Hi Jim - going through my mailbox seeing who I haven't answered
recently...

> [you had asked about the brake fluid change]

I finally did the brake fluid change myself this past weekend.  No
problem!  Just the standard procedure:

- Siphon out as much old fluid from the reservoir as possible
- Top up with new stuff (I used Castrol LMA DOT4)
- Pop of a wheel; hook vinyl tubing to bleeder nozzle and put other end
in a jar; use 11mm box wrench to crack open bleeder.
- Gently step on brake pedal.  Do about 5-10 pushes, slowly, and allow a
slow pedal return.  After the 5-10 cycles, top up fluid in reservoir and
check color of fluid coming out.
- When fluid coming out looks "light enough", close bleeder and put
wheel back on.  Go to next wheel.
- Order of wheels: Start with furthest from master cylinder, and work to
closest.  That is, Right Rear, Left Rear, Right Front, Left Front.
- When all done, top off fluid in cylinder to "max" mark.  Don't forget
to put the reservoir cap back on!

I recently replaced pads/rotors so I feel confident that topping up to
"full" won't cause overflows later...

Other notes:
- I used up about three small bottles of fluid.
- The color of the old fluid was about that of Newcastle Brown Ale; when
the new fluid came out it was more like Bud Light.

That's about it!

I've bleed my brakes several times on the 95 GTI VR6 in the past 2 years to
maintain and SS line upgrades and yielded a not too firm pedal.  I did it
again last night.  I've done the hand vacuum tool, one man "bag", and the
latest is a Snap On pressure bleeder.

The pressure bleeder works like a champ.  The spent fluid just flows out at
a nice pace.  Pump up an external air tank, screw in the cap and plug in
the air line.  So I proceed in the proper order.  In the Bently manual, it
said to have the brake porportationing valve directed toward the rear
brakes when doing the rear.  I couldn't figure out which way the arm should
swing on the valve, up or down.  So I did it in both positions.  Then
finished up the fronts.  The initial feel of the pedal is still spongy.  I
haven't road tested yet as it's on all fours.

Does the 95 ABS pump need to be cycled like the 96+ cars?  I'm running out
of the expensive brake fluid!  1500ml down and 500ml to go.

Jim
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Jim Chu wrote:
>
> Does the 95 ABS pump need to be cycled like the 96+ cars?  I'm running out
> of the expensive brake fluid!  1500ml down and 500ml to go.

If you have the rear brake proportioning valve, then you probably have
the TEVES 04 ABS system. The pump doesn't need to be cycled like the 96+
TEVES 20 systems do.

Eugene Oh
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AFAIK, the VAG or equivalent is only required for cycling the ABS pump in the
event that it was run dry, or replaced.  Normal maintanence does not require
the tool.  At least I haven't required it, even when doing 95.5 and later
brake lines.  We pressure bleed a 4 corners on the Teves 20, and use the pump
to bleed the rears and pressure for the fronts on the Teves 04.  Turn on the
key and hold the brake pedal.  Crack the bleeder valves in the rear and the
fluid will flow on its own.  Use a 2X4 or something on the brake pedal to do
it by yourself.

Todd
Air & Water
VW Tuning
www.awe-tuning

[...] 37 lines deleted

IMPORTANT:: also use a 2x4 to limit the pedal from hitting the floor! If you do
you are now pushing the pistons to a place where they have never been before.
this end of the stroke is usually where the contaminates remain and pushing the
seals into this MAY cause damage to them.. Just a word of caution from
experience.
Doug
SPEED

[...] 57 lines deleted

Patrick Sherman wrote:
      The Teves 20 REQUIRES the VAG Tool for a  Successfull rear bleed.

Pat,
      Although this statement is technically correct for hydraulic system
repairs, such as caliper or hose replacements, it is not necessary for a
simple brake fluid replacement. The trick is not to let the master cyl
resevoir run dry. You can even suck out the old fluid with a turkey baster
and refill with ATE Blue or any DOT 4 fluid before starting the bleeding.
Just follow the normal bleeding procedure starting with the right rear and
working toward the master cylinder. Remember that pumping the pedal on an
older master cylinder during bleeding will possibly lead to destruction of
the internal seals. Pressure bleeding is the preferred method and does not
stress the master cylinder like pumping it through its full travel distance.
If you do yearly brake flushes, pumping should not harm the cylinder.
      Bob C.

"Luke White" <lukewhiteemeraldis> wrote:

>Probably the easiest way to do it with one person is to get a pressure
>bleeder.  Basically you fill the tool reservoir with fluid, screw its cap on
>in place of the brake fluid reservoir cap, pump it up and start bleeding.
>I'm going to get one when I start working more on my '83 Jetta.  You can get
>one at Adirondack, Griot's Garage (I think), Virtual World, Eastwood, etc.

Ya, the pressure bleeder is pretty slick.
One comment though.   They say to screw the pressure cap
onto the resevoir and test for leaks with pressure with no fluid in the 
tank, before trying it with fluid.  That is very good advice.
I stupidly did it the second time, with fluid in the tank,
just pumped it up and went, and the rubber seal was a little skewed
and it ended up drooling fluid at ALL over the place.    What
a mess.  Test that seal first.

Otherwise it's slick as snot.  Only took about 10 minutes to bleed
the 4 brakes and clutch by myself.   A bit longer to flush
out the old fluid the first time.  Just be sure you don't let
the tank and resevoir run out.  If you empty the resevoir
by mistake you're in for some pain.

	ian