[T3] Brake issues....
James Lingenfelter
jimmyandcher at yahoo.com
Wed Jul 20 23:49:19 PDT 2011
Hi everybody; I am in the midst of a brake system nightmare with my
'68 squareback, to the extent that I will be forced to sell the car
soon if I can not figure out what is going on and get it drivable.
The story: had a leaking rear wheel cylinder, took it to a VW shop;
they replaced both rear wheel cylinders; they called me and said the
drums were badly scored and should be replaced, but it would take
them a week to get the parts. I said no, brakes felt fine before, I
can't be without the car another week, just put it back together like
it is. I go pick up the car, they tell me they "turned" the drums
because they were so scored and I didn't want to replace them. Brakes
feel fine, pedal firm, they stop well, but then I notice the rears
are dragging. I jack up the rear and can hardly turn the rear wheels
at all. I loosen the star adjusters quite a few notches and they're
still dragging. So I go back to the shop, they tell me the guy who
worked on my car has since been fired for screwing up brake jobs, and
they readjust them for me. I go home, next day, rears dragging again.
Back to the shop, slightly more angry this time. NOW they tell me
that the guy screwed up by "turning" the drums, and they would have
to replace the rear drums (at their own expense of course). They
readjust the rears again, tell me they'll call me when the new drums
come in, and send me on my way. Next day, rears are dragging
again..... this time felt like the wheel was free part of the
rotation, and dragging HARD at only a certain point..... gave a nice
"surging" effect while coasting. This time it was enough that I even
smelled them burning a couple of times.
So the new drums come in, back to the shop. NOW I pick the car up
with the new drums, and the pedal goes NEARLY to the floor. Didn't
seem to be a bleeding issue, because no matter what the pedal never
got any firmer. Back to the shop. Bled the brakes again, adjusted the
rears yet again.... the guy tells me he can't adjust the rears any
more or they'll start dragging. I get in the car, brake pedal goes
nearly to the floor..... tonight I needed to make a somewhat quick
stop from about 40mph, and my foot was feeling the floorboard, and
still hardly any braking power. It's scary to drive. Also there's now
a knocking sound from the rear brakes while braking, that was never
there before.
So here's the current situation: new drums, shoes, and wheel
cylinders in the rear, adjusted to the max; front calipers were just
completely rebuilt/new pads etc. No air in the lines, no fluid loss
anywhere..... and the car is 100% unsafe to drive. What could this be?
I'm currently working about 80 hours a week and have no time to do
any work to the car myself; at this point my only hope is to get some
advice on what the problem might be and pass that on to a mechanic
(since apparently none of them can do a simple brake job without
outside help).
Thanks for taking the time to read...
Jimmy
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