Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

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EvanH
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Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

Post by EvanH »

My pinz has made life interesting in the brakes department lately. Last summer the truck was pulling to the right, the harder the braking the harder the pull. I took off the drum and found one of the brake cylinders was leaking. I rebuilt it, reinstalled it, cleaned everything, and enjoyed even braking for a while. Then it started pulling to the right again. I was all set for another cylinder repair on the right side, except the guts of the brakes were dry. On to the driver's side...the brake shoes are soaked in oil. The back of the backing plate is wet with oil and the axle boot is filled with oil.

I searched the site for quite a while, and I didn't find any posts that addressed this combination of symptoms directly. Does anyone have a confident guess as to which seal(s) I need to replace? One post suggested the metal cup that is like a freeze-out plug in the differential, but I have not had that side apart in years to have dislodged it. Naturally, inspection is up at the end of this month, and I am only now dealing with it. I am hoping to get it fixed before Sept 23rd, when I get three more levels of my neck fused, and may not be able to work on anything for a while.



Thanks,

Evan
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rmel
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Re: Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

Post by rmel »

Sounds like a portal hub leak to me -- seals.

Had the same problem on my right front. In
addition to the obvious seal, there are inner
seals that should be changed as well. This is
where I wimp out and get the professionals :lol:
Were you located?

P.S. If you used synthetic oil in the portal you can
kiss your break shoes good by :(

ron
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rmel
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Re: Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

Post by rmel »

Oh!! Utah! Just saw that now :?

Good luck.
crcpinz
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Re: Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

Post by crcpinz »

OK, there are two sizes of seals; 55mm and 60mm IIRC. You'll have to disassemble first to find out before ordering them. There are also some o-rings that I replaced, one per axle. I ordered my seals beforehand and had to go look for the correct size later; you'll probably find them at a place like NAPA. People write about placing the brake shoes in a barbecue for hours to get rid of the oil, but I decided it was better to get new shoes since they were worn anyway. Use regular oil in the gearboxes as someone else said. I had mine done by a pro since I'd never had this job done before, but it's not rocket science, especially if you have the manuals. Good luck.
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undysworld
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Re: Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

Post by undysworld »

Evan,

There's one puller needed to remove a gear. See manual. It's possible to modify a cheap Harbor Freight puller to do the job.

You might just order both seals to be able to do the job in one go.

Someone recently commented about using gasoline to burn oily shoes clean. Seems sorta hillbilly, but it might just work, IMHO. Depends on your budget I'd guess whether you want to try this or not.

Paul
EvanH
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Re: Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

Post by EvanH »

All,

I have had the Pinz for about 10 years. One of my first projects was pulling an axle to replace the seal in to portal axle. At the time it was obvious which seal was at fault. I had to do it all twice because I was given the wrong size seal to install. I even bitched to the forum about "one of the dealers" handing me the wrong seal, and "the dealer" took it very personally, even though I intentionally did not mention who it was. It was a simple human error, the same one I made installing it without first verifying that it was the correct size. I had to take everything apart and redo it once the oil came pouring out. The dealer took my comment as an attack against his business; but again, I never said who it was and Dennis Williams correctly pointed out that error was mine for not checking the part. In was in the middle of all the finger pointing that the forum was hacked and everything was lost. Anyone else remember that event?

My memories of the first time around are fuzzy. I did not simply go after that seal because the axle boot is full of oil, so I'm assuming the oil originated from the diff, made its way down the axle shaft and out the backing plate. The portal drive isn't overfull. There was a "woosh" of pressure equalization when I removed the fill plug from the portal.

Can oil make its way from the diff to the brake pads (and all over the back of the backing plate inside and out) without going through the portal oil chamber?

I will confess I'm waiting for my body to reboot to check the actual portal and diff oil levels. I have been successful resurrecting brake shoes in the past. I have heard the horror stories over the years and don't use synthetic.

Thanks,

-Evan
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berger
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Re: Oil on the brake shoes - what are the usual suspects?

Post by berger »

Evan, read my write up: viewtopic.php?t=8356 . I did both my rear seals AND bearings...while I was in there you know... ;) ...You also do not need to know which seals you currently have before ordering. My truck had the older 60mm rings, and I installed the newer 55mm. You just need to order the seal that matches the spacer ring.

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