Braking News

You're wondering: is it good news, or bad?  Well, it's a bit of both.  First the bad news.  The front brake shoes, which looked pretty good from the side, didn't look so good when I took everything apart.  Plenty of pad left, but what was there was cracked, pitted, and brittle.  My prediction is that the back shoes will be in similar condition.  I won't tackle that until the front ones are finished (for starters, I don't have enough jack stands).

The good news is that the brake hardware cleaned up very nicely using the multimedia blaster and ultrasonic cleaners at work:

Outlook is that I will get my wheel cylinders and new hardware on Monday.  I will probably use all new hardware, and keep the above set as extras.  (Why not?  I'm planning on this set of brakes lasting a long, long time!)

Right Front Brake Disassembled

Tonight I disassembled my front right brakes.  It went much better than the left side, mainly because I knew what I was doing.  The biggest problem was the top adjuster star nut (same one that was horribly frozen on the driver's side).

The brake hardware is not in terrible condition, but it's all pretty rusty.  I marred the adjuster nut a little trying to get it off (it was really frozen).  Tomorrow it all goes into the ultrasonic cleaner, and we'll see what comes out.  Regardless of how it looks, I am inclined to change out all the springs, adjusters - I already have new kits on the way.

The wheel cylinder is pretty rusty.  I find it hard to believe it moves very freely, though this brake did seem to work better than the left side.  Unlike the left, I didn't see any seepage under the seal.  I'll replace it anyway.

Brake Trouble

I got my Thing inspected.  It failed only because of a broken windshield wiper motor.  I have since fixed the motor (more on this later) ... but on the way home from the shop, the front left brake locked.  I'm not sure if it was the stress of its first car full of people, or "Mechanic's Entropy," but as Rytek pointed out the star adjuster nuts are VERY rusty.

I am probably going to replace the adjusters and wheel cylinders all around, and bleed the system.  I will decide once I get a look inside.  Step 1, though, is to get the drum off.  I have been on Step 1 all day.

VW Thing Fun and Maintenance

When I was a kid my dad gave me an oscilloscope and a function generator.  This started me on a journey that turned into a career.  I love what I do, but it's all in the world of electronics and software.  I'm mechanically challenged.

I bought this 1973 Volkswagen Thing for three reasons.  First, I have thought they were cool since my friend Eric and I used to gawk at them on Long Island as teenagers.  Second, opportunity arose - I found this old thing on Cape Cod, within driving (well, towing) distance, almost all original and in pretty good condition but needing some attention here and there.  Finally, I want to be a little less "mechanically challenged."

This is supposed to be a hobby, a learning experience, and oh yeah something fun to drive for the brief but wonderful Rochester summer.

I'll try to make it interesting.  :-)

--Chris