Right then, did some work on the jetta this weekend which included new calipers discs and pads up front :thumb: nice i thought gti brakes up front will sort out the scary stopping distance :tongue:

however.... after fitting every thing and bleeding the brakes they just dont work :confused: when the engines off they feel rock hard, but with the engine on the pedal just goes to the floor with the resistance of water :shifty: also the pads dont appear to move at all, when i rolled the car forward with the engine on and dipped the clutch or lifted off the accelerator it was like i was jumping on the brakes like they're stuck on?

so we loosened the caliper mounting bolts and bled the brake system again and nearly got brake fluid in my eye :roll: but this didn't make an hapeth of difference?

does anyone know if i need to wind the brake piston back in or anything as we just stuck the new calipers straight on without adjusting them at all, also the calipers seem a bit loose when we fit them, does the pressure of the piston keep it all in place?

any advice would be great, thanks :thumb:

I'm pretty sure you don't need to adjust the calipers and I'm also pretty sure they should not be loose.

I'm just thinking out loud here, if it were me I would check the servo vacume pipe for leaks, re-bleed the brakes, inspect the calipers for anything obvious.....then if that still didn't fix it, scratch my head.

How did you bleed the brakes? I read somewhere once that if you do it the old fashoned "pump the pedal" way, it can damage a seal/o-ring in the master cylinder.

So, as you can see, my reply is so vague and possibly full of mis-information that it's of no use at all.....I really should of just kept quiet...... :thumb: :lol:

the callipers were new/ re conditioned ones from euro car parts, we did use a draper brake bleed kit which is basiccaly a bottle and a tube where you have to pump the pedal to work it, so i'll check the master cylinder, servo and pipes next weekend when i'm workin on it next, and also compare how we;ve got it set up to the diagram
cheers leon :thumb:

Did you bleed all 4 or just the front 2??
You could have air in the master or in some t pieces/valves if you them.
I would bleed again futhest corner 1st and work in to the closest corner to the master. should be rear drivers, rear pass,front drivers, front pass.
I would also losen the master end and pump there to to push air out..
Are the pads snug against the disks? they should be!!!
Also can you see any movement in the cylinders at all??

only bled the front two brakes but i'm fitting new drums, pads, cylinders, etc next weekend so it'll have to all be bled again anyway,

the front pads are really snug against the discs and i cant feel any movement in the calipers at all when working the brake pedal, there does seem to be a little brake fluid escaping from the bleed nipple, but not from the end where it should, from the mating faces like where the thread goes? should the nipples be torqed up or just as tight as i can get em?

when you say loosen the master do you mean where the metal pipes go into the master cylinder, or where the master clinder meets the servo?

sounds like air in them pal! youv probably bled through what was left in the pipes and filled them with air not fluid, undo the nipples on calipers and leave them open for an hour or so and keep an eye on the master cylinder, keep topping it up.

also dont over do the nipples! just nip them thats it, id try taking them back off make sure you havent pulled the threads out the caliper!

does the car roll when in neutral?

nice, undo the nipples and wait an hour or so, i like the sound of that a nice easy job :thumb: ,

car doesnt roll in neutral :roll: which i guess it should :lol:

cant get at the car till the weekend so all this is good stuff to get in my head before gettin on the job :thumb:

thanks everyone :thumb:

yea, but if youve got fluid coming out around the thread of the bleep nipple when you press pedal isnt good! thats your first thing to find out why its doing that!

calipers will of been wound back when you got em, thats not a problem. why theyve jammed i dont know over here

Is the Jetta in Burnley J? Gimme a shout if you need another helping hand. :thumb:

cheers neil, but its in leeds at my sisters, :roll:

right so i took the back drums off tonight before it went dark ready for fitting the rear drums pads, cylinders, and bearings, and also to do a bleed of the full system but where do I bleed the rear drums?

all i can think is its the hex bolt type bit shown here on the slave cylinder (I think thats what its called)


or is it on the back plate of the drum?

advice would be great :thumb:

Should be a bleed nipple on the rear of the backplate J :thumb:

Will it have a brake pressure compensator?
:confused:
sometimes they stick

Looks like you're missing a nipple Jamie! :shock:

I think MK1 and MK2 Golfs are pretty much the same when it come's to the rear drums, this is where the nipple should be -



And this is a picture of a new one, I tried to take it at the same sort of angle as your picture.

Leon likes his nipples! :roll:

I like nipples in general Paul, but only after I put a quick squirt of penetrating fluid on them - makes them easier to tweek. :thumb:

yeah does look like a nipple is missing! strip them down and get a new brake cylider on there :thumb:

the brake compensator is the thing in the first pic

yep youre all right :thumb: the old nipples had sheared off, god knows what the last owner was doing to em, whipped em out and fitted new cylinders, pads, n drums bled the whole system making my way towards the master cylinder and servo and they all work a treat now :D :thumb: thanks a lot for the help guys, think i'm gonna need a new compensator and copper pipes at some point but the brakes are great for the mo :)

lovely job man :thumb:

if i was you id get a wire brush and have a rub back of the cack and crud! clean the pipes and compensator then lather it all in copper grease, should keep them going a few more years :wink:

I think Matt has the better idea Leon, rubbing copper grease on his nipples, this means more fun for longer! :thumb:

Lol :lol: Glad it's sorted J :thumb:

youve not been mine for freaky friday grim :wink: