• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Brake shoe viability after oil leak?

Share this page

Luke_Healey

Luke_Healey

Jedi Trainee
Offline
My sprite doesn't like to stop as it should. When I first got the car it liked to leak rear end oil all over the brake drums before I installed the new rear wheel bearings and sealed the axles with the paper gaskets and RTV.

I've cleaned the brake shoe material several times with brake cleaner. However, when I apply the brakes, the front of the car definitely dives more than the rear. If I give the e-brake a good yank, the car brakes level and stops more quickly.

That got me wondering if the residual effect of the shoes being soaked in gear lube ruined their ability to brake properly? Or maybe I need to adjust the shoes? They ride very close to the drum surface though. Sprites have a distribution block, but do they have a proportioning valve?

And while i'm on the topic of the hand brake... What should I be using to lube the cable housing? I was using lithium grease last year, but do I run the risk of things getting too tacky inside there?
 
Your lithium grease is fine on hand brake zerk.

Replace rear brake shoes.
 
I was always told to bin the shoes and start with new ones if you got oil on them, but I have heard about people baking them in the oven to get the oil out, although I have never tried this.
Mark
 
What about just using the e-brake instead of the normal one for a while :wink:

I'll probably order a set of shoes. They're only 13 bucks at the local parts store. I just bought new pads for up front and I need to deglaze the rotors. After that, I should be able to stop on a dime.
 
Yes, that's exactly the point: the shoes are cheap, easy to replace, so why take a chance? Brakes are marginal enough in these cars even when they're perfect. I doubt that, once they're fouled with oil, you can do anything that really will fix them. And, even if it can be done, it's likely to be more expensive and more trouble than just replacing the suckers.
 
It all makes sense now that I think about it. All the oil in the brake shoe linings will head to the hot spot (friction area) when you're braking. Even if you clean these things with brake cleaner and get the surface clean, the first time they heat up, the residual gear oil will head for the hottest area.

Found on yahoo answers (I pity your brain if any of you ever have to read some of the 'answers' given.)

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]all I can say is that when my Morris Minor has the same problem back in 1968, the mechanic doused the shoes in a little petrol and then set it alight. This I understood did the job but clearly not to be recommended except in the presence of two firemen equipped with fire extinguishers and a pump unit! [/QUOTE]

I ordered new shoes last night. So unfortunately I won't get to try this out :wink:
 
Back
Top