braking better

In my last post, I mentioned that I was working on the brakes while alternating between charging and attempting to start the bus. I have continued to do that, and now have the rear brakes completed. I'll cover that work today. I did get the engine to run for about 15 seconds, though, so that's a break-through.

Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it, but are you sure it Ain't Broke?
Brakes on these old buses are not that complicated, but they do require regualr attention, even if everything seems fine. They slowly become less responsive over time if they aren't regularly adjusted, for example. The rubber flex-hoses fail from the inside-out, so you can't see that they are slowly restricting the brake fluid. The fluid itself attracts water moisture, so it needs to be changed every few years. Many times, none of these areas are looked at. "The bus stops (eventually) when I step on the brake pedal, and its old, so I know its supposed to talk a while to completely stop", you may think. That is just dangerous thinking; waiting for a failure.

Brake Fluid
The VW Bus required DOT3 brake fluid. It needs to be bled (air bubbles removed) out of the lines when you perform your oil changes. You're gonna be there when you do your brake adjusting anyway. The old bus brake system is not perfectly sealed, no matter how well maintained it is. This allows moisture into the system, and into the fluid. This reduces its boiling point considerably which lowers its ability to stop you after a few hours of driving. So, when you're getting tired, so are your brakes. To resolve this, every 3 years, the fluid should be changed. This is done by using the same process used to bleed the brakes only much more fluid is removed at the wheel cylinder while the new stuff is fed in at the top (behind the driver seat in the '72.

Adjusting Stars
The old bus has drum brakes on the rear. This was typical in its day. These older brakes were adjusted manually - as the brake shoe wears down, the wear needs to be adjusted in the placement of the shoe against the drum. The biggest pain is knowing which way to turn the star. Follow this:

to move the shoe towards the drum (opposite direction to move away)...
right wheel front: turn down
right wheel rear: turn up
left wheel front : turn up
left wheel rear: turn down

When adjusting, have the wheel raised so you can tell when the brake shoe is against the drum (by turning it). Once you've hit that spot, crank the adjusting star the other direction 3 'clicks'. The wheel should rotate well, though there may be some dragging noise, the brake is well adjusted.

Flex-Hoses and Wheel Cylinders
The rubber lines that connect the hard lines together are rarely replaced by owners anymore. They should be replaced every 10 years or so, but that knowledge is fleeting. The work is not mentally hard, but the lines differ from year to year and wheel to wheel, so order carefully. Most hoses are held into the bus by rusty clips, and the mate point with the hard lines is usually rusty too. PB Blaster everything before you open the system. Get the flare wrench - it will protect your hard line unlike a typical open-end 11mm wrench. Replace the lines and the wheel cylinders one at a time, and do it if you don't know when it was done last. Allow yourself plenty of time.

Baby needs new shoes
I knew the rear shoes hadn't been replaced since I bought my bus 7 or 8 years ago. I did the front brakes when I re-did the front end 3 or 4 years ago. It was that job that spawned this blog, actually. Anyway, 1972 is a switch-over year for rear shoes, and my bus has the "later" model shoes. This is good, as most bay window buses have these, so they should be getting manufactured longer. Unfortunately, I had the older version on-hand, so I need to unload them. The process for replacing drum shoes is pretty well documented in the Bentley book as well as online, so in the interest of length I won't go into it here. I do encourage anyone reading this to buy new adjusting stars, the spring set and wheel cylinders if this is the first time you're doing this bus.

Well, that's it for this time. I need to replace the flex-lines on the front, get the fluid in, bleed the lines etc before the brakes are fully done, but its close. Figure another few hours. Like I said, I was able to get the engine running for about 15 seconds, but that's it. We'll see if I can get more than that. I should have a whole post celebrating that, but I'll hold off until it actually runs for a couple of minutes.