gldgti wrote....

[imported_brackie]

"simply because i'd much rather my once pride and joy go to someone who knows what it is, not someone that'll prang it because they dont realise it's got crud brakes etc (mk1 diesel brakes case in point)"

What's wrong with your brakes, Mate? My diesel had dreadful brakes until I put a new diaphragm in the vacuum pump. Now they're excellent! The way to check is to disconnect the hose going to the booster and start the engine. No vacuum at the open end of the hose = shot diaphragm.

[gldgti]

hmm...

the vaccum assist works ok - pressure on the brakes when engine off, the starting results in a noticable drop in the pedal. plus, i've had the car rolling before with ignition off and found brakes a bit unhelpful....

i've done a lot of fiddling with brakes on my car in so far as bleeding lines and new pads,linings everywhere. they arent bad - certainly good enough to lock up wheels. but i have experienced brake fade on large steep hills (scary) and really just put it down to not having brakes that are physically large enough to cope with the occasional extreme...

[imported_brackie]

Check out the Audi story. I reckon you might have the same problem. If you find the solution I'd love to know!

[gldgti]

whats the audi story?

[imported_brackie]

whats the audi story?

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/vwforum/viewtopic.php?t=41&start=0

[peter_j_g]

On my 85 GTD that I owned in Finland I replaced the front disks with the ventilated ones from a GTi. Made a big difference! Downside is that the GTi pads are thinner to allow for the thicker disk (the caliper is the same) and so don't last as long.

On a mk 1 you could do something similar.

[gldgti]

hmm....

not on my car now, but the previous owner, said that he had big braking troubles when a small crack developed in the vacuum pump housing and left his pedal travelling floorward. i'd give it a look.

incidentally, it sounds like the audi/golf brake setup is near identical....diagonally opposite setup etc etc....