VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 1934 Half Ton with greasy brakes

My truck had some grease seals leaking and got grease on the brake linings. Is there a way to clean them or do I just replace the linings? I already took the rear apart twice, I don't want to do it again. If new linings is the answer does anyone have a recommendation for where to get it done? And yes I know hydraulic brakes are safer but I drive it very little and for now I'm keeping it all stock.

Since the linings are porous the grease will penetrate into the linings and reemerge whenever the brakes get hot. Surface cleaning will not work if the grease has soaked in. The only safe way to correct the problem is to reline them in my experience.
Richard

In another thread, Solan had said that he has had good results baking the oil soaked linings at 300C/550F for one hour in a kiln.

I have never had any success cleaning oil, grease or brake fluid out of brake linings. It would be a lot safer to reline and cure the problem until the next seal leaks.
I note Solan claims success using a kiln but have not tried it myself.
Tony

I had some success with brake cleaner. I took the rear band off and scrubbed the almost new lining with the brake cleaner and then Awesome Orange mixed in water.

As soon as the brakes get heated up the grease will start coming out of the linings again.
I have a new set of lining that I will seel cheap.

I have used modern soft linings, but I would not have tried to heat them in stead of changing oily linings, without a safe and trustworthy recommondation.

Luckily the car mechanic where Petrine is stored has done this for many years and with no problems. We have also done this with the brake linings of Solan (490/1916), and without any braking problems thereafter.

It comes quite some oil smoke from the kiln during the prosess, so it should not be much oil left inside the linings after the heating.

The brakes are working just fine after such a treatment, but if you feel safer by changing the lining, then do so.

Has not happened in many miles in N.M. OK or Tx. The linings were relined with modern non-asbestos soft linings. The grease has not shown its greasy face so far and the car stops ok. The only problem I have had was the rear cross shaft outside bushings would seize after the car sat for a couple of months, and the brakes would not release after I applied them good and hard. However one of our fine European members sent me some new brass bushings and now every thing is silky-smooth........
I also changed out the rear felt axle seals. I never had a problem until I made a long rough trip with the car tied down in the enclosed trailer. that is when the grease got on the bands. I had just drained the rearend, bell joint and transmission and refilled all them of them with multipurpose gear grease. I did clean the bands before using the brakes, so that probably kept the grease from getting heated and penetrating into the fibers. The cost of new linings is not a big problem, But I have to take them 70 miles to a shop and it takes two week turn around for $75 for the 2 rear bands on the 28. Maybe I should buy a riviting tool and do them myself, However, I enjoy talking to the Dude that does them, even if he is a Model "A" guy! Ha! Ha!

I have also been told to not reuse wheel cylinders on my 51, 53 and 68 Cheveolets replace them with new ones, but I change the wheel cylinders and master cylinders out and and hone them lightly clean them with alcohol cleaner, and put in NEW rubber and they work fine the next time I do a brake job. I do that less often after I quit using DOT-5 Silicone brake fluid and went back to using DOT-4 and DOT-3. I found out that DOT-5 is made for a sealed brake fluid system and can't absorb water, so any water in the system stays out of solution and rusts the cylinders and also freezes up the lines in cold weather and turns to steam when using the drum brakes a lot. In my modern Chevys I use DOT-4 and every 3 or 4 years I use a turkey baster to suck out the dirty fluid from the master cylinders and replace it with new DOT-4 fluid from a freshly opened new can of DOT-4. I don't like to use an opened can of broke fluid that is over a few months old, even if the cap has been quickly replaced.