RE: [T3] Its ALIVE!

["Tad Heckaman" <tad@heckaman.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: BOB2TYPE3S@aol.com [mailto:BOB2TYPE3S@aol.com] 
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2003 12:20 AM
To: tad@heckaman.com
Subject: Re: [T3] Its ALIVE!


Tad wrote:
>Hmm, maybe I should check the bulb, because I don't get any lights, 
>even when I push it. (and the master cylinder is out)

It won't light up then, as it needs the switches to be hooked up. The 
switches work off of hydraulic pressure, and have to have the key on
(power 
to them) for them to work. Same goes for the test light, it needs the 
switches in place, and power to work. Don't worry too much if the test
light 
doesn't work, as your foot will tell you almost the same thing that it
does. 
You can however jump the connection on the switches (or just one switch)
and 
turn the key on to check the rear brake lights. If they don't light up,
then 
you need to look and see if you have power to the switches (verify with 
either a test light or volt meter), or if you have power to the lights
(bad 
bulbs?), as the VW set up is really pretty easy to work with.
>>>
Ok, I did see the brake lights come on before I pulled the master
cylinder.
>Ok, what are more common, Ghia or Type 3 parts? I think AutoZone has 
>many of the parts I would need (master cylinder, calipers, etc with 
>lifetime warranty too).

If you can get type3 parts, do so, but most places will have Ghia parts
in 
stock, or can get them in sooner. If you have a 72 or 73 then you need
type3 
only parts, as the Ghia won't interchange. We (the list too) need to
know 
what year you're working on. If it was me, while I was in there I'd
replace 
the rubber hoses as they have a tendency to swell up on the inside 
restricting flow to the calipers (common on older VWs, bugs too). I only
say 
that because this seems to be a common problem over the years with these
cars 
(most are at least 30 years old). The hose ages and swells shut keeping 
pressure on the brake pads and not releasing them causing either a pull
or 
lock up and or squeal. I hope this helps.
>>>
Yes, we are going to replace all the rubber hoses, but I don't know
about the brake lines, should I replace them?


Doug

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