[T3] Brake Hints!

[Keith Park]

Well put Jim!  And yea, im one of those offenders that really needs to
flush.  The Square is still DOT4, and I rebuilt the master in 1988 and
haven’t touched it since, im pushing it...  I did put a layer of silicone
grease on the exposed cylinder bore back in the day, and my car doesn’t leak
so its not damp down there but im making a mental note to self,
Self...  FLUSH the brakes in the spring!!!!

Keith'


Topnotch Restorations
topnotch at nycap.rr.com
http://www.topnotchresto.com
71 Squareback  “Hothe”
65 Notchback  “El Baja Rojo”
93 RX7  “Redstur”
13 Subaru Outback "Blendin"

-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org <type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org> On
Behalf Of jadney at vwtype3.org
Sent: Sunday, August 28, 2022 2:05 AM
To: type3 at vwtype3.org
Subject: [T3] Brake Hints!

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,

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

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