944 IRS conversion

[Busstom]

[oprn]

Yes those clips/guards are just a friction fit in the aluminum trailing arms. I can't find any discussions on them so I will try without and see.

Next problem for me is the left E brake cable pushes in just fine, the right one... not so much. Poke around, just hits something and won't go. Cut an inspection hole and one of the tubes has broken loose.

Now to push it back down in place and weld it.

Meanwhile the brake handle shaft rolls off the rear seat area, down the hole and forward into the tunnel! Fishing time! Tried a magnet taped to the brake cable, no joy, must be the wrong bait! Pulled the gear shift out, found the missing brake lever shaft, found more things that need attention!

There is just no end to these projects!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Continuing to sort out the E brake, before cutting them off at the handle I used vice grips to simulate what was going to happen when the cables were shortened and in place. It took several pulls on the handle and re-positioning of the vice grips to suck up the slack in the cable and get the outer sheath in position on the control arm. When it was finally there and bottomed out there was not much stroke left on the brake handle before everything came to a stop.

Some looking around, a cup of tea to reflect and the problem became clear. The spring on the Bus cable, even though I shortened it to match the 944 spring length, is wound from a much larger diameter wire. Looking through the CV joint end of the control arm I could see the spring was all bunched up and nearly into a coil bind.

Needs to be shorter yet! This is how much the spring had to be compressed before the outer sheath seated into the control arm.

Shortened the spring some more.

Now I only have to pull it up this far for the sheath to seat properly.

Much better! Now I went ahead and cut the cables to length, put the old adjuster ends back on, tightened the set screws on the cable ends and we are in business! Two clicks off bottom on the handle and we have brakes!
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[Busstom]

Nice!

"old adjuster ends?" "set screws?" Do you have any pics of this? Are these pieces that enable you to make custom-length cables? I must see.
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏

[oprn]

Yes this setup came on the Buggy and I am re-using it. EMPI from the mid '70's perhaps... every Buggy with a shortened pan got something similar to shorten the E brake cables.

Yes I do need to shorten the cable another 1/2" to get more adjustment back and I will do that at a later date.

_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Time to rebuild the calipers. The first one went well.

The second one... not so much! The piston is stuck in the cylinder. Won't pry out, won't blow out with 120 psi of air pressure. Rigged up a farmer style puller but it's still solid.

Next thing to try is to make up a fitting so I can pump grease into the back of the piston with a grease gun. Along with the puller maybe...
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[Busstom]

[oprn]

I share your trepidation about them but like the wheel adaptors that came on this car, it's hard to make a case against them having been on this thing since '76!
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

This is whole scramble is the result of the dust seal failing and water getting in next to the piston. Take note all of you that are running calipers that don't have dust seals on the pistons...

Success! I let the thing soak overnight with penetrating oil. I drive the piston in further, then sand blasted the exposed rust ridge off the inside of the cylinder, pulled it back up with the puller until it stopped. Did this 3 times and out it came!

Now to clean them up.

Polished up ok.

Made a wood plug for the cylinder.

Now I can sand blast the seal area without damaging the cylinder.

_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Moving on to the brake lines, initial survey tells me that the left side only requires a repositioning of the existing brake lines and remounting of the original tee... if I use this flex line.

Problem is, the tee is machined to take a double flare brake line and this hose end is flat - square. The thread is the same but the chances of getting a seal are poor in my view.

Here is what I am trying. Shape the end as if it were a double flare and see what happens.

_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[Busstom]

That looks good and should work. One minor correction, that's bubble flare, so I think the angle you're after on that tip is ~35°.
_________________
My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏

[oprn]

Thanks, I was guessing 33*. Seems to be holding pressure.

I got lucky, just re-bent the stock lines by hand and it all fits. Made/moved a couple brackets and she's all buttoned up.

_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

Brakes are bled. Peddle is 1/2 way down before it hits resistance. I expected something like that but not quite so much. Investigation shows that the left rear caliper piston wants to retract a bit. I suppose the piston seal and dust boot are the culprits here. A little stiff and bouncing back. The other 3 calipers are not doing that.

So... undecided... I know what the recommendation will be... residual valve. Ya... but... it chaffs a bit thinking about adding something to the system that will make the brakes drag all the time. Seems counter productive. Not unlike my school buddy who used to drive his Honda 50 around town with both feet dragging to see how fast he could wear out a pair of sneakers!

I think I will leave it as is until I drive it a bit and see if it loosens up.

Next is the shocks.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[oprn]

The learning about residual valves is happening in this thread.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10190195#10190195
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[slalombuggy]

If the caliper that's acting up is the one you used penetrating fluid on the seal is probably swollen and won't ever return to normal. You cannot use ANY petroleum based products around brake system rubber, it totally destroys it.

When I worked in automotive I had to replace entire brake systems in 2 vehicles. From the master cylinder, all hoses, caliper, cylinders propositioning valve and flushed the steel lines out with a couple gallons of brake clean. All because the owners topped the master off with power steering fluid.

[oprn]

It is actually but I cleaned, sand blasted and polished the piston and cylinder after and put a new seal kit in it. The new seal did feel stiff but no more so than the other side.
_________________
We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[tzepesh]

Don't pull the pistons like that again. That lip breaks very easily, don't ask me how I know... Use compressed air instead, first with some limiting spacer on the inside, not to blow the piston like a bullet when it frees up.
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'74 1303S, L98B Viperngrun (extra glitter), German Look
'64 1200, Sea Blue, under restoration

[oprn]

[Dan_Lockwood]

Adapt the brake line hole over to allow a Zerk fitting to be installed. Then use your hand pump grease gun to pump out the piston. They can produce from 2k psi on up, depending on the grease gun.

The nice thing about the grease gun method is that when the piston comes out, it oozes out rather than shoots out from the compress air behind it. Much safer and produces much more pressure force.

The same type of trick can be used on smaller bearings pressed into a blind hole. It may be difficult to get a puller in and get it out. Instead, pack grease down inside the blind hole and under the bearing, full... Then take a round piece of wood sanded down to fit the ID of the bearing. Pack just a bit more grease in the hole and then put the wood shaft into the hole and hit it with a good size BFH. It will drive the bearing out with hydraulic pressure.

Sorry, a bit off topic, but may be relevant to someone sometime...

Dan

[oprn]