Brake bleeding

Just replaced some parts of the braking system of my 83 tin top and the system won't bleed. Replaced discs, pads, shoes, one rear cylinder, and fitted a new master cylinder and also a mk2 servo. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to try? 

Making a home built power bleeder is a wonderful tool.
I use it regularly… there are plenty of how to's to build one on the youtube and google search.



I used a 4 dollar 2 quart pump sprayer you only need about 14psi so you don't want to over pump.

Fill with Brake fluid and add a Brake Cylinder res cap (the later cabriolets have the plinger bits so it is easy to drill a hole.).  I used a brass barbed fitting and nutted it to the cap.


My  Other Special tool is a Might-vac, the only thing I  add is a 1 quart collection jar on the suction side.

Take a Metal Capped quart Pasta Sauce glass jar.  Classico, ragu….

Find some vinyl tube about 5 feet the diameter of your bleeder  ports, as well as the diameter of the mighty-vac.

Cut one about 3 foot, and one about 2 foot.
Insert the shorter length into a hole that you drill or punch in the cap the hole should be slightly smaller than the vinyl tube,  and let it extend into the jar about 1 inch.

Take the longer hose and force it almost to the bottom about 1/4 inch…





You will mix up JB-Weld and force it in and around the jar on the top.  I then attach the mighty-vac to one side and plug the other, and draw about 2 lbs of merc….This places the jar under vacuum and draws the jb-weld in to any crevice.  Then release pressure and in 10 minutes you can place some on the bottom side just don't get near the seal area….



Bleed the rears first then the front.

Once you use a mighty-vac or power bleeder it is to hard to go back the the two person pump 3 times and hold…that I used for years and years and years.

OBTW this is the 3rd bleeder that I have made in 15 years…. 1 I drove over, and one stopped working, so I just made another…  

Using a power bleeder makes it very easy to change to Synthetic fluid, and since all your parts are new it would be a good time to think about changing….The newer synth is less Hydroscopic.

did you remember to clamp open the bias valve under the car? if not the rears are tricky to bleed. also with the residual pressure valves fitted inline with the rears that also makes it a little harder

Mine hasn't got a bias valve mate, literally just hoses from the cylinder to the brakes 

I replaced all the front pipes and calipers and the rear pipes after the load proportioning valve last year on my 1.8GTI tintop and I had  a similar problem to you. I think, ideally, a power bleeder, eezibleed or similar would be the best bet but I managed to do mine without. I kept pumping the pedal with all the bleed nipples closed and then with the furthest one (drivers rear) open and eventually it started to bleed through. I wonder if the system is completely empty, or even just the master cylinder then the system kind of air-locks or it just doesn't pull any fluid into the master cylinder as it is easier for the air to just move about in the brake pipes instead. If you keep trying I think eventually you will succeed once the master cylinder itself is bled.

ah is it not a GTI then? what you masy have is the residual pressure valves inline with the rear drums, these can make things tricky to bleed need a bit of pressure in the system or a reverse bleed. The 2 man method should work I expect

Think I might of just sorted out the master cylinder and bled it properly so I'll keep having a go at pumping it and stuff. No it's not a gti sorry I should of said that in my original post, I'll have another go now that I'm pretty sure the master cylinder is bled