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Brakes gone - Now sticking.

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benjicon Officially Full-On Dubber

266 posts · joined Aug 2009 ·

#811903
Hey guys,

On Saturday I took my beetle out for a spin and noticed straight away the brakes were gone, pedal was almost hitting the floor, i drove for a bit longer and it got worse, pulled into repco and looked in the brake fluid reservoir, it was empty and blowing bubbles out the little pipe at the bottom of the reservior when I pushed on the brake pedal.

I filled it with brake fluid and the brakes got firmer and worked , well enough to drive any way.

I have been driving for 3 days like that, and the pedal was noticeably spongey, it would start firm, the sink about 2 inches then bite again, I think thats just because there is air in the brake line and it needs to be bled.

now today I am driving along, and the pedal got really firm, very little travel before it started to brake, and I noticed the motor laboring a little bit, then I stopped and I realized the brakes had started sticking, I was stopped on a small incline and I took my foot off the brake and it didn't roll back.

I stopped using the foot brake in traffic and relied more on the hand brake for take offs and then the pedal loosened up a bit and came back to normal.

Whats causing the sticking now ? Is it all to do with the brakes needing bleeding or is it more complicated than that ?

Cheers.. Ben.
No i'm not repainting it.

benjicon Officially Full-On Dubber

266 posts · joined Aug 2009 ·

#811922
Any takers on this ? No ideas ? I'm trying to work out if I should take this to someone to be seen too .. or if its a simple fix I can do.
No i'm not repainting it.

Pollywaffle .:Ben:.

385 posts · joined Aug 2009 ·

#811924
I've never fixed a brake in my life, so I'm not educated in this. But from what I've read in books etc, the brakes would have to be bled. To do this, I believe you disconnect the brake line, pump the brake pedal until the fluid is spurting out and then reconnect it. You have to get all of the air out of the lines.

(I know some of you are laughing at my poor knowledge :P)

Sides Veteran Volks Folk

2,220 posts · joined May 2007 ·

#811925
Umm... you really drove around on brakes that needed bleeding for 3 days ??? Seriously dude... REALLY bad idea, and just asking for trouble... brakes should be perfect or the car shouldn't be driven IMHO.

🤪

Maybe you're taking the p!ss, and if so then yeah - I've bitten.

Anyway, for the brake fluid level to have gotten down to nothing then you most likely have a leak somewhere... or else it's been neglected/not checked for a very long time. Could be a leaking hose or hard line or a shot wheel cylinder(s). Likewise brakes seizing on could be a dead cylinder(s) or a blocked (collapsed) line not letting the fluid away from the cylinder. The brakes gradually letting off could be that the fluid has eventually come back to the master cylinder, or it could be that you've cooked them, or ground the linings off the offending (seized) shoe.

Combine all that and really it's best to get someone involved who knows about brake systems.... I don't think you should try to fix it yourself.

Oh and don't follow pollywaffle's suggestion of disconnecting a brake line - that'll just lead to more issues (sorry dude)

👍
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vw54 Administrator Always Waiting 4 Friday

16,723 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#811932
if the brakes are sticking on and i presume u have a really old Beetle then the rubber flex hoses may be perrished on the inside and not allowing the pressure to be released when yr foot is off the pedal

I think u need to find a decent brake or VW workshop and get some repairs done

BEFORE U KILL YRSELF or someone else
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benjicon Officially Full-On Dubber

266 posts · joined Aug 2009 ·

#812068
Thanks guys, Its booked in at Tires n More Stanmore, they said they'll check it out and tell me what wrong, then I can source the parts from Classic when I know whats needed.
No i'm not repainting it.