How do you change a master cylinder on a VW Vanagon?

The master cylinders in Vanagons reside underneath the instrument panel. Sitting in the driver seat, if you reach both hands up behind the instrument binnacle, you will feel depressions on either side for your fingers. Gently pull the rear of the binnacle up and towards you and it will pop off. You will see the cap for the master cylinder reservoir between the speedometer and clock (or tach). There is a plastic apron over the top of the internals of the instrument panel to protect against spilled brake fluid.

This apron and the rest of the instrument panel now need to be pulled before the master cylinder can be removed. After that, its a pretty standard process of removing pressure fittings and unbolting the cylinder from the vacuum booster.


If all this sounds counterintuitive, that's because it is. A Haynes or Chilton manual will show you pictures of the process. Be advised that even with the instrument cluster removed, the job really sucks because of the extremely tight quarters. Good luck!