TheSamba.com :: View topic - Heavily Greased Up Brake Pads (Pics Added)

Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:45 pm

Hi and I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, I did a search and came up dry.

Anyhow, my brakes were just adjusted but they went right back to no peddle/no work almost immediately. Plus I heard a dragging sound from the right rear. After working 2 hours I finally got the hub nut off and pulled the drum.

I found that the screw that holds the pad away from the adjusting star was out of it's socket and just floating around in the drum. Also the entire system is covered in really heavy grease, I used some brake parts cleaner to de-gunk it. (probably killing my danged bearings in the process :x ) My pads have a lot of wear left on them if they are usable and that is my question. Can I use these pads which were coated in thick grease? Or just replace them?

Thank you,
Jennifer

Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:50 pm

JenniferD wrote: Hi and I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, I did a search and came up dry.

Anyhow, my brakes were just adjusted but they went right back to no peddle/no work almost immediately. Plus I heard a dragging sound from the right rear. After working 2 hours I finally got the hub nut off and pulled the drum.

I found that the screw that holds the pad away from the adjusting star was out of it's socket and just floating around in the drum. Also the entire system is covered in really heavy grease, I used some brake parts cleaner to de-gunk it. (probably killing my danged bearings in the process :x ) My pads have a lot of wear left on them if they are usable and that is my question. Can I use these pads which were coated in thick grease?

Thank you,
Jennifer

Fri Nov 21, 2008 12:51 pm

I would just replace them!!

Fri Nov 21, 2008 1:12 pm

Unfortunately Spanky's right. Lucky for you, pads are cheap. Also, make sure you get some grease back into your bearings. Oh, and make sure you torque that castle nut down to 253 ft/lbs or you'll find yourself riding on 3 wheels sometime soon.

Are you saying that the loose retaining bolt is why your brakes failed?

Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:11 pm

Fix it right. Don't mess around being cheap with brakes.

Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:15 pm

If they were covered in grease I would say replace them. You'll never properly clean them. Also if they were covered in greas I would look into replacing my wheel bearing seal. It would be my guess that that is why the grease got onto them to begin with. If you just cleaned the bearing then it should be fine, just repack it with grease, as long as you dry it completly first.
Bigest importance is to fix why the grease got onto them to begin with or you'll go through this cycle again real soon.

Fri Nov 21, 2008 2:24 pm

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the responses. I guess I'll just go ahead and do the bearing work too as well as replace the pads.

I was wondering why all the grease as well... It's strange I've never seen the likes of it and I have done a 'few' brake jobs but not a ton.

Jennifer

Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:50 pm

If your outer wheel seal failed it would put grease everywhere inside the drum. It would seep out and as the wheel spins it would flick everywhere. I have had this happen before on a different car I had, that's why when I purchased my bug that had been sitting since '79 I replaced all brakes and seals and repacked all the bearings as well. Not a difficult job once you get the drum off.

Fri Nov 21, 2008 4:54 pm

*edit*

Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:01 pm

What another person is telling me is that the axle seal has been compromised and now I'll end up removing the backing plate to replace that. The bearings look and act just fine, so perhaps this is what has happened.

This car is a '68 and was ridden hard and put away wet for years before I purchased it. It has a ton of problems, some of which I have dealt with and some I just live with. Some day it will be a parts car.

Jennifer

Fri Nov 21, 2008 11:55 pm

OK it's a 68 then it is the wheels seals,, you have a swing axle,,,, and the trans is low so refill it ...

Damn sure replace the brakes SHOES .. FYI,, These cars do not have brake pads,, there shoes,,, pads are only used with Disc brakes

Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:12 am

towd wrote: FYI,, These cars do not have brake pads,, there shoes,,, pads are only used with Disc brakes

Lol! Okay, brake pads... :D So am I adding 90 weight to my shopping list? Or do I repack the axle with grease from the wheel end?

Getting the seals this afternoon. Soaking the backing plate bolts in SuperBlaster till then.

DMC-12: As to the brake failure deal, they never completely quit. They just were very weak, with the peddle going almost totally to the floor. My guess is that the R Rear wheel was not working at all, hence the poor performance.

But I don't know a darned thing, I just do some maintenance here and there and drive the thing until I can get a better bug.

Thank you everyone,
Jennifer

Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:53 am

JenniferD wrote: So am I adding 90 weight to my shopping list? Or do I repack the axle with grease from the wheel end?
But I don't know a darned thing, I just do some maintenance here and there and drive the thing until I can get a better bug.
Thank you everyone,
Jennifer
That's how you learn...I've almost always enjoyed wrenching and bringing a "pile" back to life
80W-90 for regular 'ol dino based oil. I'm sure you know this already, but don't refill till after the seal repairs are done.
BTW, I wish my wife liked to wrench..... :cry: :lol: :lol:

Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:40 am

Are you sure it is grease and not brake fluid mixed with a lot of brake dust? It will make it look like grease. Post a pic.

Sat Nov 22, 2008 12:34 pm

be sure you get good quality parts. cheaper is not better, even if you only plan on keeping it for a while, buy good parts.

Sat Nov 22, 2008 4:36 pm

zoti wrote: Are you sure it is grease and not brake fluid mixed with a lot of brake dust? It will make it look like grease. Post a pic.

I'd agree with Zoti. Gear oil leaked by a bad seal, mixed with brake dust. Fix the seal, add gear oil. By the way, adding gear oil requires a 17mm allen wrench, with a box wrench on it for leverage. Loosen the fill plug first. Buy gear oil with a pump that screws into the bottle.

Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:46 am

zoti wrote: Are you sure it is grease and not brake fluid mixed with a lot of brake dust? It will make it look like grease. Post a pic.

I can't, I've already cleaned everything up! :wink: Just another OCD mechanic here... :lol:

Actually, it didn't smell like 90 weight until I broke open the axle end to redo the seal. Anyhow, it's done.

I've not had a brake fluid leak for a long time. We've replaced the master and one line quite a while back. That was the last time it was leaking.

Could be road grime and brake fluid I suppose but the wheel cylinder is in good shape by my estimation and no fresh leakage was anywhere in the works that I could see.

Cusser: Had that wrench already, but thanks.

bowtie56jw: This is going to make you howl: I was given some used shoes with lots of pad left on them. Gonna use them because for one, the guy didn't have any new ones and secondly, they're still in very good shape. If I could have gotten new ones in time I would have bought them.

nt3toyota: I wish my husband like to wrench!! :lol: (then I could stay inside where it is warm!) P.S. this car is a 'pile' too. One step away from being a parts car. I wish I could find a nice body to put it's engine into because this one has so many problems it gets depressing! :?

Thank you again everyone, I am going to go out later and reassemble my brakes and hopefully it won't take all afternoon. I sure wish I had a shop with a smooth concrete floor and not a rock driveway. At least it is sunny!

Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:49 am

Are we talking about brake pads (as used in disc type brakes and looks sort of like a pad) or brake "shoes" commonly used in drum type brakes?

Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:53 am

DeathTrap wrote: Are we talking about brake pads (as used in disc type brakes and looks sort of like a pad) or brake "shoes" commonly used in drum type brakes?

Drum type, sorry I keep screwing that up.

Sun Nov 23, 2008 12:14 pm

I do however have the old brake shoes so here are a couple of pics: