[T3] Brake Hints!

[jadney at vwtype3.org]

I've been doing a lot of brake part rebuilding for Type 3 people this summer, and one thing 
that I've noticed is that nobody does anything about their brake hydraulics as long as it works.

I'm writing to encourage everyone to take a bit of time to flush fresh brake fluid thru their 
system every few years. Suck the old fluid out of the reservoir, refill with fresh, dry, DoT-4, 
and flush this thru all 4 wheels until everything comes out clean.

Standard brake fluid likes to absorb moisture right out of the air. It does that even if you live in 
a dry climate. When it does that, it becomes corrosive. There are several places where this is 
a problem: the mouth of the MC (master cylinder) is the worst of these. I'm seeing MC after 
MC this summer with pitting just inside the mouth that has rendered another MC as 
un-rebuildable.

I used to see NOS OEM Type 3 MCs on ebay for about $125, but those seem to have 
disappeared. The price is now ~$US250, and there don't seem to be many of those. The 
price will be going up.

I can send pitted MCs out to be sleeved. That increases your cost from $65 (rebuilding) to 
around $200 (sleeving and rebuilding.) Sleeving is a great option, as the stainless steel 
sleeve is a perfect match to the cast iron MC, but that extra expense can be avoided if you 
would just flush good quality DoT-4 brake fluid thru your systems every few years. This is 
cheap preventitive maintence. In the later years, VW started suggesting doing this every 2 
years.  I think this is extreme for most of us, but most people NEVER do it, and that's an 
expensive mistake. Have you ever flushed YOUR brake system?

I HATE it when I have to email someone and tell them that their old MC is not rebuildable for 
a reasonable price. Don't be one of those people.

FYI, if you really care about your car and its brakes, switch to DoT-5 Silicone Brake Fluid. It 
does not absorb moisture and it doesn't become corrosive when it sits in the car. It never 
needs to be flushed and replaced. I find that it extends the service interval for MCs, wheel 
cylinders, and brake calipers almost indefinitely. It costs more up front, but saves time, 
money and aggravation in the long run. I use it and recommend it for all Type 3s. I have a 
writeup on installing and using it. Email me if you want a copy.

And, BTW, if you have a few old Type 3 MCs lying around the garage floor, thinking they are 
your backup spares, they are now junk.  If they have been sitting there for more than a few 
months with old brake fluid in them, they will need to be sleeved before they will be usable. I'll 
pay shipping for cores for sleeving, just to keep them from being trashed.

thanks for reading,

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