Bigger brake booster, improved brakes.

[outwesty]

[dkoesyncro]

Thanks. I love my brakes, the effort less pedal is difficult to get use too. My old set up I pushed the brakes, if you know what I mean.

If any pdx guys are reading this and have this conversion I'd like to share details at the next gtg.

[wesitarz]

I was going to do stock front brakes,but came across this Audi/Passat A4B5 big brake kit from Van Cafe uninstalled and for sale, so I went for it. I have Smallcar discs in the rear.

Put them on, but found them to be quite spongy in the pedal even after bleeding the crap out of them and brake shop bled. Van cafe said yes they found them to be a bit spongy, suggesting some people have turned them upside down to bleed them. They are no longer available from VC. I replaced the suggested brake line loop at the caliper with the stock one and thought maybe that helped at the time.
Next I tested the master cylinder by blocking off the lines at the MC. The front line was definitely mushy. I decided to replace the master (good price at VC), then saw this tread on the BMW booster upgrade, so I got one from a wrecker in Vancouver. Turned out the old ATE booster which made a 'whooshing' air sound when the pedal was depressed was a used replacement from a local wrecker sometime prior to 2000 when I bought the van.

The new master now had good pedal pressure to the front brake when tested but the brakes were still spongy. The brake shop mechanic had suggested I look at the caliper and pads for proper alignment as this could make the brakes spongy. I found that the wire spring pulled the caliper down and the pads out of alignment with the rotor. After the second MC test I was bleeding the brakes again and noticed that the front caliper was really flexing when my friend pumped the brake pedal. I thought that can't be right. I never liked the rubber bushings that the caliper slide pin goes through thinking that it looks pretty 'hokey'.

While looking at images of the calipers online I came across this site tyrolsport.com by chance and saw a bushing stiffening kit that was just what I needed.

$95, $120 shipped ($163 Can - ouch!) The caliper did require grinding a few mm off the bushing ear to get the spring clip groove through, but a 4 1/2 inch grinder did the trick without having to remove the brakelines.

Now I have good brakes and see what you guys are talking about with the BMW booster. Should be even better when I replace the rear pads and turn the rotors since they are a little thin.

[davisimportautos]

I needed a booster for this vanagon and saw this post. found a used bmw booster online and tried the conversion. it fit the pedal bracket and the pushrod length can be modified as you described, and the added one inch diameter will just fit. the only problem that will not let it work is the added depth of the booster. the bmw unit is one inch deeper. this positions the master cylinder and reservoir back and alittle upward which will not allow instrument cluster clearance . too bad , I was hoping to save the cash as the vw vanagon booster is expensive and proving hard to find. one note , this is a 1985 vanagon. my pedal bracket is steel not aluminum like the one pictured. I wonder if that is the difference.

[j_dirge]

[wesitarz]

Yes the right hand metal brace had to be bent (just pulled on it by hand) to clear the forward brake line,then Oh hell, the cluster wouldn't fit, a gentle bending of the rear brake line just clears it. What would a job on a Vanagon be without a few surprises.Right.

[wesitarz]

[mackaymanx]

This is my install (RHD), welded the brace in then cut away the original bracket. Then had to trim some more off to clear the gauge cluster. It is tight in there.

Also had to clearence here for the booster, not sure if this is necessary for LHD.

[WLD*WSTY]

While it seems many 34331157_xxx boosters will work, avoid the 34331157_912 as the clevis shaft does not have enough threads on it to mount the clevis properly, nor does it have space to cut more.
_________________
'82 SyncroWesty, the first ever conversion.'06 Subaru 2.5L

[ALIKA T3]

I have seen everybody, me included mounting the VW clevis onto the threaded BMW part by re-tapping it.

Well, I'm mocking another install on another van I'm working on, and the BMW clevis fits just fine over the VW brake pedal if threaded with no counter nut all the way down (use thread locker), just need to redrill a little bit the brake pedal for the pin across. I shaved a tiny bit the inside U part of the clevis to make up for very thin teflon washers for a smooth engagement without rubbing metal on metal.
Oh and shortening the threads on the booster too depending how yours is

Easy breezy.
_________________
Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget

[WLD*WSTY]

[ALIKA T3]

[WLD*WSTY]

[Pcforno]

Quick question for those that have done this- my BMW booster didn't come with the insert for the vacuum line. Will my vanagon booster insert fit? Thanks in advance

[ALIKA T3]

[wesitarz]

It seems to me that the distance from booster face to center of clevis pin should be 4 3/8" minimum or stock. Less might cause brake drag ,but more - say 4 1/2 or 4 5/8 would slightly raise the brake pedal,increase leverage and result in a firmer pedal. I thought I read somewhere that a vanagon owner had done it. Thoughts?

[ALIKA T3]

[thasty07]

So I recently did this along with G60 brakes up front. Actually I overhauled the entire Braking system.
New MC
Braided lines
G60 up front
New drum/shoes
New wheel cylinders
And the e30 brake booster


My issue is I still have a lot of travel before I feel any bite in the brakes, I set my depth to the stock booster, I actually went to the junk yard and snagged another vanagon Clevis so I could leave the stock one in place for measuring. I set it to the recommended length and verified off the stock booster but I still have a ton of pedal travel.

I tested all the other items first, I pushed the shoes out till they are dragging a little,pressure bled the crap out of them several times. Still lots of travel.

Just curious if anyone knows if the clevis pin is misadjusted and could cause this? It takes me 20 mins to pull the dash but I don't feel like doing it unless I know for sure that's probably the culprit.

[Pcforno]

Sounds classic for worn out hole where the clutch pedal attaches. Did you check that?

[thasty07]