VL brakes still no pedal feel

[AJ-VL-23]

Hi, my vl had crap brakes when i got it, so i replaced the pads, recon'd the calipers, i replaced the rear shoes and slave cylinders,

still no good, replaced the vacuum booster and then just recently replaced the master cylinder, bleeded it each time

and still i get no brakes all pedal untill you get to the end and bang it grabs all at once and the car almost goes ass up and chews the front tires


this is the only vl i have ever driven i am unsure if they just have spongy brakes, but i think that mine is still broken either way, what do you guys suggest, it is no way safe to drive on the road this way

[88GreenVN]

Hi, my vl had crap brakes when i got it, so i replaced the pads, recon'd the calipers, i replaced the rear shoes and slave cylinders,

still no good, replaced the vacuum booster and then just recently replaced the master cylinder, bleeded it each time

and still i get no brakes all pedal untill you get to the end and bang it grabs all at once and the car almost goes ass up and chews the front tires


this is the only vl i have ever driven i am unsure if they just have spongy brakes, but i think that mine is still broken either way, what do you guys suggest, it is no way safe to drive on the road this way

Sounds like the booster is stuffed to me...

Check vac line too.

[AJ-VL-23]

the booster was second hand, so it may be stuffed, bummer thats the most annoying one to change, the vac line is good and so is that valve thingo on the end, i'll get another booster and try that thanks

[88GreenVN]

My 88 wagon was rear ended some time ago and the daughter had her foot on the brake peddle at the time. This killed the booster and made the brakes behave like a manual setup. Once replace the brake peddle was fixed - real good feel again.

I then put a VT booster and M/C into the VN - not looked back from then on. Brakes are super. PM Markovr on this forum if you think this could be a way to go.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Are the rear brakes adjusted up properly?

Has the brake switch on the master cylinder been reset? To do that undo it until you hear a click, then do it back up.

[AJ-VL-23]

Are the rear brakes adjusted up properly?

Has the brake switch on the master cylinder been reset? To do that undo it until you hear a click, then do it back up.

as far as i know the rear brakes are self adjusting, either pull the handbrake a few times or brake hard whilst in reverse i don't remember,

i'm not sure what a brake switch is, where is it located on the master cylinder?

[Budz]

did you bench bleed the maaster cyl be4 installing it

[AJ-VL-23]

Ah no, a lot of bubbles came out of it though, and we did bleed the system normally

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The rear brakes still need adjusting properly. You have to back the hand brake right off then adjust the shoes until the wheel won't turn, back off a couple of clicks until it does turn then adjust your hand brake up again.

[Budz]

you need to bench bleed the master cylinder otherwise you will have permanent airlock in your brake system i did this on my old vb could neva get air out it always kept comin back. if you dnt want brake fluid going all over you engine bay pull master back off car. than you need to push piston in master to pump fluid through before lettin piston return cover the holes for the brake line.

[AJ-VL-23]

okay, then do i hold it in until i put the brake lines back onto it?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

You refit the little plastic bungs that were in the ports when you took it out of the box. There is no pressure in there so they will stop the fluid leaking out.

[AJ-VL-23]

i see i don't have any because i didn't buy a new one

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

You can still bleed it on the car. But you need to pressure bleed, force air pressure into the reservoir and open all bleeders at the same time.

[AJ-VL-23]

at which point do you close the bleeders? what would you use to apply the pressure

[jatsvl]

and start bleeding the line furthest from the master then work your way back to the closest,
e.g. Left/rear then R/Rear, then front left and R/Front.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

There is a special unit that can do it, it is a tank that has a diaphragm in it and the top half has brake fluid in it and you pressurize the bottom half. There is an attachment that goes onto the reservoir and seals with a hose connected to the fluid tank. It pressurizes the system and force all the air out. You close off the bleeders once no more bubbles come from the bleeders.

[AJ-VL-23]

and start bleeding the line furthest from the master then work your way back to the closest,
e.g. Left/rear then R/Rear, then front left and R/Front.

i've already done this, but i assume i will still have this "permanent air lock" we were talking about,

should i just take it to a brake place, i don't have many special tools or people to help me do this, so maybe a brake place is the go?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

A brake place can pressure bleed it.

Does the pedal pump up at all?

Another thing, there is a small rubber reaction disc the sits in the booster, if this is missing it will do exactly what you are experiencing. It sits in the pedal side of the booster.

[AJ-VL-23]

A brake place can pressure bleed it.

Does the pedal pump up at all?

Another thing, there is a small rubber reaction disc the sits in the booster, if this is missing it will do exactly what you are experiencing. It sits in the pedal side of the booster.

this is possible as i changed the booster myself, i don't recall what any of it looked like either just remember doing up those bolts sucked, perhaps i'll undo it all when i got some time and see,

so basically it's a rubber disc sits on the pedal side, so i assume it's in the cabin?


and yes the pedal pumped up, me and my dad bled it and it pumped up nice, untill we started the car then it fell right down to nothing

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Sounds like that reaction disc is missing then. It sits in the booster on the pedal side. You can get to it without taking the booster out, but you do need to get down and remove the shaft that goes from the pedal to the booster, might be easier to pull the booster off. A brake shop will have them.

[markovr]

If you have a ruptured diaphram it will give you a long strange pedal but if the reaction disc has fallen out you will have a long pedal and then the brakes slam on at the very end of their travel...however it is retained by a steel clip and highly unlikely to have fallen out.

[harry3]

the master cylinder for the drum rear brake models was criticised as too small and so not much good, even when working properly, a spongy pedal is normal

some owners changed to a larger M cylinder for better brake feel