Driving With Two Brakes - Part Two

necromancer wrote:
> On Sat, 5 Apr 2008 13:17:58 -0500, "Neil" > wrote:
>
>
>>Thanks to everyone for the excellent advice that's been given regarding our
>>situation. We're definitely going to get the car fixed or else just park it.
>>But now there's a slight situation.
>>
>>I talked to the shop that gave the quote, and it was $130, not $110, which
>>is fine. Only thing is, I asked him what would be replaced. He said the
>>wheel cylinders. I asked about the brake shoes, and he said that they just
>>have a little brake fluid on them, so he would just clean them off. I asked,
>>"What if they're soaked in brake fluid?" And he said that he would still
>>just clean them off. As long as they're not falling apart, he said, they
>>should be fine.
>>
>>Does that sound right to you? Leave the brake shoes and just clean them off?
>
>
> Sounds iffy to me. Cleaning them off will get the fluid on the
> surface. As your son drives the car, the shoes will wear down and if
> the fluid has permeated into the shoes, he'll be back -almost- to
> square one with the brakes (just that the cylinders should not be
> leaking).
>
>
>>I took the car in this morning to another place to get a second opinion. He
>>was going to give me a free brake inspection for the rear brakes. But then,
>>when he got to it, he said that the rear drum had bearings, and he would
>>have to repack the bearings, which would be a half hour of labor, and would
>>have to charge me for that. So he didn't take the drum off. But, he said
>>that he saw brake fluid leaking out of the drum which, he said, indicated
>>that brake fluid was definitely in the drum, and, therefore, on the shoes.
>>(Since that was all I needed to know, I didn't need for him to take the drum
>>off.)
>>
>>So, if there's so much brake fluid in the drum that it's leaking out the
>>other side, there must be a fair amount of fluid on the shoes. Would just
>>cleaning the shoes be enough?
>>
>>Thanks!
>
>
> I'm not sure if cleaning would be enogh, but brakes are the one system
> you should never take chances with. I'd play it safe and go ahead and
> replace the shoes and possiblly the drums also if they have been
> soaked in the fluid.

The drums are cast iron, they will clean up fine with Brakleen. However
I wouldn't be surprized if they needed to be replaced as well - I've
found that old VW drums even when still in spec if worn close to max
dia. will not allow the parking brake to grab properly and will also
cause a low brake pedal - it seems that VW's self adjuster wasn't
perfectly matched to the application and runs out of adjustment before
the parts are completely worn out.

However, the good news is, you guessed it, the parts are cheap. I think
I paid about $50 for a pair of drums for my '84 GTI although that was
probably 10 years ago they probably aren't a whole lot more expensive today.

This whole thread is reminding me... WHY THE HELL DID I SELL MY
SCIROCCO? I miss that car...

Too bad the OP isn't near me, I'd pull the car into my driveway and have
it fixed up in a couple hours for parts and a half case of Yuengling...
a brake job on a VW is almost fun, as far as auto repair jobs go.

nate
--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

> Too bad the OP isn't near me, I'd pull the car into my driveway and have
> it fixed up in a couple hours for parts and a half case of Yuengling... a
> brake job on a VW is almost fun, as far as auto repair jobs go.
>

Yes, too bad, indeed! Sounds like fun. And I'm sure my son would love
watching how you do it. Oh well. One day they'll invent ITTs (instant
teleportic transporters), and then things like this will be possible. :-)