Resurrecting Oily Brake Shoes

[cucvmule]

That is not why this thread was started. The question was asked if it was ok to try to remove the oil from them If there is no other choice....as in SHTF.

I do see the process being talked about. I responded to joels post about clutch linings being salvaged. And I posted about time involved and labor used as an economic perspective. Brakes are easier to access than replacing a clutch assembly. And seen that posters were doing well at covering the initial inquiry.

And I take the brake conversation as can you "salvage" contaminated linings. Yes you can, and save used shoes for another day when maybe one goes bad and you can substitute a salvaged shoe instead of being without transportation.

If I have a choice with a system that I Depend on performing every time when needed, to stop loaded or unloaded, I prefer to use unquestionable performing parts that have safety and dependability built into the parts, system.

Without doubt if there is safe and effective way to recover use of a critical braking item then all is well. 1 out of 6 braking positions at 50% effectiveness is ok? 2 for 6, 3,4, when is the braking point?

 

[WillWagner]

Stem clean them. When I worked for Navistar, might have been IHC back then, I was in the lease dept. Wheel seals were a common failure, we just steamed the begeebies out of them. I do not recall any failures or quicker replacement times, but that was a while ago. I am pretty sure the linings are different in class 8/transit from the linings on the deuce. Big stuff used to be a black metallic/fiber composition and the deuce is a white/grey composition. Could be that if acetone is used on the HD stuff that the lining will break down as Rusty noted, maybe something to do with carbon content?

If you have the time, give the acetone treatment a try as an experiment, do the intermediate or rear axle, one side new, the other cleaned. Easy to check after time, just inspect thru the adjustment holes.

 

[rustystud]

Stem clean them. When I worked for Navistar, might have been IHC back then, I was in the lease dept. Wheel seals were a common failure, we just steamed the begeebies out of them. I do not recall any failures or quicker replacement times, but that was a while ago. I am pretty sure the linings are different in class 8/transit from the linings on the deuce. Big stuff used to be a black metallic/fiber composition and the deuce is a white/grey composition. Could be that if acetone is used on the HD stuff that the lining will break down as Rusty noted, maybe something to do with carbon content?

If you have the time, give the acetone treatment a try as an experiment, do the intermediate or rear axle, one side new, the other cleaned. Easy to check after time, just inspect thru the adjustment holes.

I worked at IHC in Tukwila WA. We also used to steam clean brakes if they had "fresh" oil dripping on them. If the brakes had the oil sit on them for longer then a week then we would replace them. Same thing at the transit department. It was all about the time the shoes had to "absorb" the oil.
Yes class 8 trucks have harder shoes (usually grade "G" or harder) as do the transit buses. Our deuce and also the 5 tons have softer shoe's which allow the oil to be absorbed easier. Thus harder to remove. Again it all comes down to safety at the end of the day. Can you clean the shoes with "Acetone" ? Yes. Will it effect the shoes life and performance ? Yes it will.
So for me safety trumps all. Having been in a pick-up truck with a brake failure (the story is posted here somewhere) I will never "skimp" on brakes and brake components again. The few dollars saved is not worth my life and the lives of those I love.

 

[NormB]

I think my local place was $12 a shoe to reline some 5 tons i had.

JC Whitney and many other places used to sell kits for this. Good old fashioned mesothelioma-producing asbestos-bearing linings with rivets and you'd just drill, rivet and replace and drive on.

I'd figure with the number of these trucks produced, and, industry being what it is, those pads aren't specific to that truck but have been used for many hundreds of thousands if not millions of other trucks around the world.

figuring out part numbers and tracking them down could be fun.

I wouldn't use oil-soaked pads except as a last-ditch. Friction heat will burn off some of the oil, carbonize it, glaze the pads, lessen friction markedly... not safe at all.

 

[rustystud]

JC Whitney and many other places used to sell kits for this. Good old fashioned mesothelioma-producing asbestos-bearing linings with rivets and you'd just drill, rivet and replace and drive on.

I'd figure with the number of these trucks produced, and, industry being what it is, those pads aren't specific to that truck but have been used for many hundreds of thousands if not millions of other trucks around the world.

Exactly. NAPA used to sell "bulk" brake lining that came in different widths in long strips. You cut off the length needed and then drilled and riveted them to your shoe. I remember this old fart (which I'm now a club member ! ) who helped my father install new linings on our family tractor. He had over fifty different widths and thickness of linings in his shop.
Last time I was at "Friction Brake" in Seattle they also had thousands of undrilled linings on their shelves. Different widths and thickness and grade of linings.

 

[Floridianson]

Myself "I" will not try and judge your moral compass but let me ask you this. If for some reason you do not care for yourself or others around you I ask you please to think of our furry and feathered friends just trying to cross the road. From the dog to cat or that flock of gray geese they need you to please think "I break for animals" in your Heart. Now if you do not care for them then yea go ahead and run those little flockers over.

 

[Dipstick]

I had a Deuce brake safety item I wanted to post, so here it is. My brakes failed suddenly last winter while stopping for a traffic light on a slight downhill. The pedal went right to the floor. I downshifted to third and crept for about a quarter of a mile until I could safely pull over. The culprit was a copper hydraulic brake line that is exposed to rain where the space between the cab and cargo bed is. it had become corroded over the years and popped suddenly when I pushed the brake pedal a bit harder than usual. A big problem, because where I live in the Poconos there are plenty of hills that require 2100 rpm in third to climb. And we all know Deuces go much faster downhill than up. You may want to clean and inspect your brake lines in that area of your Deuce.

 

[fleetmech]

I've cleaned brake shoes before and had no issues to date.

I, personally, am way, WAY more concerned with the single circuit brakes than I am with an oily shoe or two.

 

[Dipstick]

I'm agreed on the single circuit brakes, that's why I try to maintain my in good condition. I had to replace my front shoes and one drum last fall while installing new inner axle oil seals (that's a story in itself). When I pulled the driver's side drum off, two rounded off 3/8" steel nuts fell out. They had ruined the leading edges of the brake shoes and cut a 3/8" x 1/8" deep groove all the way around the drum. I guess the last person to do a brake job misplaced them. In seven years of driving my Deuce I never heard or felt anything. Whistlers are kind of loud and at 45 mph a Deuce sounds like it's going 180 mph.