bleeding brakes

[Rick Leddon]

I put new front cylinders in, new master cylinder, new front rubber brake lines, and ran a new hard line from front to back. The brakes in back looked new, so I didn't do anything with them The buggy has been sitting for at least a year. I went to bleed the brakes, starting with the right rear, using the hose in the bottle method. I got nothing, no bubbles and no fluid. Any advise. Thanks

[MURZ]

Rick

Make sure your shoes are adjusted.

Make sure you have bench bleed the master cylinder.

A vacuum type bleeder---availiable at most parts stores---30 bucks, is a great tool and enables you to bleed the brakes by yourself.

Another tip, and I know I will get slammed for this one, is to buy an extra quart of brake fluid, cut the top off of it and submerge the whole MC into it to bench bleed. I have done this several times and it works great, but can be messy.

[Duner]

Murz,

I think submerging the master is a great idea if you have the means, the larger cars I work with make that a bit difficult but on a bug this is definitely a do able solution. If your just doing the normal bench bleed be paitent taking your time here is the difference between having good pedal response and having mush. You can then utilize a vacuum or pressure bleeder just keep an eye on the resvoir. The biggest problem with beetle brakes is that the master cylinder is lower than the wheel cylinders and does not allow for gravity bleeding. I never tried my Phoenix bleeder (reverse bleeder for difficult hydraulic clutches and brakes) on the bug but maybe I will and see if it works any better.