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Mon Mar 07, 2005 6:54 pm

I bought the Westy about a year ago. Brakes felt soft back then so I bled them without much improvement. I replaced the front discs two weeks ago and changed the pads too. Not much change. Yesterday I needed to stop NOW and barely managed to. Pumping the pedal helps, so I bled the brakes again today.
No change. I can push the petal to the metal and not lock up the wheels. I checked brake booster per Bentley and it is ok.
Previous owner had the master brake cylinder replaced a year before I bought it. No leaks I can see, I checked front calipers and they work. I checked rear brake shoes and they have plenty of lining left.
One odd symptom: First step on pedal, soft/not much resistance. Step on it again and the pedal firms up.

I think, the master cylinder is the culprit but I would like to get some opinions before I replace that.

Thanks,
Neal

Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:12 pm

I am not sure about this but I have these same symptoms and have heard them from a multitude of vanagon owners. I have heard a couple people report that even after new master and slave cylinders, brake hoses, and fluid it is the same. The brakes are soft on the first pump but work fine then a second pump stiffens the pedal up a bit. I have been driving questionable or untrustworthy old vans cross country for the past 7 years or so and I have learned to drive way ahead of my vehicle. This is especially not hard to do when pushin' 48 hp in a diesel westy.

Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:38 pm

Might want to change out the rubber brake hoses and see if that helps. I think they are about $15 or so a pop. I did all 4 of mine and it helped a lot.

Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:56 pm

Adjust the rear brakes until they grab and drag slightly on the drums. Try this experiment: With the vanagon standing still and the engine running, and the Ebrake on, hit the brake pedal. If it's higher and firmer than with the E brake off, it's the adjustment for sure.
Every time I've run into this problem on a Vanagon, and the hydraulics and brake mechanicals look OK, it's been the adjustment of the rear brakes. Make sure the drums aren't worn beyond specs as well. They can also be worn more in the middle than on the edges causing this problem.

Tue Mar 08, 2005 6:11 am

Rear breaks 9 times out of 10. Probally need park ajust. First pump expands them, second pump engages shoes, but your at the end of it's travel. Probally also have leaking wheel cylinders.

Tue Mar 08, 2005 8:20 am

Thanks for the replies.

Hmmmmm, I thought the rear brakes were self adjusting :oops:
I think, I better order new drums, shoes and springy hardware from Volkscafe.

Neal

Tue Mar 08, 2005 8:31 am

They are self adjusting, but the self-adjusters don't work all that well especially when stuff is worn, so it has to be gone over from time to time.

Tue Mar 08, 2005 8:44 pm

Check out www.carmadillo.com for replacement parts too. Mark Bender is a nice guy who personally owns vanagons. Fast shipping since they are located in WA state.