# spongy brake pedal on 2002 Jetta



## lornacy (Jan 30, 2013)

I just replaced the brake pads and rotors on the rear of my 2002 Jetta. I bled the whole system, all four wheels until the brake fluid came out completely clean. Master cylinder has fluid in it.

When I put on the brakes, the car stops, and then the pedal sinks gently to the floor. The car remains stopped. I'm tearing my hair out - any ideas? The car has inti-lock brakes, did I mess something up with that system?


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## KG18t (Aug 9, 2006)

Depending on how you bled the system - if you used a pressure bleeder and rand the pressure too high, you could have trashed the master cylinder seals... which, if the pedal is going to the floor, is rather likely.


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## lornacy (Jan 30, 2013)

Thanks for the reply, I'm afraid that might be what I did. 

I've also found a bunch of stuff online saying the ABS system may have bubbles in it. The friendly fellow at Napa said that I can probably do that manually, so I'm looking for how to do that first, before I spend the money on a master cylinder. From what I've read I'll probably have to bleed the anti-lock system anyway if I do end up replacing the master cylinder.

Can any one tell me WHERE the ABS regulator (or whatever that part is called) is located? I'm looking online right now for info.


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## KG18t (Aug 9, 2006)

There's a VAGCOM trigger to bleed the pump, not sure about manually... also, just in case:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_IV--1.8T/Braking/Master_Cylinder/

Being a 2002, I'm guessing ASR, so, without ESP.


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## franciscomk3 (Feb 27, 2012)

if you didnt run the mc dry and did the procedure correctly to bleed a vw with abs which is to have the key on the "on" position heres what could have happened:

1 too much pressure if pressure bled

2. a common one. when people bleed their brakes, when you crank open the bleeder, the person at the pedal's foot goes all the way to the floor or extends more than what it always did. with daily use, theres a g"gunk" that forms at the very end of the usual extension of the mc when used regularly. and when the pedal went to the floor while bleeding (fully depresed master dylinder), all that gunk caused the seals to fail




thats why some people put a piece of wood to stop the pedal from going to the floor while bleeding


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