63 Beetle brake job

[Jfoolio]

My 63 brakes have to be pushed to the floor in order to stop. When I got the car the brake fluid reservoir was bone dry. I've added fluid and it does not appear to be running through the lines. This is my first bug so I'm a little naive. I can handle a brake job but I'm concerned there's something deeper going on? Any advice or tricks to testing the lines?

[mukluk]

Old Volkswagens do not have automatically adjusting brakes, they must be periodically manually adjusted to maintain a very close clearance between the shoes and drums. When you push on the brake pedal, that fluid volume is displaced through the lines directly to the wheel cylinders (assuming there is no air in the lines), the wheel cylinders then push the brake shoes out into contact with the drums. Only after all the shoes in the brake circuit have come into contact with the drums will you start to notice an increase in brake pedal resistance and the brakes start to have an effect upon slowing/stopping the car, so you can see that if the shoes aren't kept in very close proximity to the drums in the first place that quite a bit of brake pedal travel is used up just positioning the shoes. For this very reason the first thing one should always do when faced with any brake issue is to adjust the brakes.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[glutamodo]

Yeah, and it is rather plainly stated as a maintenance necessity in the Owner's Manual.

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Andy T.


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[Eric&Barb]

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By all means check what has already been stated above, but if you have no idea of the age of the parts, I would replace damn near everything except the steel lines. Piecing brake components that are new with ones that are old will most likely have you chasing problems with the older components until everything is eventually replaced. The last customer’s VW I did brake work on was a “full restoration” that had multiple brake issues. The front wheel cylinders were VW units, most likely making them the original 1970 cylinders...

[Jfoolio]

Thanks guys. All great replies. I saw a video online of a gentlemen doing this adjustment. I guess I was just concerned something deeper was going on. Once the heat takes a break I will hit the garage and try it out. I'm thinking it might to time to replace most of it.

[sjbartnik]

If the car is new to you and as you said, the brake reservoir was dry (!!!) when you got it, your first order of business should be to get the car up on stands and get into the brakes all around. Replace the rubber lines at each wheel and see what else needs attention.

Brake fluid is not consumed during brake operation, so if the reservoir is dry that means there is a leak.

Also check the master cylinder and especially check where the pushrod from the pedal goes through the firewall - if you find evidence of brake fluid in this area it means it's leaking out the rear of the master cylinder.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[andk5591]