Asbestos in Brake Linings?

1941 - 1945, MB, GPW Technical questions and discussions, regarding anything related to the WWII jeep.
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Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by bazza46 » Thu Apr 12, 2018 5:18 pm

I've just bought a set of 'Crown' brand brake linings for my jeep. But I've read that some aftermarket parts manufacturers are still using asbestos in their brake and clutch linings. Nowhere on the box does it say 'Asbestos Free'. I'm concerned about using them,mainly because as they wear, and dust is deposited in the drums, me, or my kids, in future, won't be aware of the danger, and ingest asbestos dust when they service the brakes.
Does anyone know for certain, if Crown linings are asbestos free?
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by OldPappy » Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:57 am

The use of asbestos in USA manufacturing is very unlikely today, but the only way to be sure is to check with Crown.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by bazza46 » Fri Apr 13, 2018 3:37 am

Good idea. Any idea how to contact them? (the actual makers, not parts dealers).
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by OldPappy » Fri Apr 13, 2018 4:00 am

Unless you know the supplier for Crown, you would have to start with Crown. They have a website.

I doubt anyone south of China is using asbestos in manufacturing today, and if brake shoes still had asbestos there would be a huge class action lawsuit in progress for people working in brake shops in the US.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by Joe Gopan » Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:38 am

Why not check with Raybestos or Bendix? What about all the owners of Jeeps that still have the OEM Asbestos linings, MBT/M-100 also.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by OldPappy » Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:01 am

My brother and I grew up working on old cars from the 30s-50s. We did a lot of brake work on those.

My brother had a motorcycle we rode around in during the summer in short pants (not a good idea for several reasons). We were always burning our leg on the muffler, so he bought a sheet of asbestos "cloth" from the hardware store which he fastened over the muffler, and we rode that bike for years with our bare legs rubbing on that stuff.

We used to break open thermometers and play with the mercury.

They had an X-ray machine at the shoe store we had fun with looking at our skeleton feet and my cousin's head.

We smoked "Rabbit Tobacco", grape vines, and cigarettes.

Most of the food we ate was fried in pork fat, and a some of it was pork fat fried in pork fat.

We liked the smell of gasoline, and often syphoned gas with a garden hose, getting it into our mouths, but we didn't like the taste of gasoline.

Cleaned parts in serious solvents without the benefit of rubber gloves.

Breathed a lot of leaded gas exhaust.

Now I don't recommend any of the above, but similar to what someone once said in a movie, according to modern medical science we should have taken dirt naps 30 years ago" , yet we are all still above ground, and of sound health considering our ages.

Not likely to come into contact with brake dust except when working on the brakes, and if they are old enough to be concerned with asbestos, take some precautions, such as wearing a respirator, long sleeves, gloves, and safety glasses.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by Joe Gopan » Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:36 am

Been there, done that except for the motorcycle and also ran a lab with exposure to Carbon Tet, asbestos flakes, lead paint and other chemicals, it was the norm back then. Am still here 50 tears later.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by dpcd67 » Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:51 am

Yes, we did all that too back in the hills, and no one died from it. Asbestos brakes are the least of your worries. Not that they use it now. It wouldn't be allowed.
Good genes probably helps though.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by OldPappy » Fri Apr 13, 2018 8:18 am

I fully agree, and hope my attempt at levity did not give a wrong impression. It makes me shudder now to think of all the dangerous stuff we did, and fooled around with, back in the day. Excellent advise on keeping the dust wet.

Another sign of how things have changed over these many years is I recall my mother saying she was encouraged by her doctor to take up smoking while pregnant to keep birth weight down. That was back in the early fifties, and she wisely chose to ignore that advise.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by Ran504 » Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:12 pm

Asbestos has been banned from the building industry since 2003 and the Automotive industry since 2004 in Australia, but occasionally some dogey importer will try and bring in some cheap or counterfeit parts in so if you have products that contain asbestos they have been illeagaly imported and need to be reported.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by dinof » Sat Apr 14, 2018 5:46 am

Hi Bazza46,
I just was on their website and looked at their specs on the shoes. One description says "Hazardous material" -----No

So it should not. Asbestos was banned many years ago here in America. Many huge companies were and are still paying out huge settlements. Even our military was involved in this mess. But just to be safe, I wouldn't take a air compressor and blow any dust out. You and your family should be ok.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by bazza46 » Sat Apr 14, 2018 2:03 pm

Thanks, all.
Dino,do you have the URL for that website?
So I'll use the linings.I've previously used guaranteed non asbestos bonded linings from an reputable brake place, but I think those linings are too hard, being made for boosted brakes on new cars, and take too much pedal pressure. I'm hoping these ones are softer, and will give more 'bite 'with less pedal pressure.
BTW, My father ran a small trucking business which he started after the war, using a cheap ex army GMC. Us kids often had to help him when he repaired the trucks. When doing the brakes, he used to blow the dust out of the drums with compressed air. Dust everywhere.He must have had good genes, because he died at 88, not from an asbestos related condition, and my mum, at 96. I hope I have similar genes. I am 71 and and so far, no problems. But it's always at the back of my mind. I recall getting well away when he dusted the drums, as my mum told us that the dust was harmful, and we could get 'black lung' from breathing it. That term, 'Black lung 'really scared me.
Cheers, Bazza
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by dinof » Sat Apr 14, 2018 3:11 pm

Here it is:https://www.crownautomotive.net

Go to your year of brake shoes, and click on the "additional specs" tab. There is where you will find that it is not hazardous.

Would you believe I used to sell asbestos sheets in the hardware store in the early 1970's? They were 2ft. X 4ft. pieces. We would get on a ladder and pull the sheets off. No doubt I got several doses of it. I was 17. Now I'm 58. Still Ok, Thank God!

Steve McQueen was not so lucky with asbestos.........
Dino Falabrino
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by bazza46 » Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:23 pm

Thanks again, Dino. I'll now be able to grind off a little from the centres of the shoes, if needs be, to maintain the correct curve for my skimmed out drums without fear.
As to asbestos, here in Australia literally hundreds of thousands of houses were sheathed in asbestos cement sheet ('Fibro'), and as many kitchens, roofs and bathroom walls were done, too.
Now authorities are warning do -it- yourself home renovators to be very careful when removing it, or even to call in expert fibro removalists, who work in pressurized 'space suits'. And when houses made of fibro are burnt down in bushfires, the area is sealed off till special asbestos removalists can clean up the site. Only then can householders return.But tons of tiny fibres must be lifted skyward in the heat of bushfires, and who knows where they will land; it's like nuclear fallout. But unlike nuclear fallout, there is no half life for asbestos. It lasts forever.
On that depressing note, thanks again.
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Re: Asbestos in Brake Linings?

Post by Tony W » Sun Apr 15, 2018 11:59 pm

Hey Bazza
Just a bit of info.
The last new shoes I put on a Jeep were as hard as a rock, and took a lot of pedal pressure to stop the old girl, a real lot. I have never felt linings so hard.
Any way I made a few inquiries and found out about : Woven Roll : brake linings , especially made for vintage cars and bikes.I took my shoes to Marfleet here in Perth and they ground off the hard lining and fixed the woven roll linings to the shoes. Well, I took it out on the weekend for the first time, and bloody hell ,cant believe the transformation. 500% better would be an understatement. It has great brake pedal feel and will pull up on a dime with minimal pedal pressure. Hit the brakes hard and it will now lock all 4 wheels. We have a few Jeeps in the family, and these are the best linings I have felt on a Jeep; I now have full confidence for my kids to take out the Jeep.
I contacted John at Marfleet, who did the job , and he said the supplier in Sydney was a mob called,,,, Taro Distributors....
He said ring them and mention John from Marfleet Perth sent you, and they will give you a the name of a brake reliner in Sydney that will look after you.
..Woven Roll..Copper impregnated,,50mm x 6mm. All up I paid $250 inc. Worth every cent.

Good luck mate.
Tony
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