Heres another one to add to my stupidest things list...I've been hearing this really loud whirring sound coming from the back end of my volkswagen for about the past 3 months or so, i thought it may be the bearings again but I just replaced them last year so I let it go for a few months...or 6? Anyways ripped the drums apart
Yesterday and found my vw golf has the most ridiculously complicated drum brakes I've ever seen. Gotta take all the bearings and the hub apart to get the drum off. Once I did that I was surprised to find out the weird noise I was hearing was actually caused by all the springs beings snapped and missing. Drove like that for quite a few thousand miles....what a dummy. Anyways once I got the left side back together i tore the right side apart and then realized everything is now opposite. Just couldnr get my brain wrapped around that. Started the job at 2pm and had it all buttoned by midnight with the help of my friend and my gfs dad. Ohh well guess I'll know how to do that next time

Glad to hear you got it all fixed and back together.

I once took apart my friends Rabbit rear brakes in his parking lot only to have the entier bearing fall all over the ground and I couldn't get the race off the spindle.

I was 20 and had no money and we needed the car that night (not to mention they'd fine him for having the car immobile in the lot) so I walked to the car parts store 3 times getting different pullers and such until we made it happen.

Sometimes you just need to fix it, so it gets fixed, even if it takes 10hrs,

what year is your golf?

k

Golf is a 98, not a bad car. 180k and it still runs strong. I've only had to replace the bearings and a water pump and it leaks some oil but it still get 34mpg!

When I uprated my ur-GTI for autocross, I swapped over the rear disk parts from an '85 GLI (and yes, the MC...). Never liked the disk/drum concept...

My old 98 golf had 4 wheel disks and never got better then 27 to the gallon. I was told at the dealer that all 98s were 4 wheel disks that year.

Zach

I really wish I had 4 wheel disks cuz man what a pain in the ass! Maybe yours came from Canada or something. If u go to any auto parts store they always give you the option, at least that's what I've found.

There were rear drum brake equipped Golfs in 1998. Simple, in fact far more simple to do a brake job on one of those than a rear disc equipped car.. Pull the cap, the pin, the lock collar, and the nut. Remove the drum, do the shoes and cylinder, and put it back together. Nearly every rear drum car I've ever seen has mirror image left and right parking brake mechanisms. That's how they make 'em work. Hour, tops, including bleeding the system. Maybe 1.5 for a first timer.

The Cap'n