Drum brakes, salt water & rubber inspection covers

[Bandicoot]

Went to adjust my FG drum brakes yesterday and found one of the rubber covers over the holes that provide access to the adjusters, and two of the rubber covers that provide access to check the shoe lining thickness, were missing. Not sure if this has happened at past service or from off-road driving etc.
Questions:
* How important are these rubber covers? Do they really stop much damage to the brake internals? Is it wise to replace them?
* I avoid driving in salt water (like the plaque), but in the event of getting a bit of salt water in the brakes (or perhaps even mud), what's the best way to thoroughly rinse the brake internals, without having to pull the wheels off?
rick

 

[whatcharterboat]

Went to adjust my FG drum brakes yesterday and found one of the rubber covers over the holes that provide access to the adjusters, and two of the rubber covers that provide access to check the shoe lining thickness, were missing. Not sure if this has happened at past service or from off-road driving etc.
Questions:
* How important are these rubber covers? Do they really stop much damage to the brake internals? Is it wise to replace them?
* I avoid driving in salt water (like the plaque), but in the event of getting a bit of salt water in the brakes (or perhaps even mud), what's the best way to thoroughly rinse the brake internals, without having to pull the wheels off?
rick

Rick .... not saying I would endorse this as it is a special case but I know commercial beach drivers that run every day with all inspection rubbers removed and they simply put a hose in each hole every night and liberally flush the drums and brake assemblies with fresh water. They tell me that they get reasonble life out of them considering the circumstances. Why I say I wouldn't recomend this as normal practice is because these guys would do a lot more maintenance that the average Joe and you will find that they constantly grease adjusters, assemble the wheel cylinders with vaseline, etc in an attempt to keep the salt out of those more critical spots. Also they would only flush the brakes out at the end of the day when things have cooled down a bit so as to reduce the risk of any water getting in through the axle seals. If Choko sees this post maybe he could add his experience in here

I suppose at the end of the day fresh water will be a thousand times better than salt.

We used to spend the whole month of July on Fraser every year when the kids were little ... at the end of it I'd pull all my brakes apart and reassemble no matter what. That's a bit much to go through after a quick weekend up at Double Island though. As a side note, our annual campsite on Fraser was on the other side of a deep fresh creek so every time we drove back into camp the underside (and brakes) always got a thorough dunking.

 

[Bandicoot]

Thanks John
So apart from salt water, do you think they add much value keeping out sand or mud on a big expedition from scouring the drums?
Have you experienced them falling out by themselves crossing through sand or mud? If not, do you think the main reason they get lost is due to carelessness during servicing?
Basically do you think it's worth the time & effort for me to try to keep rubbers replaced all the time?
Rick

 

[SkiFreak]

I have always prescribed to the belief that if a manufacturer puts things on a truck, they do so for a reason.
My personal opinion is that the rubbers will keep the majority of crap out of the workings of the brakes but a good clean out and regreasing after doing salt water work is always prudent.

 

[engineer]

Hey Rick,
The holes get bigger over time, and even if you buy new ones, they will fall out
On Fraser, i would keep them off and as John mentioned, flush every day.
On Cape york vehicles, I would put just a dab of water based neutral cure adhesive to keep them on (idiots like to do high speed through muddy creeks)
I've found that i had to adjust the brakes daily on Fraser Island vehicles, as the air spun out of the drum was sucking in dirt and sand etc through the open adjuster holes.
It's horses for courses, I would suggest keeping them plugged if youre not in a commercial situation where you use the beach every day
If you are a weekend beach goer (jealous) then keep em plugged, but give them a good service, and replace if needed any slightly corroded parts, when you do your wheel bearings.
I would do bearings every 40K
I'd like to know more about what you do with your truck to give more specific advice.
Chock

 

[whatcharterboat]

I would suggest keeping them plugged if youre not in a commercial situation where you use the beach every day
If you are a weekend beach goer (jealous) then keep em plugged, but give them a good service, and replace if needed any slightly corroded parts, when you do your wheel bearings.
I would do bearings every 40K

Chock

There ya go Rick. Couldn't get better advice than that. Thanks Chock.