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On 18 May 2002, at 3:13, Bryan "bc" Castles wrote: > Well, Jim... another one chalked up to you. Thanks for saving me so much > effort by suggesting that I should check the lines before rebuilding the > calipers on my '73 Square. Sure enough it had the stock line on the DS > front, and a replaced line on the PS front. The DS line was collapsed > inside, and wouldn't build enough pressure to stop the wheel, but was > trapping enough fluid to keep the pads pressed against the rotor, wearing > them down really fast. I replaced both lines, and found a pretty good deal at > about 10 bucks per line. Then new pads, and it is stopping again. Good. Sounds like you got yourself a simple fix there, and a good deal on the hoses. > I do have a question related to this though... > How much travel should I have in the pedal? The brakes have been messed up > since I got the car it seems, and my bus is drums, so I'm not sure how far the > pedal should travel. It goes down really far, and just gets tight all of a > sudden. Stops the car pretty well, and does it fairly straight, so I guess it > is working. It's pretty consistent about being that far too. I can't really > "pump them up" to where the pressure occurs at shorter travel. > > Is this okay? Is there anything I should be checking? First you should check the free play in the pedal. Just push it lightly with your finger and you should feel a light clunk as the pedal pushrod meets up with its seat in the MC piston. The pedal should travel ~1/2" before this happens. If yours is too long, you should adjust the pedal stop to get the free play right. [Don't adjust the pushrod! That's set at the factory to take up the tolerance buildup between the body and pan, etc.] The important thing here is that you have SOME free play, but that it be "small." If the travel is still too long then you should check the adjustment of the rear brakes. The other possibility is that you're used to power brakes and what you are feeling in your type 3 is perfectly normal. 3-4" of travel (after the free play) before you feel resistance to your hand is normal. Very small travel is usually a sign of seized up caliper pistons. - ******************************* Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, Wisconsin, USA ******************************* ------------------------------------------------------------------- Search old messages on the Web! Visit http://www.vwtype3.org/list/