Brake ?~@#$%!!

[drew@dyermaker.cs.uoguelph.ca (drew)]

Master cylinders can last a long time if the brake fluid is changed
regulalry.  Brake fluid attracts water, which in turn creates corrosion.

Master cylinders often do go bad all at once, if the seals get torn by
travelling past a rough spot (rust or ridge) in the cylinder.  This often
happens with over-zealous brake bleeding (putting the pedal to the floor
while bleeding the brakes.) Fluid leaking past the piston (so pressure is
returned to the resevoir rather than going down the brake cirucits)
creates the mushy pedal (pedal travel with no braking.)  The worse the
"mush" (ie more pedal, less brakes) the more fluid is getting past the
piston.  A leaking wheel cylinder or line will also cause a mushy pedal,
but because of the diagonal circuit in VW brakes, there should still be
firm pedal near the bottom.  If there's no firm pedal, or no fluid loss,
it's pretty mucha  given that it will be an MC.

When replacing the master cylinder the brakes will need to be bled
thoroughly - a pressure or vaccum system works best.  Of course
when bleeding a system that has not been bled in a long time it may=20
be necessary to replace wheel cylinders or calipers because of
broken bleeder screwes.  This is likely less of a concern in Calif.=20
than it is in the salt belt.

Regular brake fluid service (VW specifies every 2 years) will extend the
life of all brake components.

Drew


On Wed, 24 Jul 2002, Tobias >< wrote:

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>=20
> My suspsension has been pretty poor since I bought the car. The reason I=
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> mentioned that is when I hit bumps I have to worry about the windshield=
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> poping out .... this kind of abuse could easily knock something loose etc=
=2E
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> Does a MC go bad over night? This is really the last thing I need going=
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> wrong... what's the lifespan of a MC typically? This one is probably the=
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> original and has +140k miles on it hrmmmmm...!!.!.
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> Thanks for the input so far, I'll check on those various items.
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> _________________________________________________________________
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Drew MacPherson - '84 Wolfsburg Edition Scirocco TurboDiesel