An update on the stupid brakes I haven't gotten around to

[roccit_53 at scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca (C Boyko)]

Sounds like time for an intervention! You're a member of BPA, right? (Brake
Procrastinators Amonymous) I sure am, I finally, after how many months,
have the stuff sitting around the preimeter of my daily to do front discs
and pads. I'm sure it won't be so bad, if it was an A1 it would have been
done long ago, but I need therapy or something where the Beetle is
concerned, never a happy outcome. Probably because I dropped her once, and
she rememmbers (and gravity sucks her down right fast too, in that case, it
was onto her aluminum oil pan and brake rotors, yeouch).

So what's going on with these drums? I have pictures of mine apart if that
would help. I'm not really in a rush to swap mine for discs, the car stops
well enough with the drums for what I need it to do. Anyway, email me if
you want virtual assistance, back drums I've done quite a few times, (as
opposed to front calipers which I've done once and had big breakage
problems with, makes me nervous, but I'm back there shortly anyways)

I'm guessing the bar that pushes things out you're referring to is the
wheel cylinder, I generally have spares when I do drums, one always wants
replacing (read: breaks) and they're  a pairs deal (and then you're into
bleeding). And the flat hunk of metal on a weak spring is likely that
little tensioning wedge, it just needs reinstalling, its job is to adjust
as the shoes wear out.

can't help you with the disc conversion, does he need to go up to the
firewall and look at different MCs for that?
Cathy


 On 5:52 am 08/05/06 Jacob Hawes <gr8hunter1@comcast.net> wrote:
> Last we left our lazy but still heroic rocco owner (really, you must
> be a hero to own a scirocco): the front brakes and suspension was
> complete and the rear drums with one broken e-brake cable were being
> a nuisance. Skip to the last paragraph for the condensed version.
>
> Ok, so I still need to replace the parking brake cables. The rear
> shoes seemed to have enough meat on them to last a while longer.
> Following the bentley (which I should check to make sure I didn't
> misread something considering the way you guys reacted last time I
> mentioned this) I pressed the brake pedal down with a drum off to
> make sure the shoes moved evenly. I think this is where the parking
> brake, whatever it is called, the cross bar that pushes the shoes
> out, slipped off of the front shoe. There is also a tab that was
> connected to a light spring that fell out.
>
> Since then I have tried a couple of times to get that brake thing
> back on and to take the whole thing apart to remove the brake cable
> but I have not made any progress. I really need to sit down with the
> bentley and see if I'm missing something.
>
> So anyway, with the trouble this is causing I am considering just
> taking the whole thing off and doing a disc brake conversion. I won't
> be doing it myself. I'll hire this done. My family has been going to
> this one guy for a couple years now and we trust him. He said that he
> hasn't done this kind of thing with a scirocco before but he has done
> disk conversions. What is different in doing this with a scirocco
> compared to... anything else? Also I am buying the parts so, what
> parts do I need exactly? There is a vw junk yard in town and a couple
> more generic yards.
>
> --
>     --Jacob Hawes
> Cars:
>     '80 Scirocco mk1 searching for a name
> Sharp pointy things:
>     18" HI Kobra "pillow knife"
>     17.5" HI Ang Khola Villager "camp axe"
>     ~48" Custom XVII longsword. unnamed
> My Photobucket:
> http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v310/yoippari/
>
>
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