brake problem, vw rabbit

sounds like time to pull the rear drums and check/replace the wheels cylinders and shoes. You got a brake fluid leak.

do the brake cylinders fail more often than calipers? How tough is it to do the rears? Also, how do I flush the fluid and replace with new stuff? I have never done it and the fluid in this trucks is probably decades old.

You need to haunt the local used bookstores and pick up one of each:

- Bentley

- Haynes

- 'Poor Richard's How to keep you Rabbit, Jetta, Scirocco.... Alive'

Having these (and friends who will fix your car for pizza and beer) is what you need.

Flushing (and bleeding out air bubbles) is done Rear Corner farthest from the Master Cylinder, then the other Rear, then the Front Corner farthest from the M/C, then the one nearest.

Use a good DOT3 or DOT4 fluid; a complete flush can usually be done with one large bottle and a small one to top off with at the end. (Keeping opened bottles around is frowned upon because the brake fluid tends to absorb moisture from the atmosphere.)

Don't get confused by the different types; DOT5 and DOT5.1, one is synthetic but usable, the other is Silicon and is indicated for racing and dedicated systems made for its use. The synthetic juice can be used in normal systems though.

hth, TBerk

I got a Bentley, but the troubleshooting section was not very helpful for my situation? What do you think would cause the problems as described in the first post? A local guy thinks that the front right caliper is bad and should be replaced. His reason is the fact that that wheel is the only one that can stop or lock up. He says that leaking fluid will make that brake sticky and allow air into the system. Could the master cylinder cause an intermittent problem related to temperature? Can water freeze in the brake lines and cause this?

Yep, yep. You got air in the system somewhere, that is very likely. As for seals leaking enough to have allowed the system to 'sip' air, that remains to be seen.

What's really important is that you bleed the system. Avoid pressing the pedal all the way to the firewall, as this tends to scrape previously unused portions of the M/C with the o-rings in there; causing premature wear.

TBerk

Fix the current brake problem with the wheel cylinder before spending more money? It's not hard to do since you got a manual, but a few tips are to soak the metal brake lines first so you don't bust them off. I use PB Blaster! As far as tools:

5mm allen wrench 11mm brake line wrench. If you can't find a 11mm then 7/16 works well.

Labor will probably be in the $70 to $100 per hour range, and they will most likely insist on using their own parts.

sounds like your R/F caliper is also froze up, & your master cyl. is shot.

yeah, I just contacted a local shop. Im getting the master cylinder replaced tomarrow. Funny thing happened yesterday. While I was cautious driving home, the brake problem in which only one wheels stops suddenly cleared up. The braking seemed completely fine. It seems that the master cylinder is intermittent and scary as heck. Yes, that also means that the righ front caliper was doing its job again. It has to be the master cylinder doesnt it? I hate to fix something that aint broke.