Brake Repair

[allenp]

Recently the left brake on my YM1700 seemed to not work as well as the right brake. It took a lot of force on the pedal to attain any noticeable braking. I removed the brake cover, and while the brake pads, spring, etc. were in excellent condition (no rust, no pitting), there was some oil on the brake pads and inside the brake drum. I removed the pads and cleaned them using brake cleaner, lightly sanded the pads with coarse emery cloth, and cleaned the brake drums. Even after I clean the pads, it worked better but not quite as good as the right side. Does anyone know the best way to remove the oil from the brake pads?

However, it appears that the oil seal or seal collar needs to be replaced because I have confirmed that I have a VERY slight seepage of oil into the brake drum area. As far as replacing the oil seal and spacer, I assume that I need to remove the brake drum and brake housing and just pry the old seal out? Is this correct, or can the seal and spacer be replaced without removing the housing? Hopefully, the brake drum is not too difficult to remove since there is no way to use a puller on the drum?

Any tips will be appreciated.

Allen

 

[gbirky]

allenp,
While I have no tips on removing the seal and spacer, I have removed the drums from a YM1110D. Once the nut was off, the drum came right off. However, here is a trick I learned in the process. Use a pipe wrench and cheater bar to hold the axle from turning while you take the nut off that holds the drum on.

 

[normde2001]

I haven't had to replace that seal, however you will probably have to get it from a dealer who can help with that. As for the oil, haven't tried this either, but I would try putting the shoes in a pan and covering with "Oil-Dry", like you would use on your shop/garage floor, putting in the oven and heating to soften the oil. Hopefully it would be absorbed into the material.

 

[gerlacr]

As far as oil in the brake pads go, I had the same problem. I soaked them in a degreaser, then a dish washing soap solution followed by gentle heating from a propane torch. Heat them slowly otherwise any water will cause them to pop out chunks of brake material. As they heat up you can see any oil ooze out of the surface and burn off.

Are you sure the oil leak is from the seal for the brake drum shaft? If the 1700 is anything like the 1500, the brake drum and rear axle share a common housing. In my case the rear axle seal was damaged and was leaking into the housing, which then contained the brake drum and shoes, once the level rose high enough. When I reassembled mine I realized that each axle assembly had a small tapped hole on the bottom side of the axle housing with an allen head screw secured in place. It occurred to me that if there was a slow leak, that the allen head screw could be removed periodically to drain off any oil accumulation thus eliminating contamination of the brake pads and putting off or eliminating a big repair job. Changing the rear axle oil seal was a big job for a week end warrior like myself.

The brake drum should slide out easily once the nut is removed. You can see allot more about what is going on once the drum is removed. Good luck.

 

[allenp]

Thanks to all for the suggestions on how to get the oil out of the brake pads. I will try these ideas in the next week or 2 to see if I can get the oil out of the linings. The use of a degreaser and oil dry all sound like the right thing to do.

The brakes on a YM1700 are seperate from the drive axle, however, there is a seal and seal spacer (similar to rear axle combination) to prevent the transmission oil from getting on the brake linings. I have read the section in the service manual and looked at the parts list and it doesn't appear to be all that difficult. That is where I get concerned; when something looks easy

 

[allenp]

Gerlacr,

Your tip to apply a torch directly to the pads was the solution. I soaked the pads in degreaser, washed with dish washing detergent and this alone did not remove the grease. Once I applied a flame to pads, lightly of course, the grease came to the surface and burned off.

Removal, re-installation, and seal replacement was a piece a cake as well.

The brake now works like new.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

 

[Earnsfan]

It's good to hear a success story, I'm happy your up and running again,
Mike