Should We Buy!

[AlexVega360]

Hello! Im Alex & my husband Danny and I are less than 24hrs form getting our bus. This is the only thing we are a bit worried about. Can someone help us figure out what this is, and how bad is it?!?! Thank you so much, so looking forward to being part of this community.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

That bus has air brakes. That is the brake chamber and slack adjuster, the latter of which should be greased periodically, and it appears the previous owner has done that. You're just seeing the accumulated old grease that hasn't been cleaned away. It can be left as it, or carefully pressure washed away (try not to spray into the brake chamber though. A little water won't hurt.)


I would grease the slack adjuster after washing to drive out any water.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

I should add that air brakes "drive" differently than hydraulic brakes. If you've never used them before, you're likely accustomed to hydraulic brakes having some pedal travel and modulating the braking effort by adjusting how far you've pushed the brake pedal. Air brakes work by having what is essentially a pressure regulator at the pedal, it will require very little pedal travel and instead you adjust braking effort by how much pressure you are applying (there will be very little, if any, pedal travel.)

[cowlitzcoach]

That appears to be an automatic slack adjuster that is all covered is old grease and a lot of yuck.


Someone has either over greased the slack adjuster or you have a wheel seal that is leaking gear lube and spraying it all over the slack adjuster. If it is a leaking wheel seal it could have ruined the brake lining on that wheel.



Between the grease and yuck encrusted part there should be a rod linking it to the air chamber. With the spring brake released you should be able to move the brake rod on and off with a travel of less than 2".



The top part of the grease and yuck encrusted part is on the end of a splined shaft that goes into the brake drum to operate the 'S'-cam that applies the brakes.



If all that is the problem is a lot of grease and yuck, you should be able to use a scraper to get the worst of the grease and yuck off and then a pressure or steam cleaner to get the rest of the grease and yuck off.


The real concern is why is it so covered with grease and yuck. That reason could be either a cheap fix or a several hundred $$$ fix depending upon what is wrong and what else is covered by grease and yuck.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Cowlitz brought up a point I had not considered. However, I'm not thinking wheel seal failure because the grease is localized to the slack adjuster, I don't see any evidence of grease on the axle, springs, etc, and for a failed wheel seal, most of the oil will coat the brake shoes, drums, and inside wheel and tire. Very little, if any, would reach the slack adjuster.

[EastCoastCB]

That's how all my school bus' brake adjusters have looked.