hydraulic brakes question

[Di75fj40]

I recently bought a 1998 tc1000 bus, (5.9 12 valve runs good, with hopes of converting but brakes began to smoke on front after driving a 8-9 miles. Seem to be stopping fine. Bought bus very cheap from district. It had been out of service for some time,(couple years), figured at worst case scenario, I could recover my money from it. brakes were bad. Not quite sure where to start. Bus seems to run and shift out fine but ive only worked on automotive brakes before. Ive done partial conversion before but was on a shuttle bus. Any ideas where to start. I dont mind spending some money on the system, just seeking some info for where to start.....

[sportyrick]

Sounds like the calipers have stuck from sitting. You should replace both front calipers, hoses, check the pads (could be new?) and re-pack the wheel bearings with new seals installed. I like to "change" the brake fluid while doing a brake job, just bleed them all the way around till you see new clean fluid. I wouldn't say your brakes are "bad", they are bored from sitting so long and screaming for attention. Might as well check the rears while you are at it. After a brake job you can focus your attention on your conversion confident you have good brakes that will last a long time.

[Di75fj40]

Thanks for the info. Like the " bored not bad" . Im going to get on that as soon as the rain dies out a bit. Feedback is much appreciated

[s2mikon]

I think that sportyrick just gave you some good advise. If you drove the bus and the brakes were smoking I would replace the pads and check the rotors real good for cracks and warpage. The last medium duty I worked on was a workhorse motor home chassis and the caliper pistons were stuck in the bores and it toasted the rotors, pads and calipers. The caliper pistons were made out of some sort of resin compound. The new ones were made out of aluminium.

[Di75fj40]

Thank your for the advice.

[Di75fj40]

Originally Posted by s2mikon

I think that sportyrick just gave you some good advise. If you drove the bus and the brakes were smoking I would replace the pads and check the rotors real good for cracks and warpage. The last medium duty I worked on was a workhorse motor home chassis and the caliper pistons were stuck in the bores and it toasted the rotors, pads and calipers. The caliper pistons were made out of some sort of resin compound. The new ones were made out of aluminium.

I see you are in NM Good place I used to live in the Roswell area, and Magdalena but have traveled all over the state

[mmoore6856]

if your on a gmc or chevy chassie there is a slider kit for the calipers and you want to wire brush any rust then use neversieze on it.

[Di75fj40]

Originally Posted by mmoore6856

if your on a gmc or chevy chassie there is a slider kit for the calipers and you want to wire brush any rust then use neversieze on it.

I don’t think it is. How do I find that out ? Thanks

[Unpluggedone]

Think of your bus as a very large version of an GMC 2500. The heavy thing is the actual wheels, after that pretty much the same just larger. Given that they are disc brakes on the front it’s super easy to work on. Things are heavy, don’t assume car/truck grade stuff will support anything. Lift and then set on steady secure wood blocks. Surprisingly simple after that. New pads are a must, you’ll know right away by visual if the rotors are damaged. Attach a couple photos once you get the wheels off.

[Di75fj40]

Originally Posted by Unpluggedone

Think of your bus as a very large version of an GMC 2500. The heavy thing is the actual wheels, after that pretty much the same just larger. Given that they are disc brakes on the front it’s super easy to work on. Things are heavy, don’t assume car/truck grade stuff will support anything. Lift and then set on steady secure wood blocks. Surprisingly simple after that. New pads are a must, you’ll know right away by visual if the rotors are damaged. Attach a couple photos once you get the wheels off.

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like good stuff. Gonna get on it this next week. I will post pics .

[mmoore6856]

Originally Posted by Di75fj40

I don’t think it is. How do I find that out ? Thanks

post a picture of your bus and we will tell you what chassie you are on as bluebird did not make engines,frames,trannys and rear ends. this includes the brakes

[Di75fj40]

Here’s an attempt

[The lazy farmer]

If I had to guess that is a freightliner frame. You stated it has the Cummins 5.9. That is typical with freightliner.

I have a freightliner truck around the same age as your bus with probably the same brakes. The worst thing you can do is let them sit. The calipers will stick. I live in a rural area so when mine stuck I was able to just drive around slowly hitting the breaks and it eventually came unstuck. If you can't get them unstuck If I remember right I got new calipers for the rear at Napa. They were stuck so tight when I bought the truck that the pads were worn off and I had no rear brakes.

[Di75fj40]

Thanks for the input. I kinda tried that but they still seem to be grabbing some. I’m also thinking the parking brake may be grabbing a little. Waiting on some weather to pass n dry up a bit n gonna attempt some repair

[mmoore6856]

Make sure you take them apart and use brake antisieze on the part that must slide and it can sit for years and still work when you need.

[vanman95]

I’m a professional automotive technician. A bit different than knowing a larger platform but the same is applied. If the brakes are getting hot they’re locking up. Never reinstall pads or rotors from a locked up brake system. They overheat and typically will crack the pad material or ruin the rotors. Your best bet is to do it right the first time and not hope used parts are still “ok”. So replace both sides completely (pads, rotors, calipers, hoses if fluid isn’t coming through). Don’t EVER use anti seize. It’s not designed for frictional parts movement. Especially never put on bolts or slides. For good measure I also use blue locktite on caliper mounting bolts.

[mmoore6856]

My slide kit came with antiseize my Chilton said to use it

[vanman95]

Originally Posted by mmoore6856

My slide kit came with antiseize my Chilton said to use it

Maybe bus brakes are different? Different anti seize formula? I’m not sure. Im from the automotive world so aside from general disk brake knowledge towards buses I’m not sure exactly what professional procedures would be considered right. I do know in automotive it’s frowned upon to use it anywhere for automotive brakes. If they recommend it then it probably should be used

[Booyah45828]

Guys the lube used depends on the vehicle. On older stuff where the slides and pins were exposed copper antiseize was and still can be used. They now make brake lube containing ceramic that does just as good of a job as antiseize, but without any worry of contaminating the brake rotor or pad by it getting any on them. You can also interchange the use of antiseize or ceramic brake lube on drum systems between the shoe/backing plate, and the hardware/adjuster.

On newer brakes where the pins and slides are sealed with rubber boots do not use antiseize on them, as the antiseize is too thick/gummy and will cause brake drag. Don't use ceramic brake lube either because it is also too thick. I use a silicone based lube, preferably with teflon in it, and it does very well.

Newer brake systems are much more tighter, and therefore pickier about the lube then old/loose brake systems. Also, it's been shown that the rubber boots and bushings can swell if you use the wrong lube there, so petroleum lubes are also a big no-no.

Blue loctite goes on every brake fastener(except the bleeder or banjo bolt). Most vehicles nowadays come from the factory with loctite on the bolts. I've done that since the mid 2000's when we had issues with ford pickups and their caliper brackets coming loose, even though they were properly torqued. The only difference between what they were doing and what we were doing was the threadlocker.

[mmoore6856]

Originally Posted by vanman95

Maybe bus brakes are different? Different anti seize formula? I’m not sure. Im from the automotive world so aside from general disk brake knowledge towards buses I’m not sure exactly what professional procedures would be considered right. I do know in automotive it’s frowned upon to use it anywhere for automotive brakes. If they recommend it then it probably should be used

yea trucks and busses are different than cars. if you dont use antisieze (and i am using a gerneric name here) your calipers will not be loose and when you sit a while you will be under the bus with a can of wd40 and a bfh. even the rubber booted mount bolts come from the factory with a NEVERSIEZE TYPE product on them.