I had the opportunity to work in a new client's 67 Beetle. The guy was telling me that he and his wife took the car to a regular shop for brake repair. The car needed to pump several times in order to brake some; the braking was mainly achieve by the rear tires.
The guy from the shop had the Beetle for about a month and he replaced leaky brake lines but without success in making the brake pedal to get hard. Unfortunately, the owner had to take his car back without the job done and pay for the line replacement and some other charges.
Upon inspection, the Beetle was showing brake fluid leakage in the brake pedal push rod to the master cylinder signaling replacement. Both front wheels had bad brake wheel cylinders and one bad in the rear driver's side. All three were leaking but the front ones were due to bad seals whereas the rear one was rusty. I replaced the master cylinder and both front wheel cylinders and I just cleaned the one in the back by honing it and removing the rust gunk from the seals.
The procedure for replacing such parts in a Beetle is very straightforward. However, it is good to keep in mind a few tips when removing and installing the master cylinder and make some checks before doing bleeding work; these tips will save you time and frustration.
One troublesome step in removing the master cylinder (MC) is loosening the line fittings. Usually, rust develops between the line and the fitting and that can make them stubborn to loose. In turn, you may strip the fittings' shoulders. In order to reduce the risk of this issue, spray the fittings with some PB Blaster or your favorite penetrating oil at least 15 minutes prior removing the MC. The more time they are soaked, the increased likelihood that they will loose easily. In the mean time, you can drain the brake fluid from the reservoir. For removing the fittings, you need a 11mm wrench; if you have a flare nut wrench do not hesitate in using but always go easy and firm while turning because you can even strip the fittings with those. In my case, the fittings from the front lines were really stuck and I new they would strip. I did not had a flare nut spanner, so I soaked with PB Blaster the other end of the lines where they connect with the brake hoses. Luckily, I was able to loose from that end and, luckily, the fitting from the line going to the rear brakes loosed also. Then, I was able to slide the closed end of the wrench through the line and remove the fitting at the MC. If you take that route, you will need a 17mm wrench in order to hold the brake hose when loosening. Usually, the fittings on that end are more readily to turn loose. If you are unable to remove the lines, you may try with a vise grip but that will turn bad very likely. At the end, if you are not able to remove them, it is better to cut the lines and make yourself new ones with new fittings. The fittings are M10x1.00mm thread and you can buy them in any convenient auto parts store; these fittings come in Japanese cars and you will need to buy 3/16" diameter brake line as well as a double flare tool.
The MC is hold by two 12mm bolts that you remove from inside the car. Finally, you remove the reservoir lines to the MC and pull it out. Replace with a new MC. It is recommend to bench bleed the new or rebuilt MC before installation in order to reduce the time in bleeding the system; however, if you do not bench bleed it, it should not be a reason of why you cannot get the brakes hard. I will give more information about this later below.
The easiest method is a two man job. In my case, I had my mom helping to bleed the brakes. At first, the owner helped me in pushing the pedal, but he was doing it too fast and hard which eventually created more air in the system. He could not follow simple directions of going firm and slow for three times for each opening of the valve. After bleeding each wheel three times, I had the brake pedal hard but then one of the front brake hoses burst. After replacing it, the 67 Bug had brakes in a matter of a day vs a guy who worked a month without getting the brakes done. Obviously, he replaced the brake lines but that takes at most one day of labor if you have not experience in making the tube flaring.
I hope you find this article informative. I do not have pictures about the procedure but my 74 Bug project needs brake job and I will certainly make an article about it with images. Leave your thoughts or questions at the bottom.
Thanks !
The guy from the shop had the Beetle for about a month and he replaced leaky brake lines but without success in making the brake pedal to get hard. Unfortunately, the owner had to take his car back without the job done and pay for the line replacement and some other charges.
Upon inspection, the Beetle was showing brake fluid leakage in the brake pedal push rod to the master cylinder signaling replacement. Both front wheels had bad brake wheel cylinders and one bad in the rear driver's side. All three were leaking but the front ones were due to bad seals whereas the rear one was rusty. I replaced the master cylinder and both front wheel cylinders and I just cleaned the one in the back by honing it and removing the rust gunk from the seals.
The procedure for replacing such parts in a Beetle is very straightforward. However, it is good to keep in mind a few tips when removing and installing the master cylinder and make some checks before doing bleeding work; these tips will save you time and frustration.
Master Cylinder
One troublesome step in removing the master cylinder (MC) is loosening the line fittings. Usually, rust develops between the line and the fitting and that can make them stubborn to loose. In turn, you may strip the fittings' shoulders. In order to reduce the risk of this issue, spray the fittings with some PB Blaster or your favorite penetrating oil at least 15 minutes prior removing the MC. The more time they are soaked, the increased likelihood that they will loose easily. In the mean time, you can drain the brake fluid from the reservoir. For removing the fittings, you need a 11mm wrench; if you have a flare nut wrench do not hesitate in using but always go easy and firm while turning because you can even strip the fittings with those. In my case, the fittings from the front lines were really stuck and I new they would strip. I did not had a flare nut spanner, so I soaked with PB Blaster the other end of the lines where they connect with the brake hoses. Luckily, I was able to loose from that end and, luckily, the fitting from the line going to the rear brakes loosed also. Then, I was able to slide the closed end of the wrench through the line and remove the fitting at the MC. If you take that route, you will need a 17mm wrench in order to hold the brake hose when loosening. Usually, the fittings on that end are more readily to turn loose. If you are unable to remove the lines, you may try with a vise grip but that will turn bad very likely. At the end, if you are not able to remove them, it is better to cut the lines and make yourself new ones with new fittings. The fittings are M10x1.00mm thread and you can buy them in any convenient auto parts store; these fittings come in Japanese cars and you will need to buy 3/16" diameter brake line as well as a double flare tool.The MC is hold by two 12mm bolts that you remove from inside the car. Finally, you remove the reservoir lines to the MC and pull it out. Replace with a new MC. It is recommend to bench bleed the new or rebuilt MC before installation in order to reduce the time in bleeding the system; however, if you do not bench bleed it, it should not be a reason of why you cannot get the brakes hard. I will give more information about this later below.
Wheel Cylinders
My client's 67 Beetle had three leaking wheel cylinders. The two in the front were doomed. The seals in the front ones were rotten but the cylinders were in good shape; however, they were replaced with new ones. The one in the back was only stuck due rust on the pistons and basically the brake fluid seeped trough the seals. The cylinder was cleaned and honed, the pistons were cleaned, and the seals were replaced.Bleeding the System
When bleeding the system, you want to keep in mind to start in the farthest wheel to the MC and work your way to the closest. Also, since this vehicle is brake drums in four wheels, you need to make sure that the brakes are adjusted before the bleeding. If you do not adjust the brakes, you will spend hours and hours figuring out why in the world the pedal does not get hard--actually, I experienced that with a 68 VW Kombi and learned the hard way. I usually adjust the shoes until you are unable to turn the wheel by hand. Then, you just back up a little the star adjuster until you are able to make the wheel spin one revolution (from 12 o'clock to 12 o'clock). I usually start with gravity bleeding where you just open the bleeding valve at each wheel, one at a time. Let it bleed for half to one minute each wheel. This certainly makes a difference when you start bleeding with the MC pumping. If it is a one man job, you will need a brake fluid receiver with some fluid on it, an appropriate size of clear vinyl tubing that you will place from the bleeding valve to the receiver, and 4 small zip ties. The tube going to the receiving jar must be submerged into the fluid and the jar needs to have a relief hole for the air to scape. The other end of the tube must be placed at the bleeding valve and tighten with a zip tie in order to prevent air coming into the system between the valve and tube. The idea is to displace the air from the tube to the jar with the fluid coming from the system. Also, it will allow you to see if there is still air in that line due to bubbles in the tube.The easiest method is a two man job. In my case, I had my mom helping to bleed the brakes. At first, the owner helped me in pushing the pedal, but he was doing it too fast and hard which eventually created more air in the system. He could not follow simple directions of going firm and slow for three times for each opening of the valve. After bleeding each wheel three times, I had the brake pedal hard but then one of the front brake hoses burst. After replacing it, the 67 Bug had brakes in a matter of a day vs a guy who worked a month without getting the brakes done. Obviously, he replaced the brake lines but that takes at most one day of labor if you have not experience in making the tube flaring.
I hope you find this article informative. I do not have pictures about the procedure but my 74 Bug project needs brake job and I will certainly make an article about it with images. Leave your thoughts or questions at the bottom.
Thanks !
Comments
Post a Comment