As I bought the van in the summer I just wanted to take a look at the brakes all around to make sure there is nothing excessively worn. I haven’t had a suitable area to do this until now. I am quite pleased with everything and it all looks in good condition with plenty of life in the pads and shoes. I decided to adjust the rear shoes now and then the handbrake. The Haynes manual says to turn the adjusters until you can’t turn them anymore and the wheel is locked up tight. Then back off the adjusters 2-3 clicks. It takes backing off the adjusters at least 6 clicks to move the wheel again and even then it’s slightly dragging. Can someone clarify of the Haynes method is correct as I see there are other methods people are doing? Also can anyone tell me whether there is a washer gasket for the brake switch on the master cylinder and whether this is usually included with a new switch?
Have you slackened off the handbrake cables before touching the star adjusters for the shoes? No washer on the brake switch it’s a tapered thread
^this. Give the footbrake a good stomp, rotate the wheel then wind the adjuster out until it starts binding. Back it off a bit until doesn't. Stomp on the brake again to check.
But you don't want any drag or things will heat up and the brakes will drag even more. If after the stomping it still takes 6 clicks, my view is... whatever.
What usually happens is that the drums wear & you get a lip on the inner and outer edge. When you adjust the shoes up they often catch on the lip & you get the binding effect. It’s a good idea to get a grinding wheel in a drill & grind the lip off. Either that or replace the drums, but beware of poor quality ones.
Is the correct procedure to wind the adjusters fully on and then back them off or wind them on till the shoes start touching/binding and then back them off. The handbrake is fully released and drums spinning freely before adjustment.
Handbrake off. Wind them on until you can't turn the wheel, a bit of forwards/backwards helps to centre the shoes as you go. Then back them off until you can freely turn the wheel. Minor scraping noises can be ignored but they shouldn't drag at all. You'll be turning the diff in the gearbox too but you'll be able to tell the difference between that and dragging brakes.
So is this guide wrong and Haynes right? http://www.vw-resource.com/adjust1.html This guide talks about turning the adjusters until there is slight drag and then backing them off 2-3 turns. Haynes talks about turning them until you can’t anymore and wheel is fully locked and then backing them off 1-2 clicks.
Common sense. You're setting the shoes as near to the drums as possible to reduce pedal travel and time between adjustments, without dragging. That's it! 1 turn 2 turns, hard, soft... whatever. Now, the reason for the hard + to a fro/stamp on pedal and back off is purely to ensure the shoes are centred so you can achieve the above if for example you fitted new shoes. If you're just adjusting simply take up the slack and ensure they aren't dragging. If you have a lot of pedal travel and the handbrake pulls right out of the dash - too loose. If you smell hot brakes - too tight. Nice travel and handbrake back to 6 clicks - you ae golden. Think about what you are trying to achieve rather than counting clicks then wondering why your wheels are hot and the brakes are smoking!
This reminds me I ought to do mine, it's been 6 years and the handbrake is pulling out 3x as far as it should.
It is correct to a good braking system... May be some parts of yours are not in best shape through the years. With all the classic cars I bought, I first overhauled the all-important braking system. Have adjusted mine at the restoration and 3 years ago and it worked fine as in the Alps offroad and gravel roads. Could stand by handbrake at extreme slope gradients. The German biennial TÜV approval include brake tests and have good values - ask your workshop for a test. (my handbrake test values for 17% deceleration 200 to 250 daN in the past 12 years - better than my daily driver new VW) As already said: it normally have a tapered thread so no washer needed. But at my small research (price range from 5€ to 18€) some years ago, I saw a lot of cheap Asia trash on the market that did fit the normal requirements of this part. So better use known brands as Ate or Bosch - and not the no names which not all have tapered threads. regards,
Trouble for us here in the UK is that's it takes a bit of searching around to get what we think are decent quality switches. ATE brand are available from Autodoc but the main sellers just seem to offer the same basic quality. That's for the 3 pin ... ... 515G suffix btw. I think genuine VW have been nla for some years. I've had a couple of these leak, not burst like @77 Westy did , straight out of the box. I carry a couple of spares now under the drivers seat.
That wasn’t mine but I have done away with the hydraulic switch completely and replaced it with a mechanical switch on the pedal.
I dont suppose you know the difference between 113 945515.1 ? Google says VW transporter, does not narrow it down too much. I have a few NOS FAG ones. https://www.daguannoricambi.it/vw-m...porsche-911-vw-audi-1139455151-113945515.html
I fitted ERA (Italian) pressure switches a few years ago and so far, so good, about £7 each from Euro Parts i think
Its also worth giving the wheels a full turn when you think the brakes are just dragging.. if you warp the rear drums by driving around with them getting too hot, you may find that just rubbing at e.g. 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock is locked solid at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock ..
I took mine for its MOT to a local garage a few years ago - they said it was failing on poor handbrake and they said they would "nip them up" for me and it would pass - next day I set off for the Lakes and it resulted in smoke coming off the back wheels and massive brake fade.
I had the same issues after an 'aircooled specialist' took it on himself to service the rear brakes (after some big welding work) resulting in plumes of smoke a mile down the road . Limped home and reset them myself the next day - job done .... Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
