[T3] Brake Hints!

[William Jahn]

I worry about how long it's been since I replaced all the old fluid. It's
not that I never did , I remove as much from the reservoir then add new.
It's been since 98 since I replaced all the fluid. And new MCs are not
cheap. I read somewhere even new ones sitting too long , even plugged might
need new seals. I read this , but I don't know how true it is.

On Sat, Aug 27, 2022 at 11:05 PM <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:

> 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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