[T3] Brake Bleeding Update

[Jim Adney]

Sean's advise is spot on. To reiterate:

There is only ONE time when it is appropriate to adjust the brake 
pedal pushrod. That's when you KNOW it's been misadjusted by someone 
else AND you have the correct adjusting gauge in hand.

There's no point in bleeding off the bottom of a caliper. If you 
can't get the bleed valve to open, remove the caliper and hang it 
upside down. Then bleed it from the bottom valve, which is now on 
top.

I can probably free up your bleed valve in the course of rebuilding 
the caliper, but if you break it off the price goes WAY up. It sounds 
to me like you really need to buy 3 hoses and 2 caliper rebuilds from 
me. Swapping in old brake parts from your junk pile is just a short 
cut to oblivion. Yeah, I know it seems expensive, but I'm cheaper 
than anyone else, AND I'll do them right, as opposed to the quick and 
dirty jobs you'll get elsewhere (even if they come plated or powder 
coated!) It's what's inside that counts.

Or you can find that guy on the samba who does 914 brakes and pay 
~$275 per caliper. I suspect he does a very good job, too.

Finally, bleeding is something that just has to be done once. Air 
doesn't slowly creep into a working system. Once the system has been 
bled, air won't ever get in it again. So it's unlikely that air is 
any part of your problem.

More comments below.

On 20 Apr 2016 at 16:55, J. Jonik wrote:

> (Doesn't that fluid, and the fact that brakes hold the wheels solidly,
> show that hoses aren't blocked?) 

No, high pressure will always get past the blockage, but low bleeding 
pressure is seldom enough. Try loosening a fitting on the other side 
of one of the non-working hoses.

> I'd hate to just try a new Master Cylinder, just in case that's the
> problem.  Found new master cylinders on-line for about $35.  Worth a
> try? 

For that price, that's probably a beetle MC, which won't work for 
you. And this is probably not an MC problem anyway.

> Long shot:  What about re-adjusting...lengthening...the push-rod from
> pedal to cylinder?  How bad must car rust be to make that go out of
> adjustment?

NEVER!

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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