Brake Shoes cleaned after soaked in brake fluid?

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Oct 16, 2002
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I just found that I have leaking wheel cylinders on both of the rear drum brakes of my 1993 Oldsmobile Ciera 3.3L - no ABS. One side is so bad that the brake pedal has gone soft so I'm taking the car out of service until this is fixed. I'm working on the parts list order.

The brake shoes have lot's of life left but it's all pretty much a nasty mess with fluid on about everything.

1. I wonder if I can clean the brake shoes or does the brake fluid soak and contaminate the friction material so much that it will not be good to re-use them ?

2. Should I get new wheel cylinders, or just those cylinder rebuild kits that have the new rubber caps and springs? (A few dollars cost isn't the issue but thought installing the kit might mean not having to risk rounding off that brake line nut that goes into the back of the wheel cylinder body)

3. If anyone happens to know what size "E" socket will fit those bolts that GM used to hold the wheel cylinders that would be useful. I only have a E6 which is too small so I'll have to buy a bigger one. Perhaps an E8 or E10 ?
 
+2, new shoes, new cylinders. And if the line nut "catches" on partially rusty line prepare to change that too.
 
Bendix makes a pre-assembled kit to make replacing the shoes less scary
happy2.gif

The kit seems to include the wheel cylinders too, but if you prefer OEM wheel cylinders, GM still makes them, so you are lucky

Pair them with coated drums
 
Soak them in hot water, dry and check, do it several times. Run a flame over them to draw the fluid to the surface. If it's not too bad this will get the brake fluid out.
 
Originally Posted by Silk
Soak them in hot water, dry and check, do it several times. Run a flame over them to draw the fluid to the surface. If it's not too bad this will get the brake fluid out.


A new set in the US is around $12 online. Plus the old ones might have been asbestos. Wouldn't waste my time for $12.
 
Simply due to the age of the car. Definitely get new hardware,unless the hard ware has been recently replaced,it isn't worth fussing with. Do NOT R+R the MC unless it leaks The pressure a new can create will pop the 27 yr lines and hose. AMHIK
grin2.gif
 
I went the wheel cylinder rebuild kit route on my 1994 Grand Am. I would do that again.
I thought it was a #6 Torx socket but I have written down that mine took an E8 (female). I tightened to 15ft-lb.
Tightened hub assembly bolts to 45 ft-lb.
Inlet tube nut (12mm) gets 17ft-lb.
 
A new wheel cylinder and a can of the brake cleaner it is all you need. At my Walmart it cost $5.59 here. Friction material is not a cardboard. Too many paranoids around here.
Added: This is another place CarParts
 
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Originally Posted by Chris142
Nope. Once the shoes get contaminated the fluid will leach into the material. You can't clean it out of the pores. Replace them. They are cheap.

What is the down side of reusing them? I ask because I just went thru this with my Sierra and I know they only replaced the cylinders and cleaned them.

Mine were not as bad as the OP, no visible leaking or sinking break pedal, the only way I knew something was heading south is when I came to a compete stop or put it in gear with foot on the break it sounded like there was gravel in there. It took a couple hundred miles after the mech fixed it for the noise to go away so I'm guessing the pads had break fluid on them?
 
You can reuse them, the best way to get rid of all the oil soaked in is to heat the pads. I've used a hot plate in the past but you could also use a fire, or outdoor BBQ oven. Heat is the only way because the oil soaks into the pores of the friction material.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Silk said:
A new set in the US is around $12 online. Plus the old ones might have been asbestos. Wouldn't waste my time for $12.

He will spend more in brakleen instead of buying new pads
lol.gif
 
And water costs nothing. Brake fluid is water soluble, the best thing to clean it off is hot water. Brake clean is good for getting off mineral based contaminants.
 
Except the friction material and or bonding is probably already compromised, why screw around with something so critical to safety?

In the USA you get brand new shoes for almost nothing in cost.
 
Originally Posted by Cressida


...A few dollars cost isn't the issue...




New cylinders and new pads.
 
I would replace the shoes. You had it apart, why deal with bonded friction material potentially failing, and causing damage, when you can just throw new shoes in there for $25?
 
Originally Posted by Cressida
I just found that I have leaking wheel cylinders on both of the rear drum brakes of my 1993 Oldsmobile Ciera 3.3L - no ABS. One side is so bad that the brake pedal has gone soft so I'm taking the car out of service until this is fixed. I'm working on the parts list order.

The brake shoes have lot's of life left but it's all pretty much a nasty mess with fluid on about everything.

1. I wonder if I can clean the brake shoes or does the brake fluid soak and contaminate the friction material so much that it will not be good to re-use them ?

2. Should I get new wheel cylinders, or just those cylinder rebuild kits that have the new rubber caps and springs? (A few dollars cost isn't the issue but thought installing the kit might mean not having to risk rounding off that brake line nut that goes into the back of the wheel cylinder body)

3. If anyone happens to know what size "E" socket will fit those bolts that GM used to hold the wheel cylinders that would be useful. I only have a E6 which is too small so I'll have to buy a bigger one. Perhaps an E8 or E10 ?



If I rebuild a wheel cylinder , I hone the bore before I assemble it with new parts .
 
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