Parts: Known To Be Good

[hambone]

New front rubber brake lines are missing the foamy sleeve, wtf? Bah again.

[Amskeptic]

New front rubber brake lines are missing the foamy sleeve, wtf? Bah again.

Are they?

Mofoco (disk brakes)

# 281-611-775B



JBug or Mid-America (drum brakes)

# 211-611-703

[hambone]

They are missing on Italian hoses, COFLE I forgot the name...

[whc03grady]

Do we have an opinion on Varga master cylinders? The brake lines come into the wrong side of the Ate I bought. (Unfortunately I discovered this after removing the old. Lesson learned: compare new and old in situ if you can.)
I found a new Varga with the servo for significantly less than new Ate.

[kreemoweet]

Do we have an opinion on Varga master cylinders?

I ran one for about 3 years (on '71 bus with '78 brakes): it worked just dandy. I replaced it with an ATE (just because I could), and it is now
my backup M/C. There are some minor internal differences from the ATE, one of which is the lack of a drain/vent
passage between the two seals on the front piston. This means a slow leak developed there will start filling
up your booster with fluid, rather than dribbling out and down the servo exterior, to inform you of the situation.

Current production might be different, as also seems to be the case with ATE master cylinders.

[Amskeptic]

Do we have an opinion on Varga master cylinders? The brake lines come into the wrong side of the Ate I bought. (Unfortunately I discovered this after removing the old. Lesson learned: compare new and old in situ if you can.)
I found a new Varga with the servo for significantly less than new Ate.

Did you get a new ATE from a reputable vendor, or is this a casual-assurances-offered Ebay type of purchase?
I do not understand how the brake lines can come in on the wrong side.
If you have booster mounting flange holes horizontal and facing forward towards the front bumper, then viewed from the rear of the vehicle, you have brake switches on right angled downward, reservoir grommets facing straight up, brake lines sticking straight out on left. Did you get a righthand drive master cylinder or something?
ColinConfounded

[Jivermo]

I recently bought a new ATE from BD, and it fit perfectly. And is performing as it needs to. I still would love to get a rebuild kit for the unit I removed. The only thing wrong are the rubber cups. I hate the idea of trashing it, so I’m not.

[Amskeptic]

I recently bought a new ATE from BD, and it fit perfectly. And is performing as it needs to. I still would love to get a rebuild kit for the unit I removed. The only thing wrong are the rubber cups. I hate the idea of trashing it, so I’m not.

I want to experiment with flame-melting the lips with a splash of Bic lighter and seeing if that restores the sealing properties. I have an experimental wheel cylinder for this test.
Colin

[whc03grady]

Did you get a new ATE from a reputable vendor, or is this a casual-assurances-offered Ebay type of purchase?
I do not understand how the brake lines can come in on the wrong side.
If you have booster mounting flange holes horizontal and facing forward towards the front bumper, then viewed from the rear of the vehicle, you have brake switches on right angled downward, reservoir grommets facing straight up, brake lines sticking straight out on left. Did you get a righthand drive master cylinder or something?
ColinConfounded

I must've. That'll teach me to compare new and old before removing old. Or better yet, before purchase. And what's a reputable vendor, anyway? Does anyone come through across the board?

It came off the Samba for about $115. He took the return without complaint, so far.

[JLT]

There's been some comment lately on the Book of Faces about early bay brake shoes not fitting. I recently replaced the rear brake shoes and cylinders on my '71 bus. I bought them from Kombi Haus in Sacramento, and they were a nearly perfect fit. the only thing I had to do was ream out the parking brake lever holes just a teeny tiny bit to get the pins to fit in. I used the old pins but new horse-shoe clips. Justin tells me that the early bays used different shoes from year to year, and that you have to be sure you have the right ones for your year. (UPDATE: The shoes I got from Kombi Haus are marketed by Pacific Parts International. Here's the info the box label:
PACIFIC PARTS INTERNATIONAL ANA RBS 374N 13.04 21 102 1N13.04 SHOE SET 151 51062 Brake Lining Shoe Ass'y'

I'm trying to post the image of the label from the FaceBook page:

[Amskeptic]

1970-mid '73 use the same rear shoes with pinned ebrake cross bar. They do NOT have that slot found on the later buses.
Later buses have a problem with shoes that have the return spring holes too close to the webbing, you can't get a good hook when trying to install them. They bind and people damage the springs trying to get them to fit. Likewise, those incorrect shoes have holes for the lower return spring that are too small as well.
We have to get more and more Kustom Fit as parts slowly lose their VW DNA.