# 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good.



## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

All,
I need a little help. I have a 2.0 Jetta, Auto, that recently had the brakes done.
The caliper on the passenger side was almost siezed so I went ahead with new calipers. Here is what was done.
Both new: Rotors, Pads & caliper.
Rears. OK, needed cleaning and adjustment.
Problem.
With the new brakes I'm finding my brake pedal travels about the same distance.
I was expecting brakes that would be "touchy". As in... less press and more action.
Over all I'm not noticing any real difference. And my oldbrakes were bad!!!!
Pads were paper thin, and the rotors were garbage!
Also, with the car running and sitting still, if I press the brake pedal down slowly, I can feel these clicks. They are faint... but they are there. Never had this before.
Suggestions? (And please don't tell me to lower my car







)


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (a3clusters)*

Are the rears drum brakes or discs?...If they're drum...the self adjusters might not be workin good....the little wedge that is supposed to be pulled down by a spring to tighten up rear shoes may be dirty or the little spring may have lost tension over the years and by being stretched too much during removal etc...


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (spitpilot)*

Yes, Drums on the back.
When they showed me the car and what needed to be done, they had the drums off.
There was quite a bit of brake dust in there!
Also, before the brake job, I used to have this mouse like squeak that came from the rear brakes when ever I took my foot off the brakes.
That noise is now gone. Which is good, it was very annoying.
Are you thinking the click I feel is the rears?


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (a3clusters)*

Not sure about the click...the fact that the squeeks are gone means they musta cleaned and lubed the shoe contact points on the brake backing plates....when I had my Golf III I always lubed the adjuster wedge with a dab of hi temp grease as well..if those hang up they give the symptoms...long pedal travel....weak braking action...as you describe. As I said B4..your adjuster wedge springs may well be shot on a 15+ year old car. I'd get a set from dealer and go back to shop and complain about soft pedal and suggest they check rear brake adjusters..and install these new springs while they're at it!


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (spitpilot)*

On the click feeling.... it's more like a slight bump.
When I press the brake pedal and get about 80% of the way down, I feel these slight bumps (Clicks). "Bumps" describe it better than a click.
I think I feel 3 or 4....
I was suprised to find that my rear brakes were fine.
Lots of brake dust.
The brakes on this car are atleast 5 years old.


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (a3clusters)*

I should also add....
If I take my car out on the highway for atleast 15 minutes and then get off, my brakes feel VERY strong!
But as I drive around town, they don't seem as strong.
So, on the highway and shortly after getting off, brake pedal very strong. And pedal travel is short... and tight!
But driving around the city the brakes are softer, and pedal travels farther.
*My brakes have always been like this... even before the very recent brake job.


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## Dan J Reed (Jul 27, 2004)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (a3clusters)*

Well.. a few things come to mind here.
1 - do you happen to know the brand of pads that were used? The compounds in them will effect how the brakes feel hot/vs cold. (note if they are from a "chain store" type place, this might explain it)..
2 - Sadly, unless you go from a very basic soft-generic pad.. to a more aggressive type pad (say a Hawk HPS pad) - your brakes will feel the same. New pads are not like getting new shoes in the drum brakes - often the brake feels more or less the same.
Your mind can play tricks on you with how they "used to feel" versus "how the should feel" versus "how they feel now. New brakes also need to be "broken in" - really, for about the first 200 miles until they really start to bed in. No hard stops, just normal driving to get the best feel out of them. Chances are you'll see a little more brake dust then normal, and even some smoke, or smells after a few hard stops.
3 - The clicking or bumping you feel might be the brake shoes in the rears adjusting. Try this trick. (use common sense..)
Stop the car. Press as hard as you can on the brake. Pull up on the parking brake. Let go of the brake pedal. Step down on the brake pedal. Let the hand brake back down.
The brakes should now be adjusted. (rears).
Another quick test is to see if the brake pedal has more travel with the parking brake up (a few clicks) or down.
Again, use common sense here.,
Press the brakes. Pull up on the hand brake. Let go of foot brake. Press foot brake again. Let handle down, let up on foot brake - press down on foot brake.,
If the pedal was "a lot firmer and higher" with the parking brake set, the cables might need to be adjusted manually to remove slack from the cable and help the rear brakes adjust properly.
Hope some of this helps. I have found the drum brakes, in EVERY MKIII and MKII to be very "lacking" in the area of "short pedal travel" unless the car has brand spanking new "everything" in the rear (springs, wheel cylinders, shoes etc..) and then over time - the pedal goes to $h!t, even adjustment wont help, and its a short life. Now a car with disk brakes.







now yer talking - pedal always feels "good".


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (Dan J Reed)*

Thanks Dan,
I'll check things out!


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (Dan J Reed)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Dan J Reed* »_
1 - do you happen to know the brand of pads that were used? The compounds in them will effect how the brakes feel hot/vs cold. (note if they are from a "chain store" type place, this might explain it)..


*I'm not sure what kind of pads. I know they are "lifetime"
I'm not noticing any difference between hot and cold*

_Quote, originally posted by *Dan J Reed* »_3 - The clicking or bumping you feel might be the brake shoes in the rears adjusting. Try this trick. (use common sense..)
Stop the car. Press as hard as you can on the brake. Pull up on the parking brake. Let go of the brake pedal. Step down on the brake pedal. Let the hand brake back down.
The brakes should now be adjusted. (rears).


*Tried this three times, no impact*

_Quote, originally posted by *Dan J Reed* »_
Another quick test is to see if the brake pedal has more travel with the parking brake up (a few clicks) or down.


*I'm not noticing any difference. Before the brake job if I toggled the E-Brake while pressing the brake pedal, I could feel that... but not now*

I also have a squeak coming from the rear. I hear this squeak when I let go of the brakes. 
If I press and release the brake, all I hear is.. Squeak... Squeak...Squeak. 
The squeak was there before the brake job as well.


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (a3clusters)*

Just went out for another drive.
Brakes are much stronger








Pedal travel is much shorter.... where I like it.
*Still don't feel action in the brake pedal, when I raise/lower the E-Brake.
*Squeak still there
*The little bump or lump is still felt when I press the pedal.


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## Dan J Reed (Jul 27, 2004)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (a3clusters)*

The "squeak" is most likely the fact that they did not lube the backing plates.
http://faculty.ccp.edu/faculty...x.htm

__
Image uploading. Refresh page to view









If there is no impact or change with the parking brake. I'd bet its just not adjusted.. best take it back.


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (Dan J Reed)*

2 more things Sir!
A. If I'm pressing the brake with good pressure and I pull up and release the E-Brake a few times, should I feel it in the brake pedal?
>I'm not feeling anything
B. I notice that my brakes are very strong with little pedal travel after I get off the highway. Even if I only drive to the next exit/off ramp.
I'm thinking this might be related to higher RPM's... thus a vacuum issue? What do you think?
>Note that my brakes were like this before and after the job.


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## Dan J Reed (Jul 27, 2004)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (a3clusters)*

Could very well be an intake/vacuum issue.
Check for leaks around the brake booster intake piping.. as the cars age, the plastic can crack. The booster has an internal check valve - which could be faulty.
Do this test.
Turn car off. Pump brakes until pedal is firm.
Press on brake - start car (hold pedal down).. pedal should drop. If so - the booster is ok... but due to the design of the VW.. you can't really get into the check valve..
My advice would be to "tap" into the vacuum lines, add a gauge, duct tape it to the front glass - and go for a ride.


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## a3clusters (Jan 6, 2007)

*Re: 96 Jetta, new brakes, still not good. (Dan J Reed)*

I check the line from booster to intake. Looks good. No cracks or holes.
I pulled the whole line off and inspected it.
When I disconnected the line from the booster, air moved, so things are tight?
And the car had been off for about 4 hours.
I pumped the brakes a few times and held. It was very tight, and the pedal was right up. I started the car and the pedal slid down.
I should also verify the check valve is working.


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