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On 10 Feb 2002, at 21:30, veedub@apartment101.com wrote: > > It is more likely that the rear brakes need to be adjusted. Bleeding is > not > > something that needs to be done on any regular basis, adjusting drum > > brakes needs to be done regularly as the shoes wear. Our drum brakes are > > not self adjusting. > Thanks Jim. In this specific case however, the car had been sitting for 7 > months (more or less) and needed to be bled pretty bad. In fact, I bled > them and they're much better now. I will keep an eye on them however, so > that in a few months they may need to be adjusted, as you mentioned. Sitting for any amount of time should not make bleeding necessary. If you found that bleeding helped (and I agree that it can't hurt) then air got in your system somehow. The most likely place is thru a leak in your system somewhere. A worn rear seal in the MC is a prime candidate. This can sometimes draw in air on the return stroke. In this case the fault is not that air got in while sitting, but that the MC bore rusted while sitting and then when the brakes were used a few times this drew air into them. You may find that your brakes get mushy again soon. If this is the case, you probably need to rebuild your MC. You should also pull up your floor mat and look under your pedal cluster for wetness. If there is any sign of it, or that sickly sweet smell of brake fluid, then the MC is leaking and needs to be fixed. It's important to do this quickly because standard brake fluid will lift the paint from your pan and promote corrosion in that area. Switching to DoT-5 Silicone Brake Fluid will prevent this brake system corrosion while stored problem. Such corrosion is VERY common on stored cars with standard fluid. I use and recommend DoT-5 for ALL air cooled VWs. - Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711-3054 USA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Search old messages on the Web! Visit http://www.vwtype3.org/list/