Oil Soaked Shoes

[Brian_NC]

Can oil soaked brake shoes be cleaned up and made to work good again? I just did the seals on the left side of my 2600 and now the right brake is getting weak, so I am figuring it is leaking to. The shoes I replaced were in real good shape except for the oil, and I was wondering if it is worthwhile or even possible to try to get the oil out of them.

 

[souNdguy]

yes,no,maybee


some soak in a solvent like mineral spirits, naptha, gas, etc.. and then clean with brake cleaner.. then will allow to dry in kitty litter in the sun.. some cook on the grill.. some burn off with propane torch.. some try a combination.

for sure it gets rid of some of it. if its enough.. dunno..

it's cheap to trry anyway...


soundguy

 

[Brian_NC]

I appreciate the advice. I may give it a shot just for the heck of it.

 

[Ultradog MN]

You should see my work boots from working on these blasted things.
I try not to wear my blue suede ones when I change the oil or split a tractor.

 

[souNdguy]

funny!

I do however wear a specific set of boots and pants/shirt when I work on tractors...

soundguy

 

[Brian_NC]

That's funny.. Guess I set myself for that by the title..lol Tractor wrenching can be a dirty business, that's for sure.

 

[john_Bud]

You can reclaim the good but oily brake shoes by soaking in solvent. The faster evaporating the solvent is, (typically) the better it will be at getting oil out. You will need to put the shoe and the solvent into a sealed container and let it set and soak for a week or so. I'd use lacquer thinner as it's cheap and pretty fast evaporating. If you use a metal container with o-ring seal you can use brake cleaner spray. It's likely to eat up a plastic container.

Then if you can make a solar box (insulated sides / bottom with a glass top and let the sun heat it for several days to get the rest of the oil out. I'm not a fan of heating on a bbq grill,but that is supposed to work but it could do bad things if you get it too hot.

Depending on how long the shoes were soaking in oil,you may have to repeat the solvent and heat cycle. If you have a metal box, you can paint it black and set it in the sun while the shoes are sitting. That will dry them out better and faster than cold.

I've de-oiled shoes in the past,but now a days, I'd just buy a new set unless they were hard to get or real spendy.

 

[RodinNS]

Price the shoes... then price the solvent. One is a known, 100 % solution; the other a big question mark as to wether or not they'll even be servicable... not wether they're ever going to be 100 %.

BUY NEW SHOES if you want brakes.
I'm thinking they're 25-30 bucks per shoe, give or take a bit, depending on which particular shoe it is...

Rod

 

[Jim in Ma.]

If you want good breaks , you need to change them. But - think about where the oil is coming from and fix that first. Seal??

 

[sotxbill]

I have had fairly good luck cleaning them.. ie they will work better... maybe not like new, but they sure will stop the tractor.. so yes.. try to clean them really good.. use about anything.. .even gasolene or the brake cleaner products works... let them dry then clean them again..

 

[souNdguy]

hot box / hotdog grill and some starter fluid shouldn't set him back more than a dollar or two.. and might get him 50% out of the shoes...

just sayin....

soundguy

 

[Ultradog MN]

It's been a while since I looked at a set of those brake shoes. Isn't the lining bonded ie glued to the shoe? I wonder if the heat from a BBQ wouldn't melt that glue.

 

[souNdguy]

if they are glued.. therein is a problem. if they are rivited.. no big deal. I guess it depends on how old his shoes are.. and how attached.

soundguy

 

[Brian_NC]

Thanks for the advice guys, I do appreciate it. I'll probably mess with them a little and if I'm not happy I can always throw a new set on to bring it up to par with the left side. I've changed some oily brakes on Fergusons over the years, always just used new shoes, and I had wondered if they could be saved. I finally got curious enough to ask I guess.

 

[RodinNS]

Some are glued. Some are riveted...
Seems to me that even if you bake them you're not going to get it all out if they're really soaked. Tomorrow they're going to be wet again...

Rod

 

[souNdguy]

I for sure agree with not being able to get it all out... some yes.. how much?

I collect antique rifles.. ww1/2 stuff.. many are arsenal refinished and packed in cosmoline.

standard fare is to remove action from bedding of stock, remove excess with cloth and mineral spirits ( deoderized ), then put in a 4" pvc tube packed with cat litter fines, then set out in the sun for a week.

gets 'most' of it out.

since you can destroy the collector value of the gun by 'stripping and refinishing' the stock, this way is viewed as non damaging, yet yeilds a gun toy can pickup without it being sticky..

soundguy