Problems bleeding brakes on a 1975 VW Beetle, need help!!?

you should eithor start with the nearest wheel to the main cylinder and work to the furthest- or the other way round. get a haynes manual or call a local vw garage to find out - as an ex vw employee i remember it was a common fault due to doing the wheels in the wrong order and that if it wasnt done in the order specified the result would be constant air from the drivers cylinder!!, if persists after all that check pipes renew fluid- if the fluids old it will make the pedal nateraly spongey so dont expect 1st class brakes withour changing it. a vw main dealer would use a pressurised machine to change it(by pumping it thru from the reservoir)- used to take em 45minits- 1hour to change the fluid and bleed all 4 wheels!- so shudnt cost the earth!

Might be a bad brake line or hose to that wheel or possibly you did not check and fill the master cylinder after every wheel was bled. They don't hold a lot of fluid and can run it all out before you know it. I've got a '72 VW camper van that is just hard to keep working brakes on. It could possibly be a bad master cylinder even though it is new or a bad caliper on ft. driver's side, too. Check the lines and hoses for wetness and leaks then rebleed keeping a close eye on fluid level.

first and foremost, theres a method to bleeding. i dont know much about VW's in general, but if the master cylinder is in the back by the engine, you should start with the wheel furthest away, which would be one of the front wheels, depending on what side of the car the MC is on. after that wheel, move straight across to the other front wheel. then to the back furthest away from the MC, then to the final wheel. being a 75, i would imagine it has a brake booster..could be bad. also, when replacing the master cylinder, was it bench bled? if not, that could cause issues with all the air in the system.

Leak in pipe

Joint not sealed correctly

Has he bled the brakes in the correct sequence - some cars have a sequence of bleeding operation.

Example - bleed rear offside first - then front nearside - rear nearside - front offside

There are numerous possibilities - has he used a tube into a glass containing brake fluid to stop the back flow of fluid and air - from the bleed nipple, run a tube into a glass container and half fill the container with brake fluid- put tube into fluid until end is submerged - then bleed again until all bubbles stop

Let's see, you didn't have the right equipment to do a job you do not understand, but you plowed ahead anyway and now shock of shocks it didn't friggin work!

It is a miracle you are alive.

Bless the little guys hearts for trying to help you but there is more wrong info in the answers than I can believe.

DO YOU PEOPLE have any sense of responsibility for what you say? Do you just blurt out stuff, that if done can cause an auto accident?

Get it taken to a shop and have the brakes bled and properly looked at. You just bit off more than you can chew and I won't waste the space listing it all.

Please get professional help.

ASE Cert Auto Tech, Shop Owner, 92 GTI16V 2.0L, SCCA Member since 1978

In addition to the advice on bleeding the brakes examine the brake pipes and hoses. if it is an old car then the the hoses may have perished and be causing and air leak under pressure. Likewise corroded pipes or a bad joint can be just as problematic.