brake drums and shokers

[EDDY]

i am about to replace my rear brakes and shokers on my 1989 golf.
few questions
to remove the drums, do you put a screw driver in the wheel bolt hole to release a small wedge like the standard cars ?

to remove the rear shokers, do you have to undo the brake pipe to release the suspention unit ? if you do are there any tips to take old pipes off without them breaking. like a bit of heat?

also on a unrelated subject. in a previous thread it was mentioned you could weld the viscoup at the rear diff to make the car 4wd all the time ??? has any one tried this. if so is the car still working or has the diff/gear box bust ??
or. has any one left the system pemently engaged by unpuging the vac and wiring system from the syncro gear. will this bugger things up in the long run ??

sorry for the daft questions. i would really apreciate the info before i start roling around in the dirt.
thanks

[Chris S]

TO REMOVE THE DRUMS, DO YOU PUT A SCREW DRIVER IN THE WHEEL BOLT HOLE TO RELEASE A SMALL WEDGE LIKE THE STANDARD CARS ?

why not fit rear discs?

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TO REMOVE THE REAR SHOKERS, DO YOU HAVE TO UNDO THE BRAKE PIPE TO RELEASE THE SUSPENTION UNIT ? No

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ALSO ON A UNRELATED SUBJECT. IN A PREVIOUS THREAD IT WAS MENTIONED YOU COULD WELD THE VISCOUP AT THE REAR DIFF TO MAKE THE CAR 4WD ALL THE TIME ???

This is not a good idea, you might get 5 miles before something expensive broke and left you sat at the side of the road

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HAS ANY ONE LEFT THE SYSTEM PEMENTLY ENGAGED BY UNPUGING THE VAC AND WIRING SYSTEM FROM THE SYNCRO GEAR. WILL THIS BUGGER THINGS UP IN THE LONG RUN

The system is permanently engaged already what the vac & wiring system do is to protect the system from damage (suppose you are making an emergency stop and lock the rear wheels up, the VC unit senses that the front wheels are rotating faster than the locked rears and puts power through to them trying to move them against the brakes) it also overrides the freewheel in reverse so you can go backwards in 4WD as well.

[ld50]

Eddy – Please don’t post all in caps – it’s like shouting. Thanks

[EDDY]

I would love to fit disks on the rear but cant afford calipers etc at the moment.
Whats the eaziest way to do this ?

ld50.Sorry for SHOUTING. ps.How do you post pictures ?

Cheers

[Chris S]

Any rear calipers from the Golf2 through to the golf4 (& comparable year Passat)will fit, its the Syncro caliper carriers that are the difficult part to get hold of.

[ld50]

Thanks Eddy to post pictures you type {IMG}http://www.mypictureUrl{/IMG}

but with square brackets [ ] instead of curly ones. If I write it with square ones it will try and show the pic, hence the swap

It does assume you’ve been able to upload the pic to photobucket or somewhere similar. Pic uploads for members is on the “next feature” list..hope that helps.

[EDDY]

removing old drums, put a screwdriver in the wheel bolt hole,use a torch to find the ajustment wedge and push it up. this should release the drum.

fitting new shokers. it has taken me a week to find the right ones[!] EURO CAR PARTS AND GSF were no help. Auto car parts found the right ones (GLASGOW). i use kyb gas shokers. but you will need to remove the spring seating plate as the new ones dont come with them !

fitting new rear brake shoes, you may need to ajust the shoes with the drums on by, file or grind a old screwdriver to a fine point,using the same idea as before use it to pull the wedge down using the small hole at the bottom of the wedge. you may need to bend the screwdriver a bit to get it to reach the hole.
The brakes may feel soft as sh@t. bleed the rear cylinders with the bleed screw until all the air is out.

Hope this helps

[Author]

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