having me do a 'poor mans' bench bleeding in the car? If that is the case, I should

*NOT* push the pedal, correct? In other words, loosen the circuit a bit, wait for bubbles, and re-tighten. During this process, I should send my assistant back to the game system? :-)

Also --- the vw-resource pages were very helpful. I learned that I should not have told my assistant to push the pedal to the floor every time. Woops. And I also never gauged the speed (which should be slow gradual strokes - not slamming strokes like my 9 year old was probably giving me).

I had planned on getting out yesterday and working on this, but it was pouring down rain and I don't have a garage to work in. I'm hoping for better weather tonight.

Thanks!,

-Steve Ballantyne

68' Bug
Reply to
steve.ballantyne

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